Fantasy Wherever the Wind Takes You

[Gary Sue]

Ah, so he really just hadn't seen it yet. At least that was a relief. The sword looked really intricate, considering it had been made using the dark arts... If anything, he was shocked that she managed to make such a real looking blade, although from the way Laila handled it... was it really... well, real? "It looks like she barely has to put any strength to lift it. What the hell..?", he returned the confused look to his companion, shrugging and letting her keep going with inspecting it.

And as endearing as the interaction between her and Alina was, it wasn't long before the vampire stubbornly offered 'blood' to him again. "How many times have I said no, hell...", he seemed clearly irritated, doubly so considering he hadn't the slightest how to even use this god forsaken blood if she were to give him any. "It hasn't taken any blood before, and I don't even know 'how' I'm meant to go about that..."

... Right? His mind was a bit foggy, but he was starting to recall an instance where it might have fed on blood before. He couldn't remember anything about it though. It was the one time he'd slashed down anyone and killed them- the fight at the Abyssal temple. "... I can't remember what happened then. It's like I blacked out, and I can only remember what happened after the fight was over, bar few details...", he grumbled lowly to himself, his expression changing from irritated to troubled by the minute. He even felt a familiar burn from near his shoulder, raising a hand and clenching it before he shook his head.

"I don't... know enough. It's not a good idea. I'm setting out to find more, so I can't rope myself deeper before I know what I'm getting into first... If the sword was with me right now, he might have been able to coax me into agreeing, but... no. I won't.", he shook his head in nothing short of a decisive manner, with furrowed brows and a look as determined as it was fearful. Of what specifically, not even he knew. But he had reason enough to feel tense and even unsafe, at least with the current discussion. Maybe that was why he tried to avoid it every other time it had come up, too.

 

[Shreb]

"That's a good sign, then." Alina hummed as she opened the door a bit wider to pass between them. "Keep your gaze steady. Control your flesh, or it controls you."

Laila asked, "Wuh-wait! How do I sheathe it?"

"I don't know, I didn't make a scabbard."

Laila groaned. "I guess I'll just hold it..."

A little contrasting, but it wasn't like there was a better option. Laila was more concerned about Reeve's sword eating this thing, or whatever his cursed sword did. Laila was about ready to go, to be honest, and she just wanted to see the horse.

"I'm heading out, then. Good luck, Lilac. If you need another meal, I've got you."
"Thanks!! You've got him, too, right?"
"Obviously. I'll treat you two out when things aren't this tense."

Finally! All of the errands are done! The very last thing was to see what kind of horse her mom got her, and then they could finally get to work on getting to Sesseth! "Finally time to head out! Are you excited, Reeve?"

 

[Gary Sue]

Alina's words were meant to help the man reassure himself, although if anything they only made him waver even more... He definitely wasn't ready to find everything about his sword out at once, just... one thing at a time. The one word she said that he agreed with in full- "Steady.". So he simply gave a nod, watched Alina move out of the room and followed Laila around while she ran the rest of the errands, watching to check if he could give a hand at any point in time.

When all errands had been completed, he was fully donning his armor again and his sword was right where it belonged, by his hip. So he quietly looked at Laila, holding his arms and giving a rather uncertain nod. Excited wasn't the best way to describe his current feelings, but... He could roll with it for the time being. "... Let's go see the horse, I think I remember how to ride one... Although it's going to be a bit uncomfortable. Laila said she didn't ride horses too much, so... Owie."

Come think of it, they did have to travel light. Probably the same reason why they were packed up with as few items as they had gathered by now. Just some basic provisions, spare clothes for Laila to fit the occasion, some tools to maintain their weapons, bow and sword alike, and tools to keep them safe and well out in the wild, in case they were to camp in the forests any. Clearing his throat with a cough, he followed the sound of the next neigh that sounded, making sure to keep his cloak draped over his shoulders.

"It was too expensive to buy to just leave behind, plus... it might be cold on the way."

...

"Travelling adventurers, hm... It might not be so bad, after we find out what the hell's going on with a few things. We should have two weeks of relative safety, considering...", he let the thoughts on the back of his mind run free, his eyes trailing over to the almost comically overdone sword that Laila was carrying along. It really looked out of place on her. "Almost like she came out of a fairy tale with that thing on her back."

And there it was, their humble steed Tomoe had prepared. Although he didn't seem quite as silent as she claimed he would be, he probably hadn't moved an inch since when the shrine's head priestess left him there. Something about that look in the horse's eyes told Reeve all he had to know about how obedient and well disciplined he was. "... Does he have a name somewhere?", he asked himself quietly, approaching it slowly to try looking for a tag of sorts, or... something along those lines.

There wasn't much he could make out on its light gray hair though, and just to be sure, there wasn't a lot going on with the face either. It was kind of funny though, that white splotch across its face looked like someone splashed it with a bucket of dye. Nothing like the horses the patrol had back in his village.

