Check inventory, then check priorities, then (assuming this agrees with priorities) get up, get ready for your day.

[x]Check Inventory

>Hunting knife and sheath
>Mr. Hoot the owl totem
>4 coppers
>2 beef tongues
>some bread
>Bedsheets from Devorite church
>Letter to Varya

[x]Check priorities

You comb through your mind to organize everything you've been thinking of taking care of the past few days.

>Research magic
>Don't starve
>Find a better way to store all your curiously increasing amount of stuff
>Be less illiterate
>Deliver letter to Varya

You think there's other stuff you could add on to that, but those are the more important ones.

[x]Get up and get ready for your day

You pat down your hair somewhat and climb out of bed already fully dressed in your usual clothes. There, as ready for the day as could be expected of you. You rewrap your scarf around your mouth snugly.

Kurush taps on the door lightly, speaking through it to you. "We'll be leaving for work shortly. There's food in the kitchen if you want to eat."

You hear him walk away and you're alone again. It's time for another day of work, it seems.

But before that...

[ ]Eat breakfast
[ ]Explore room
[ ]Other

(X) EAT!

>>545899
Eat. There will most likely be time for exploration later on and rummaging around in another's home is considered impolite anyways.

Be as quick as we can with out mouth. Don't want to slow down our new friend.

Eat. If he has any bread, eat your old bread before it goes bad and pocket the new bread.

[x]Eat breakfast

You leave the room and give a brief glance around. The home seems to be a single-story flat. Off the main room, which houses the kitchen and a modest sitting area, you see an entrance into a second bedroom. You guess it's probably Kurush's. It's certainly one of the nicest places you've stayed in since... ever, really. Everything was tidy and there was a large, ornate red carpet that spread across the floor.

Kali is lounging sleepily by the door and Kurush is nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he left ahead of you already? Whatever the case is, he left a bowl of cooked lentils mashed into a thick paste and a piece of flatbread on the table alongside a pitcher of water.

You lower your scarf and use the flatbread to hastily spoon the paste into the side of your mouth and soak the bread in the water to reduce it to a more manageable mush consistency and stuffed your face with that as well. Your stomach is a little sore from eating so quickly, but you have to get to work before Kurush starts to get to wondering where you are.

You start heading towards the door. Kali rises up and wags her tail at the sight of you.

tap tap tap

From beneath your feet comes a strange sound. You freeze in place

taptap tap tap taptap tap...

Something beneath the carpet is shaking, almost imperceptibly. You creep closer towards the door, never taking your eyes away from the spot on the ground where the noise is coming from.

taptaptaptaptaptap

It's almost like it's getting impatient now. You clutch onto Kali's collar and begin tiptoeing out the door.

taptaptaptaptaptapTAPTAPTAPTAP

BANG

The middle of the carpet suddenly leaps with an unseen force.

[ ]ESCAPE
[ ]Stay to investigate
[ ]Other

>>545993
I vote to escape. If Kali isn't freaking out, then this is normal enough that leaving it alone will not be an issue. We also have to get to work.

walk away, calmly. Kali was there for you last time when that woman tried to take you, it will keep an eye out for you this time as well.
Besides, if there's one thing that's obvious, magic is a strange and unpredictable thing! Though this looks interesting, relax, and see what the show is!

By all means, make like your title frame and pose. Run, I mean.

Run. RUN!

>>545993
Retreat a bit, but don't run quite yet. Look whether Kali is alarmed. We are in the house of a magic user in hiding after all. A secret cellar with a weird entrance is probably par for the course.

[x]Retreat slowly and calmly

Kali doesn't seem troubled by the noises, strange as they are. Your heart is still pounding, but you decide to trust in her. She would help you out if something was wrong, right? Like how she attacked the lady yesterday. Kali looked up at you, panting contentedly. Yeah. It'll be alright as long as she's with you.

You close the door quietly behind you as the thumping abruptly ceases. You head to work as quickly as possible.

Kurush is at his counter, making notes in a ledger. He mutters something about organizing his shelf of mushrooms and you set to work grouping them by color and size. You eventually finish up with the task, but no customers have come in yet.

Kurush seems to have completed whatever he was doing and is browsing through a ratty-looking book.

You suppose you could ask him about the thumping noise under the floor from earlier or perhaps something else.

>>546336
(Quickly check if someone could listen in. You are in a 'safe' place right now, but you should get into the habit of always checking and there can always be random passers-bys, especially if you are in a shop.)
Ask about the thumping. It was probably nothing alarming, but there is no harm in making sure. Find out if there are other strange noises/sights you should not be alarmed by.

