"Well… depending," Aesir sighed, "Because I might be able go get whoever it is to stop and make any necessary reparations. But I don't know if the quest giver would be alright with that. It's up to you guys. We can look into it more, but if things look troublesome, we can back out."
"You're intent on protecting them?" Castor asked, "I thought you'd kind of abandoned that life."
"There's an understanding," Aesir replied, "A kinship, of sorts. People steal for all sorts of different reasons, but for many- at least those independent of guilds- it's usually out of necessity."
Delta nodded a bit. "Alright. We'll look into it, and if you're uncomfortable with it, we can find another quest to do. There's lots of adventurers in this area, especially with this project, so I'm sure someone else can do it if we don't." They picked up their papers and stuck them in their bag.
"Works for me." Nich shrugged and stood, wincing a bit. "I'm not exactly picky what we do, anyway. Especially since you guys barely know me."
"Fair enough," Aesir replied, "Hopefully, it won't be a hassle, and we can get it done."
Castor tilted his head. "And if not? Got anything else in there?"
"Yeah, plenty. Feel free to take a look and see if there's anything that interests you." Delta passed the papers to Castor and finished off their coffee. "We've got plenty of time to finish the project, but this particular quest may not be available soon, Stu we may want to get going."
Castor skimmed the papers.
"I see. I'll look at the rest later, if things don't work out here," he said, "We should get on that, then."
Aesir agreed, emptying their mug.
"Yup. I'm ready whenever you lot are."
Delta nodded and put the papers back in their bag for the time being. Once everyone was up, they looked to Aesir. "Alright, Aesir. Do you know the way?" They asked. "I can guide us with a map if needed, or Finn can use a direction spell, but if it already know how to get there that would be quicker."
"I think we can manage between me and Nich here," Aesir replied, "Let me see that location once more?"
Castor stood up with a slight groan. He pressed a hand to his side and massaged around the wound gently.
(Thief perhaps new character? 👀👀👀 Just not a rogue archetype thief)
(Oooh)
Delta handed Aesir the paper with the location written on it, which Nich checked out as well. "Oh, I know where this is! It might take a while to get there, but not any longer than a day. Do you guys have to wait around to get a reward for dealing with the gnolls, or are we just going to get going now?" He asked, looking at the group.
(Yeah! I'll have to think a bit, but I'll probably have them figured out tomorrow. Probably some sort of magic user though)
"We need to get some stuff signed off, actually," Castor said, "While we're at it, we might as well pick up the reward."
Aesir finished looking over the paper as well. "Yeah, and this trip should be fine. Like he said, it's not too horribly far. It makes an almost perfect triangle between here and the school."
(Ooo)
"Sounds good." Nich nodded and shifted his stance, his prosthetics clunking on the floor. "I wonder how I'd do at a magic school. I never really had the money to go to school past high school." He laughed sheepishly, and Delta looked over at him sympathetically.
"They might be willing to let you in, even if it's a year or two late." Finn shrugged. "Especially if you've got the talent. They're always looking for fresh adventurers."
"Well, it's never really too late. We have people of all ages taking classes there, although it is mostly younger adventurers," Aesir explained, "You can always get someone to sponsor you, too. I didn't have the money, so that's what happened to me."
Castor nodded. "Same here. After working with some of the right people, they recommended the school to me and helped me pay my way."
"Yeah, I guess so…" Nich laughed nervously. "I just… thought it might be interesting, I dunno. That might not be a good enough reason to invest in adventuring school or whatever."
"As long as it's a good reason for you, it doesn't really matter!" Finn insisted with a bright while. "Even if you're only going for fun, that's a good enough reason in my book. It could be a good experience, who knows?"
"Speaking of which, why are you guys here?" Aesir asked, "What pushed you to make the decision? I came because I thought it could maybe help me do something with my life besides thieving for a living. And since I was able to get a sponsorship, money ended up working out. Actually… the person who gave me the sponsorship lives here."
Castor shrugged. "Well, I basically explained it already. I accepted the financial help because I wanted to grow stronger, so I can take on harder contracts when others can't. I want to be able to protect people."
"I've always wanted to be an adventurer." Finn replied with a bright smile. "Going to the school was just the next step for me, and my parents are helping me pay."
"I was already doing it more or less, so I figured I might as well get the proper schooling and certification." Delta shrugged. "How I got the money to do so is my business."
"Shady! I like it!" Nich hit Delta's arm playfully and they rolled their eyes.
"No one was gonna question how you got the money 'til you brought it up," Aesir laughed, "That said, I know better than to press on it."
Castor gave a halfhearted smile in response
Delta huffed and crossed their arms. "Well, um… now that that's out of the way!" Finn laughed nervously, looking around at the group. "We should probably get going, yeah? We can keep chatting on the way. Not about money though, I guess."
"Yeah, yeah," Aesir sighed, "Let's collect that pay, get our papers signed off-"
They got up and walked ahead of the others before giving a little wave to the barkeep.
"Thanks for everything!"
Castor got up from his spot, letting out a deep breath as a stitch of pain lanced up his side. He would be fine to travel, probably, but it sure kept him quiet.
The tavern keeper waved the group off, and soon they were gone. "I guess we'll have to find other accommodations now that this quest is done." Finn hummed thoughtfully. "This tavern isn't especially close to the new quest anyway, right?" He asked, to which Delta and Nich nodded.