 

[Shreb]

Laila peered over the horse, humming to herself. "Mom said the knights used different horses for different things, and it was usually based on tests and word of mouth. I think she called these horses...Shires."

The horse stared at Reeve. He hasn't acknowledge any reason for distress, so it seemed Reeve was in the clear. He was quite a large build too, and it was pretty clear the muscular framework showed his ability to travel long distances.

She approached the horse with the same air of friendly attitude as anyone else. The horse seemed to respond in kind, head slowly rotating to meet hers. He cocks his head just slightly, ears leaning forward to Laila.

She blinked. "He's got big eyes. And a big forehead."

He bumped his head against hers.

"Ah!"

She pet the horse's mane, and he remains still, staring into the forest with a calm gaze as if some sort of gentle giant of the trees. His wavy mane wafts in the wind.

The saddle didn't look amazing, but it was expected for something mass produced for the knights. She dove into the attached satchel, the horse still as ever.

"Hm...Ah, here's a little tag...His name's Rivera! Oh, there's some other stuff, too. This weird pick thing...First aid kit...And some apples."

She looked around and found an additional bag. It appeared to be a manual guiding how to use the reins and use hand gestures on the horses. Very convenient, but looked like it had survived through plenty of years.

All in all, he looked like the suitable choice for their destination.

"What a pretty looking thing," she commented, already going out of her way to hug the horse by the neck. "Reeve! You should sit on the saddle!"

 

[Gary Sue]

If he was already sharing headbutts with Laila, no wonder he wouldn't hesitate to take off and kick anyone behind him when they got running. He laughed a bit from the rivaling gesture of their new mount, looking at it quietly and offering a small smile. He slowly reached out his armored hand and placed it gently on his forehead, petting the horse to little response. It looked calm and unthreatened... "Good. I remember Mom said they are very intelligent. Just riding them, they can usually tell what we're thinking. Funny how they aren't magical after all, all things considered."

With a soft gust of wind blowing and his friend pronouncing the rowdy animal's name, he looked at its mane blow quietly and moved his lips, as if repeating his name to himself. Not that anything was heard, but he wanted to make sure he would remember it. If he was going to be putting all his weight on the poor horse, that was the least he could do in return. The man wanted to reach for the manual, but looking at how excited his friend was, it looked like he'd better go ahead and hop on already instead. So he nodded, letting out a brief sigh accompanied by a chuckle directed at her impatience.

Considering how familiar he was with horse riding (not very), he did what he could by muscle memory alone and very little else. He placed a leg through one of the stirrups, pushing himself as gently as he could off the ground and onto Rivera. Properly seated on top of what felt like a saddle no softer than a wooden chair, he tried to get into a position where he was upright with a wide field of view, but comfortable all the same.

Some more wind stirred, and although it was relatively cold, the cloak he'd thrown around his shoulders was enough to keep him warm. If they were running on horseback though, Laila would need some protective clothing too. He turned around to look at her, nodding before seeming a bit more thoughtful, looking down at his cape and then at her again with a raised brow. "I could always offer mine, but I believe I saw her packing something along those lines up..."

...

"I can't believe we're ready to get started either though. Gods... A fresh new start, huh?", he got lost in his own thoughts as he turned back to their front, staring blankly before a positively excited smile decorated his face. "... I hope this goes well."

 

[Shreb]

Laila hoisted herself up and along the horse with a happy little hum. As Reeve managed to get onto Rivera, she couldn’t help but giggle at his awkwardness, but she knew he’d get the hang of it soon. This was a chance to go do something different! What more could she ask for? It was time to get going to Sesseth.

She herself wasn't informed on horse-riding either, so when she opened up the manual, she was a bit surprised to see how expansive the instructions were; and there weren't any words, either, just pictures of directions of the reins in association with the horse's movement. She supposed these horses were trained much differently than the nobles would, but she hadn't expected to have so many commands at the disposal of her fingertips.

As the wind picked up, Laila noticed Reeve’s concern, but she seemed to be perfectly fine. She did manage to bring something, but it was mostly for any kind of emergency. They needed to carry light and if desperation calls for it, she could probably scrummage some kind of magic up.

"Okay, this must be to move the horse forward..."

She squeaked as the horse began to push forward.

And their journey to Sesseth was about to begin.

 

[Gary Sue]

He would have yelped if he could with how abruptly the horse started to move, but he had to stay in control and just manage as best as he could. So he held the reins stable in front of him as Rivera led them to a dirt path, and so they were going. The direction was right to his surprise, although he was far from a human compass. This to say that he'd have a little bit more than just trouble pinpointing where they had to go if they took a break and forgot to put down any marks. No matter, they'd have to deal with that when they got there.

The feeling of being on horseback and having Rivera lead them through the woods at this speed though... He'd forgotten about it, but it felt so "Freeing...", he wanted to smile and laugh for no reason in particular, and so he did. He took a quick glance over his shoulder to look at Laila, before turning to focus on the trip. The horse picked up speed, although it remained within Reeve's control thankfully.

So far, little was of note. They hadn't travelled that far, but there was mostly trees, the occasional animal getting scared by the noise of the horse approaching and fleeing off the trail, or some groups of kobolds that were hunting for food or any potential stray Warhogs left in the woods, probably to scrounge up whatever reward they could from Velia. "... We're moving fast, but surely it can't keep going like this forever. And there's a long road. Last I came from Sesseth, it was on a caravan from what I can remember, and even so it took a fair few days."

Something that could surely affect their progress and speed would have to be the weather, right? So he looked up momentarily, only to see the clearest sky he had in days, with but a single cloud in sight. "Well, that won't be stopping us anytime soon then. Good."

 

[Shreb]

She did have access to her own map. It, too, was a bit old, but the terrain looked about the same, so all she was really paying attention was whatever was marked "Sesseth."

"It does seem like a straight line...Well, we should be fine!"

Laila casually turned just to pat Reeve on the shoulder. "With us together, we can take care of anything!" It's hard to say if that was just hopeless optimism or genuine honesty.

"This manual does go into some good detail about when to take the horse about for water breaks and this particular horse is expressive, so if he has any problems, he'll probably let us know the hard way..."

...



Laila and her optimism was a little contagious. She was somewhere in that careful balance of realistic optimism and idealism, and though the mysteries of a dark and cruel plot remain below their feet, there's something about her "take it one day at a time" expression that really makes the horse ride feel like it could go straight to heaven. Her bright eyes sparkle with the promise of adventure and her enthusiasm is evident in the set of her shoulders and the grin on her face. Her face is lit up like sunshine, spreading its own light across her entire being. Even the horse can sense it and seems to be drawn to its positive energy.

And what were they even doing? They would be sitting on a horse for several days, and Laila looked like she was having the time of her life. With the whistle of the wind through her hair and a faint melody humming from her lips, she suddenly turned her head towards Reeve.

"We should definitely go stargazing sometime."

 

[Gary Sue]

All this time, Reeve had been stressed out over the 'what ifs' and the prospect of having to protect her, himself and their mount from harm's way if the situation called for it... And even so, Laila was either oblivious to it or she was purposefully just sticking to the 'live in the now' mentality of hers. His more cautious, and admittedly nervous, demeanor felt like that was silly and going to get them both hurt much more likely than not... but he couldn't help it. The bright look on her face and the way Rivera kept running almost carelessly along the path were just as contagious as he feared, judging by the growing smirk on his own face too.

So with a sigh to wash away any stress, any potential second thoughts hid themselves in the back of his mind. Finally, he managed to unwind and let the ride play out as it did, nodding at her rather aloof comment with a low hum of approval. "I guess if we get any nice spots to rest along the way with a clear view.", although there wasn't much 'point' to it, it's not like he had given himself the courtesy of simply enjoying some nice, relaxing times all the way up to now. Not ever since he started training to become a knight, let alone while he served as one too.

He trusted Rivera to keep on the course even without guidance for a moment, and thankfully he was right. That allowed him to lean forwards a bit, reach behind him and whip out his map once again from between his armor and clothes. He held it out for Laila to take, and once she had and unfurled it, she'd easily notice a faint line traced around their path rather than in the straight beeline to Sesseth from where they were. It didn't quite go into the marshes or swamps of the surrounding areas, but it was far from the short trip it would be if they just made a run for it.

Curious to see whether she was on board or not, he looked over his shoulder and gave a nod of confidence, as if asking her to put her trust in him before he turned right back ahead. The woods were getting less dense from here, and the path even seemed a bit more dirt-y... The soil was a bit softer every here and there, and the road was clearly used by a lot of wagons and carts, probably as a trade route to a nearby village.

It had been only a few minutes since they set out, but by god the horse moved so much faster than they did on foot when they were going over to Ruina. From the greens of the forest, the trees were switching to paler looking colors with white logs becoming more and more present, and the leaves slowly turning into brighter shades of green.

"Travelling around like this... Especially when you do it as fast as we do, it feels almost like a trip just for the sake of one. Everything looks so beautiful when you get to race by it and take it in at your own pace, huh?", he thought to himself silently, looking down at Rivera once again before giving another quick glance behind him. And his grin turned into a small smile. "... It feels like I couldn't have asked for a better group too."

 

[Shreb]

She blinked as the map was handed to her, staring at this new path rather than the supposed straight line they would be going...It wasn't exactly up in her best interests to go the "safer" route, but it's not like they were an entire vanguard...They were two people on a horse, and the most notable thing they did was fight off a dragon-related creature. "Haaaaah..."

"I guess that's fiiine..."