"There's more taverns around that we could stay in. And I could charm my way into getting people to let us stay with them…" Nich replied. "A lot of people around here know me, after all."
"Right. We can always use some of the money from this quest to fund accommodations for the next one, too," Aesir suggested, "Free inn rooms are better, but we should have the means anyhow."
Castor let out a deep sigh. "Sure, but could we maybe… not room together this time? You and me?"
Aesir frowned and gave a little shrug. "If you have a problem, you can say that straight out, y'know."
"We can also get all separate rooms." Nich suggested. "It doesn't matter. Like Aesir said, we can use the money from this quest for accommodations." Finn nodded in agreement, wandering idly in the midst of the group.
"Or we can switch up the rooming. It doesn't matter. I know Finn can fall asleep regardless of what's happening around him, so." They ruffled Finn's hair teasingly and he huffed. "And I'm not particularly bothered by anything either."
"It seems wasteful to all go separately," Aesir sighed, "And to clarify, I was literally just reading until I fell asleep. I'm not really sure what his problem is unless it's just my presence that gets on his nerves."
Castor glanced at his feet. "Maybe I just shouldn't have said-"
"I don't really give a damn. My feelings aren't hurt. I'm not for everyone, and I'm well aware of that? And have I maybe struck a nerve with you a few times? Yeah. But getting all huffy about it has helped exactly none of us. To be fair, I don't know you all that well. I don't know what makes you tick."
"Guys, fighting isn't conducive to… anything, either. Okay? Let's just… let's just drop it." Finn insisted, looking a bit nervous to see that there was infighting with the group already. "It's not a big deal. We can switch up the rooming and it'll be fine. Let's see, um…" He looked at the other members of the group, trying to think of a solution. "How about… Castor, you room with Delta. They're really quiet and they go to bed early, so they shouldn't do anything that bothers you." He looked to Delta for consent, and they nodded. "And Nich, Aesir, and I can share another. I can sleep anywhere, so if I need to sleep on the floor or a couch or something, that's fine."
"That- that's fine," Castor sighed under his breath, shoving a hand in his pocket.
Aesir shrugged. "Also fine with me. We could set up a bedroll on the couch, and it'll be comfortable enough."
They took the head of the group, trying to steer them back towards the farmhouse so they could get their pay and their forms signed.
"Sounds good. Let's- let's get going now…" Finn sighed softly in relief, glad that he had seemingly defused the situation. He carried on in the midst of the group, occasionally glancing around at the others to make sure they were alright. Delta followed along quietly, and Nich chatted idly with anyone who would reply to him.
Aesir turned their head back to chat with the others, and Castor held up the rear again, staying pretty quiet. He didn't feel nearly as bad as before, but something about getting hurt in battle made him want to close off again. They all seemed to get along so well, but he had to cause problems. Maybe if Aesir would just keep their damn mouth shut-
"So, Nich," Aesir said, twirling a dagger in their hand, "D'ya know Bud the Violent? The half-orc who runs that bakery in town? He apparently was an adventurer for a while. Attended the academy at some point. I wonder why he didn't help out with the gnoll situation."
"Oh, yeah! I know him. I go to the bakery all the time." Nich hummed thoughtfully, his tails swaying behind him. "Good stuff. It is weird that he didn't help out though, now that I think about it. He runs the bakery by himself, so he could always close down for a day to go handle it. I bet he could've dealt with those things in no time." Finn and Delta listened curiously, but didn't contribute. "Why do you think he might have chosen not to? Surely he knew about it."
"Well, upon further thought, I guess if he didn't have the backup, it would've been nearly impossible. He's a bard like Finn," Aesir explained, "More of a healer than a fighter."
Castor finally spoke up from the back. "A… half-orc who's a bard… and runs a bakery? That's almost unheard of. Most of the orcs at the academy are fighters or something like that. Maybe learn a handful of healing spells or wards for tight situations."
"Well, yes. But that's because orcs have larger statures than most of the rest of us, giving them the edge in fighting. They also on average have a lower affinity for magic. But that doesn't mean they can't do those things. It's just a lot of them have to work twice as hard. Actually, my half-orc half-brother is a sorcerer. Bud's not the only of his kind."
"Aesir, with all due respect, you always sound like you're fucking lying."
Aesir threw their head back and laughed. "Right? I wish I had the imagination to make this shit up."
"I suppose so. Weird that his moniker is 'violent' when he's a bard, though." Nich laughed softly and looked over his shoulder at the rest of the group. Finn yawned and toyed with his hair, which was falling into his eyes. Delta appeared to be preoccupied with their thoughts, or otherwise tuning out the conversation. "I know he's got some friends who aren't bards, though. I mean, whatever… you guys dealt with it well enough, so I guess it doesn't really matter in the end anyway."
"I'm sure he had his reasons," Aesir said with a shrug, "And it sounds like a name he may have picked up if he ever lived in an orc stronghold- maybe it's even his given name. But who knows?"
Castor went back to keeping to himself. It was a shame he couldn't really find common ground with the others, when even Nich and Aesir, who had never met before, seemed to be hitting it off.
"Yeah, I guess that's true. Just not something I think about since most people's given names don't include a title." Nich shrugged as well. Finn looked over to Castor and noticed how withdrawn and quiet he'd become. He was immediately a bit concerned and glanced at the others before he moved closer to Castor.
"Hey… um… are you okay?" He asked in a whisper so as to not alert the others.
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