She's a bit disappointed, but there's no other way around it; hesitation prohibits execution, and who knows what would happen if they go the faster route and danger come their way?

She lightly kicks against the horse, adjusting the reins:

Just like the manual told me!

And they took the alternative route instead. Her eyes naturally gloss over the changes in landscape; with such a vibrant shift since she was no longer stuck to the seasonal changes of her own forest, she's been pretty "look-left look-right" so much, one can only wonder how much her neck hurts. "Is there another village you wanted to go?" She commented. "There's a couple of other places we'll be passing by if we go through this route...I think as soon as we get hungry, we should go for it!"

 

[Gary Sue]

Even so, fighting off an entire dragon on their own was more than half the travellers in the world could boast, but it meant little if they were to be confronted with more than a handful of enemies at once. Numbers really mattered, although Laila was the one that managed to ward the beast off last time. It had always been Laila, back with the dragon, during their graveyard search... That's part of why he wanted to set out. Not because the pride of his title was 'insulted', but because he expected- no, wanted more out of his status. He must be better at his job, to make up for all his weaknesses.

Her disappointment was heard loud and clear, although with all the jumps of happy and let down she kept having every other sentence, Reeve paid it close to no mind. "Knowing her, she'll probably be looking at the trees more than feeling sad, and it hasn't even been a minute.", he noted her short attention span in the back of his mind, perking up somewhat upon hearing her question. He was somewhat confused by how quickly the horse had adjusted its route, glancing at his companion over his shoulder to make sure she looked confident enough about where they were headed- she did, so he would too.

Let's not follow in her steps though, stay focused to answering. His communication skills were far from ideal, so visiting a village would really be just throwing more responsibilities and errands onto Laila's back. He didn't make any plans for any places in between her shrine and Sesseth, although it sounded like a good idea to visit them as 'resting stops' whenever they ran low on supplies and especially on food. So all he could offer was a simple nod along with her proposal.

With the limited communication they had right now, they continued to make plans like so all the way until slightly after noon, when Rivera seemed to have gotten tired and they both got off to take a break. Maybe he had enough for the entire day, or maybe he'd be ready to go for a few more hours in a bit. RIght now, they'd gotten to what must have been the dead middle of some trade route. The trees were dense, but just enough so that they could rest by the side unseen in case they felt they were in any danger.

Hell, if they stayed for long enough they might see another caravan making its way through like they did some hours ago on their way here. Reeve was trying to estimate approximately where they were, and once he had a rough guess he took a waterskin and made sure to stay hydrated, offering some water to his friend too. "Ah shoot. Rivera might need some too, but... how exactly do we give him water?", he exchanged some glances between the container and the horse with furrowed brows, before looking towards the saddlebag, probably in an attempt to spot the manual.

 

[Shreb]

Ehhh...There was a lot more going on in his head, but she can't really piece it together...Man, if she could just read minds, this would be a lot easier. Not to mention, their attempts to bend the conditions of the curse meant Laila wouldn't be able to communicate so freely with Reeve the longer they stick together.

...It's an unfortunate curve.

At least the trees looked cool!

Once they got around to taking a break and Rivera was hitched to a tree, very clumsily according to the very ambiguous instructions on the manual, she hummed.

She took a sip from their waterskin. Indirect kiss! Upon his gaze to the horse, she recognized it right away.

"Huh...How to feed horse..."

The manual, after she finally came across the page, simply held a picture of a bucket and the horse drinking from it. Some symbols indicating heat could be seen drawn just above the bucket.

She stared at the picture for a long instance.

"I guess a lake would work, huh? Oh! Or! We can make a bucket with bark and hide?"

 

[Gary Sue]

Considering they were in the middle of a fairly... 'land-based' path, aye. Lake wasn't cutting it, he thought and shook his head, hearing her latter suggestion and finding it absurd. But she continued looking at him rather intensely at that, and that only made him sweat bullets. Was she expecting him to..? He was far from an artist when it came to this kind of stuff, but he couldn't just pretend he didn't hear her and watch. So he gave a dry cough, nodded and unsheathed his sword before approaching a tree.

If he just thwacked away to make a cut, he'd risk dulling it some, so instead he took his hunting knife and carved a very small cut on the bark. And then he slipped the sword's edge right below, ran it as deep as he could and now he could feel it, there was a nice, thick piece of bark ready to peel right off. So he moved it around bit by bit, until it was ready to-

KA-THUNCK!

That pop sounded a lot more satisfying than what he was expecting, as the bark slowly released itself from the tree and found itself on one of his hands. He quickly let out a shudder at the underside of it though. Bugs, some webs and it just looked a bit wet, all in all. "Gods it looks horrid... I guess I can try to peel some of the dirt off while Laila figures how to use magic to make this into a bucket... This should be thick enough to hold water without an issue, but it'll probably barely make a bucket big enough to fit the horse's snout in... I'd imagine it warps... right?"

Thoughts, thoughts... he tried figuring out exactly what was going to happen to the poor piece of wood, and by the time he was done with it a dilemma he hadn't been expecting arose. He turned with the same almost expectant look Laila had herself moments ago and shared some of his concern. She was going to use magic, right? Rivera would probably have a thing or two to add, but he either couldn't talk (no shit) or hadn't the slightest clue what was going on. So through the silent stare, he just neighed and seemed to press his front hooves up and down where he stood, just to get through what must have been some impatience. That, or Reeve needed some more lessons in horsespeak.

 

[Shreb]

As the bark came off the trees, Laila was ripping apart branches, long grass, and any nearby flexible wood. The bark helped give material that would bend and contort to Laila's needs. Smiles all around!

"Hmhmhmhm..." Laila hummed methodically, grabbing the collections of bark and whatnot as she began to divide the bark and materials she was gathering into very distinguished piles.

"Soooo, this is inner bark. It's pretty flexible as wood, and goes great with the grass right here. We'll be tying it together to make our cordage and our two hoops that'll form the bucket frame. This other pile is just straight sticks, I'll be using-"

She pulled out her comically-demonic sword. "-This to trim it down!" Before sawing away at sticks to straighten them out.

Alright, slay, queen.

What she ended up making was a fairly rounded circle of bark, creating a circular surface area for the base of the bucket, attaching some vertical sticks to create the frame, and using the "cordage" (which was just the wood and the long grass tied together) as the hoops that created the bucket's circular shape.

"Now we weave! Thanks for taking the dirt off!"

With all of the cordage, she began tying loops around the vertical support, starting from the bottom hoop and working her way around each stick and spiraling slowly up to the top, making for a fairly wide and sizable bucket.

Well done, Laila.

"And to apply a little bit of magic touch, we won't go out for water, I can just conjure it through the moisture in the air! I just need a few minutes to collect it all together before dropping it into the bucket..."

 

[Gary Sue]

Reeve couldn't help but look at the sword when she took it out, already flabbergasted enough by how many materials she mentioned, let alone gathered. This seemed like every day to Laila, and given how clumsy she otherwise is, he wouldn't have been able to tell she was just about ready to get to making any tool she might require just like that. He watched and watched, his eyes trained on her blade as though trying to feel something. "... It feels like mine, but... hollow.", he commented in the back of his mind rather silently, although even he had trouble making out exactly what the word 'hollow' meant.

Still, the image of her using a greatsword like that to trim wood was a bit... funny, to say the least. He could already feel the headache he'd be going through if he used his own blade like so, part of the reason why he avoided it. The other was that he didn't want to 'stain' his 'knightly dignity', all concepts he was half-believing in the first place. Even though his involvement in the rest of the bucket construction was close to none, he watched carefully and took notes, realising that almost no magic was used for all of this. Surely then, they'd be keeping the bucket holstered to the horse's saddle or something for future use... right?

"It does look like a major pain in the neck to go making it all over again from the start... Plus, I can't tell if the type of bark matters. Woods towards Sesseth get so lanky, it'll be too thin to use and even harder to gather... probably.", he sighed out before hearing his friend's plan to turn into a glorified humidifier. It's not like they'd be doing too much during their rest break either, so he nodded in approval and rummaged through his supplies until he found some wrapped up dried jerky he'd packed. A recent purchase, and his emergency provision of choice.

Feeling peckish, he unwrapped it and quietly looked through the rest of their inventory to make sure they had all necessary tools until their next stop. Food, water, pouches, some bandages, an extra layer of clothing for the colder nights, rolls and some cloth to set up a tent if necessary... overall, they were as prepared as they could be, given how light they had to travel for Rivera to not get overworked.

"Might have been smarter to check back before we left too, but... At least Laila made sure to. We're good either way.", the knight's own thoughts concluded before he bit into the chewy stick of meat, pulling a part of it apart and munching on it while the shrine priestess formed drops of water out of the air, bunching them into small balls of water and easing them into their newly handmade bucket. Once she'd collected a sizeable amount and he peered over the bucket to see, he couldn't help but clap his hands together in celebration. "My map is outdated, so I can't tell how long I'd have been looking for a lake for Rivera to drink from if I were alone. Having her use magic will make this journey a lot more bearable in more ways than one, won't it?"

 

[Shreb]

Water! Water, water, water, water, water!

She watched Reeve eat out a stick of dry meat, still humming away as she waited for the moisture to collect into the bucket. She pondered boiling it first, but they had their own clean water and the horse didn't necessarily need clean water unless there was literal problems with it. After all, this is just humidity.

It took a pretty long while to collect the moisture due to the fact that she had a pretty large bucket and not a lot of rain happening in front of her; these weren't rainforests, after all.

But she eventually did it! Awesome sauce, Laila!

She pushed it over to the horse, who stared at her with a tilting head.

"Rivera, this is for you~"

The horse bumped his head into Laila's.

"Ow!"

Following up by dipping his head into the bucket, slurping it away while Laila rubbed her cheek. "I think that's a good thing..."

She smacked Reeve on the back in celebration, setting her sword behind her. "Alright! Once we finish up our water, we'll keep going until nightbreak and make a pit stop at a village! Sounds good?"

 

[Gary Sue]

It really had taken her much too long, finding an actual body of water to fill the bucket up with would probably have been faster, but... If anyone had to complain here, it'd be Rivera. Maybe that's exactly what the headbutt was for- revenge for the amount of time he had to wait. The thought was enough to make Reeve chuckle, although he was caught off guard by the smack to his armored back.

"Ah, erm... We took the break for Rivera to rest, but I suppose it's been long enough that he's ready to go again or something...", he inspected their steed, running a hand up and down his mane quietly as he watched him continue drinking rather nonchalantly, only offering a quick glance and idle neigh before focusing on drinking all the bucket had to offer once more. "Looks like he doesn't have too much to say either. It shouldn't be more than a few hours before nightbreak either way, so... we could do."

That settled it then. He agreed with her plan and waited until the bucket was fresh out of water, taking it from Rivera and leaving her to unpark the horse as he tried to think up a way to hoist it somewhere on the saddle. Worst case, they could always hold while he ran, although the noise may startle or distract him which would be no good. Agh, choices, choices. "Screw it, it's not metallic either way so it shouldn't do much... I'm sure it'll be fine."

If the horse weren't Tomoe's, he might have been less over-analytic with all this. With Laila as ready as their mount was, he climbed on and held onto the reins, passing the bucket over to her. He waited for a moment and gave her a curious look, trying to see how she'd sort it out if anywhere. And once she had, they'd be back to hitting the road through the colorful forest so they'd reach the first village, their very first stop. It was surprising though, to cover that much distance in a single day... "Let's just hope we don't attract any attention once we're there."

 

[Shreb]

Off they went! Horse unhitched and ready to go! She basically ignored all of Reeve's troubles as she strapped the bucket alongside the horse, somehow, before they were up and away!!

She wasn't entirely sure how she got that bucket strapped on either, but at least it looked safely secured...?

Time to hit the road!

"Reeve, I had this funny shower thought earlier this morning: You are not the voice in your head. You are what is listening. Took me ages to figure out what it even meant, heheh. I kind of get it, though, 'cause you can't tell a voice in your head to be quiet, it's just you! You're what's listening to it!"

 

[Gary Sue]

The thought was met with a confused, odd stare, as were the many other bizarre ideas she shared with him during their trip all the way to the village. Something about Abyssals being snakes, water being wet and a few more that glossed over his mind. He didn't pay them too much mind, but he was happy he could take the time during their trip to just enjoy the moment, take in the scenery and even entertain her funny words a little bit.

By now, the sun was going down and they had just arrived outside of the first village in the few they'd be going through on their way to Sesseth. There was a long road without many stops after this village, due to the shortcut they were going to be avoiding, so they'd do best to stock up and get some good sleep, and care for Rivera too in a nearby stable they could hopefully use to board him. As the local guards checked the two and let them take the horse in, Reeve couldn't help but be surprised at the fact that even here, "There's guards..? What are they afraid of exactly? I thought villages were trusting and whatnot."

And there really was no reason other than 'for safety', to have some villagers on guard duty. That and to apparently check on some of the carriages brought in for contaminated foods, due to some disease that had broken out a few weeks ago and thankfully dispersed by now. At least that's what the knight picked up from listening to other travelers fascinated by the security running high too. "I guess even sleepy villages like this aren't safe from misfortunes."

Oh well. They took Rivera quietly through the dirt path and to what looked like a fairly well maintained stable, although parts of its hay rooftop had been somewhat roughed up. "Looks almost like someone fell through the poor thing.", a grumble and shake of his head before the stable keeper showed his face. "Aye, I see ye got a horse ye wanna board? Things are pretty hectic, but I can keep 'im or a night er so, can't do much more 'cause of all the merchants comin' through. Lotsa animals these days."

The rest of the interaction with the owner went pretty smoothly, with him taking relatively few coin for his services before boarding Rivera in one of the pens, the only one that was available right now. And so, it was just Reeve and Laila again. "I hope she's made some list for stuff to take. Provisions I'm assuming, some food for Rivera and... Ugh, what else?", scratching his head in thought, he tried to think of whatever else. It was fruitless though, so he just ended up turning to Laila and giving her a troubled look, almost pleading her to help out.

 

[Shreb]

Hm? Guards were here? Well, it must've been dangerous around these parts, she assumed? To be fair, they did fend off a wyvern not too long ago, so guards at respective villages were expected. She didn't say much, rolling with the flow of it was easier to do than asking questions everywhere.

And besides, it seems the other travelers were gossiping about some disease or something that spread around. Nothing that Laila couldn't handle, since she was a PRIESTESS and whatnot. She ended up eyeing a few other holy-rooted travelers, adorned in robes and other fancy clothes that seemed just a bit too bright for her tastes. One of them even smiled at her! She smiled back appropriately. Still, she got a couple of weirded out faces who saw this strangely demonic blade behind her back. She only politely waved back.

Feels weird to be so desirable, yet weird now, heheh...



It gave Laila a chance to really see how Reeve gets his way across with no voice; it definitely intrigued her, just watching how he reacts and "responds," and...Wow. Body language really talks. Laila couldn't help but just watch Reeve like some sort of alien. Their horse was now taken for care and now it's just them...

Ah, he's looking at her.

Oh, maybe he's thinking about what to buy?

Laila grinned. "Don't worry! I'll get us some more food for the horse, a lantern to hitch up on the horse when it's dark, and I'll even pack some extra arrows in case we need it!"

 

[Gary Sue]

Reeve had figured it must have been that the two entered on horseback, why everyone was looking at them, but it took him a hot minute or two to realise it was actually the blade hoisted on Laila's back. Having watched it quite literally get painted to life made the sight of it that much less odd, although he knew for a fact it was not your 'average sword' and it looked as out of place as it gets. It would have been nice to be able to stash it away, but hey- if the holy missionaries or whatever they were, didn't have a thing to say about it? They were fine.

"I've actually never seen how many arrows she carries with her normally. Food and lantern sounds good though... I wonder if Laila can use magic to light the lantern so it doesn't keep the horse too warm...", he let his thoughts wander after giving her a nod and making his way to where he assumed most markets would be, with lanterns having been lit all around the village by the time they were headed back, to keep the darkness from settling in. "Guess I haven't heard a horse get 'burned' by a lantern either though, so it probably doesn't matter."

Now standing outside of a wooden store that appeared to have most foodstuff, he assumed it might have food for Rivera too. "I don't see any arrows or equipment though. We should probably grab the food tomorrow, but we can check to be sure from now.", he gave the go-ahead to Laila to enter the store, staying outside for a brief moment to give the rest of the path a look. Some stalls were laid out by the sides of it, although the villagers were really just closing up store and heading home. "Were we really that late?", a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Let's see if Laila had found anything interesting- so he thought and entered right on. "Welcome, welcome! What did you say you're looking for, lassie? I can tell you exactly where it is, if I've got it.". Hey, at least the shopkeep seemed to be ignoring the demon lord's loot drop on her back, with great skill too. "... Oddly normal. Hm, oh well.""

 

[Shreb]

Store time!

She hadn't really paid attention to the time, but villages tended to have, at least, a few storeowners that would be willing to stay a little past their curfew for the sake of extra money in their pockets. The concept of being "The only store out there open" can spread very fast and people compete for that kind of thing, so Laila will happily take advantage.

"Welcome, welcome! What did you say you're looking for, lassie? I can tell you exactly where it is, if I've got it.".

"Aaaaah...Just lookin'~!"
"Mighty fine reward you snatched on yer' back, can't say I've seen anything like it! You two must be some high-time adventurers, in't that right?"
"Oh? Uh? Yeah? Yeah! Yeah, this sword, we got from a nasty vampire, vile attitude and just...Hoo! Yeah!"

Some of them must've been thinking they collected the sword as a reward or some sort of looted item...Cool, that was more believable than a happy gift from a happy half-vampire camper.

"Gyahahah! Kudos to yer' efforts, kid, y'two looking awful young to be out catching demons in their tracks, huh? From yer' looks, I'd picture you in the knights' quarters, fighting good fight against the kobolds!"
"Oh, you know! Can't be held down by military, you know?"
"THAT'S WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR! Don't get strapped down by the empire, 'else you'll just be caught in every kid's dream to fame."

There's nothing much that interested her; she really only needed stones, and she wasn't a huge stickler for buying arrowheads since they were generally easy to make. It was mostly the sticks that always took the longest, because getting a straight piece of branch and shaving it down is already tedious enough, but her arrows had to be similar sizes so her accuracy was still on point.

She hadn't really found anything interesting aside from a cool-looking polearm. She wasn't a two-handed staff user, though, she it didn't really fit her. Wide and heavy blade that curved upward at the top, and a long wooden shaft near taller than she was. Still, she wanted to ask about it.

"What's this funny-looking thing from?" She asked curiously.
"Bah? This? Fancy guan-dao, she called it. South-Eastern, judging by hers' attire. The Wardancers used to use em' back in the Greywood skirmishes, didya' know?"
"No? What's Greywood?"
"Somethin' you wouldn't be learning about these days. Generations ago, when the kobs sought to claim Taeramun and capture it, they hired the Wardancers, small small tribe off the coasts of the Kadena Islands, and this was their main craft. They're very few and far divided now, but there's one thing that you'll recognize 'em by. The dance! Their moves kinda' like water, and they use their elbows and legs to swing the blade around. Training like that takes decades, far too long for the knights to learn, but the kobs never stook an inklin' against that."
"Why's it called Greywood?" She asked, picking up some stones. Obsidian, flint...These'll work.
"Between Taeramun and the kobs' base was some bridges, flatlands, and a valley where the grey mountains were. You'll see plenty of trees captured by the grey mists, overlooking Veila just nearly, and it's said there contains a stone material that could give a weapon thinking and breathing life. These days, though, the Gardeners have it in control while the Matou dynasty holds all of the mining deposits, and well, they're not bad, but I had a chance to see the Wardancers in action. It's a miasma, I'll tell ya' now!"
"Huh...Cool..."

Laila wasn't quite sure what else to say about it. "Um..I'll take these stones...And do you happen to have straight-cut sticks?"
"BAM! HERE THEE IS, KID!"
"Eek! Gotcha! I'll take a dozen!"

Add some haggling, and...

"Oh, Reeve, did you want anything?"

 

[Gary Sue]

The last thing Reeve was expecting to see soon as he stepped into the shop, was a history lesson unfolding before him. Although he was mostly unaware of the politics behind races and settlements themselves, seeing as he lived in a village remote from most of the 'key points' everyone would rather talk about, all this was news to him. Even so though, he'd hung around Velia the last few months for long enough to feel somewhat bad at the grim descriptions of the Wardancers' elegant moves, when taking into consideration just how gruesome the result would end up looking. Throw into the mix the Kobolds' underwhelming physical strength, and...

"It sounds like pure massacre. If the Wardancers took over the mines though, then I guess the Kobolds lost access to these materials. It's... a shame, considering they're the most well versed in magic and all...", he huffed and shook his head in slight disapproval, although Laila had agreed with 'fighting the good fight' to (probably) get gramps off their case. If she didn't argue back or try to explain their situation, there'd be less discussion to be had. For the best if anything, right now.

Once his war stories were over and done with, Reeve watched the haggling between the two play out. He could do many things just with body language and a tough look on his face, but this, he could not. It was a crying shame, but that's why Laila was filling in the 'gap' in his skillset. When she addressed him, he shook his head and looked at the 'gao pao' or whatever the man called it... It sounded as foreign to him as the rest of her equipment, and it looked like it'd have some uses for the lass, were she not already wielding the supreme painted blade of darkly enchanted death on her back.

"Is she sure she doesn't want it, after eyeing it for so long? It's probably not that expensive, and with all of what Ari gave us, we've got some to spare... Although storage space is a big problem, temporarily."

 

[Shreb]

There's honestly no reason to get it...It's clearly high quality and works well for outdoors, but Laila wasn't really planning on having another weapon, she barely had any space to get more, so...She denied it, long story short.

Still, at least there was someone to remember, and they were ready to call it a night. It was inn time!

"Is there anything you're looking to do outside of bodyguard work? Like, retirement-wise, you ever thought about doing something, old-man style? Like owning a small bakery in the middle of nowhere, becoming a hermit, becoming a fisherman...That kind of stuff!"

 

[Gary Sue]

With the two's trip by the store concluding, they waved goodbye to the storekeeper and moved on to find their inn for the night. It wasn't hard to do so, as it was quite literally only a few buildings down the very same street. They entered, Laila had a quick chat with the innkeep in Reeve's stead, and he simply paid them the coin necessary to finish the transaction. Past that, the two went into the cozy room with the wooden flooring and settled their things down. While he was taking off his armor however, Laila's more talkative side seemed to have come up with another almost completely random question.

She earned little more than a confused glance, although the man gave it a bit of thought while he finished removing every part of his chest armor from his person. "... Retirement, huh? It's a good twenty or so years until then. Many things can change in the meantime.", his thoughts wandered and ran, and she was simply met with a rather disappointing shake of his head. He was clumsy, and good with a sword more than anything else. Cooking was by far not his forte, one could ask his mother for how badly he'd botched a basic stew once, and although he could do with handiwork, he's more likely to horribly fail at making high quality goods than make something halfway decent.

Just like he said in the back of his mind though, many things can change until retirement. Especially now that the two had no safety net to fall back on, he'd have to pick up some new skills. Cooking properly, foraging foods and useful materials alike, cleaning up wounds and treating them... all fairly useful skills that could definitely get him a job at some point in the future. What about her though? "Everyone in Laila's family is a shrine priest, but they've all gone on adventures after. But it's not like being a servant to the gods will suddenly pay for your living expenses."

So he passed the question right back to her, gesturing towards her with his head and raising a curious eyebrow. What would she be doing once she retired?