>>546394
ditto

>>546394
We are in accord.

[x]Ask about the noises from the floor

You keen your ears to your surroundings. There is distant noise, the chatter of the daytime city. You don't think there's anyone who's about to come in.

"When you left, I heard shoundsh from the floor. Like there wash shomething down there."

Kurush flips through a few more pages soundlessly. Eventually he leans over the counter and stares down at you. A chill runs down your spine. Looking him in the face is too hard, so you stare at his thick, hairy forearms instead.

"There are no sounds."

He sits back down and resumes flicking through the book.

No sounds. Right. Great. Maybe you dreamed it all or maybe Kurush really doesn't want you to know what's down there. Provided there is something down there. It could just be the wind. Horrible, violent underground wind.

The shop door opens with a slight creak and two men enter. One is impossibly massive, so huge and musclebound that he has trouble fitting through the doorway. His hands are easily large enough to squash your head like an overripe fruit and thick veins bulge out of his arms and neck, pulsing furiously. The other man was tucked delicately in the crook of his beefy arm. What few parts of his lips weren't blistered were raw and red instead and his blackened fingers were gnarled and revealed flashes of exposed bone.

The charred man lifted a hand and spoke with a thin, dry voice. "You and your dog... did quite a number on Ashoka... little girl. Though perhaps this... would not be an issue... if that one over there..." He waved weakly at Kurush. "...didn't loan fighting dogs out to children..."

"Emmy is quite insistent you join up," adds the huge man. "Ashoka will be unable to perform for some time and Nadab is on his last legs, so there are vacancies to be filled."

A plume of fire erupts from the charred man's mouth, singeing the hem of your coat. The massive man lumbers closer and you're overwhelmed by the stench of scorched meat.

"Take responsibility... for the damage you've caused!"

[ ]Fight
[ ]Flight
[ ]Surrender
[ ]Other

"I was just walking the dog when that lady came up to me, and then the weird thoughts started, like I was unloved, and then the dog got really mad! I didn't mean for her to get hurt, I just got scared...I hear you guys take in people like me but...That scared me, thinking and feeling like that."
Play up the sad, frightened little girl angle.
Ironically, if the lady just straight up tried to tell us about the caravan we'd probably have gone alone or agreed too after we finished with the dog walking. Too heavy-handed I suppose...

>>546669
be Superwhy, with the power to annoy! Ask why alot, act ignorant, then when things get serious:

"D'you like her?
(Y/N)

(Y)
"How come you liker when shesf so pushy/baussy?

(N)
"So tell her not to try and pick up streetrats like they're hookersf; Some bite.

>>546669
Be mindful of how Kurush reacts. (But don't look to obviously if possible, just a glance at the beginning and maybe a couple seconds later.) Follow his lead as your current guardian, if he tries to lead the conversation anywhere or flee. If he tries to move around while they are distracted by you, distract them by talking. A surprise attack while they are focused on the harmless girl and frightening dog might be the best chance of winning a fight.

Without clear conversational lead or if you aim to distract them: Do not directly deny them! You are not opposed to a magic community, you did NOT want to harm her, you were just scared etc. Keep them from attacking, keep them talking if possible.

Mention that the authorities will have all of you killed. Attracting attention will harm all of us and the magic community as a whole (more bad rep). Fire is also one of the most dangerous things that can happen in a city and will be dealt with very harshly not only be the authorities but also bring the populace against you. Because of this it is likely they want to threaten you into joining them without actually attacking. Use this to your advantage. Sadly, they might also have a plan for gettin away quickly and consider their reputation too bad to be affected by such actions.

>Be wary. Don't fight if possible. They want to intimidate you, act(/be) intimidated.

"I didn't mean to hurt her. I wash on a walk and she came up to me and told me she'd tell me about magic if I came with her and I got a weird feeling from being around her and I got shcared and Kali bit her and--"

"And you called her a witch and the guards came to investigate, which caused us more trouble even with them being as useless as they are," the massive man replied flatly.

"It seems likely... we'll have to reroute the caravan... yet again."

You glance over to Kurush briefly. He's slowly rising from his seat. He's got one hand concealed.

"I'm shorry. I didn't mean for any of thish to happen. I didn't want to hurt your friend or mesh up your travel plansh or get you in trouble with the guardsh. It'sh amazing that there are people like me out there, but I can't join your group."

"You seem to be... under the impression... that this is an option."

The charred man's mouth swells full with fire and spews out a ball of flame that catches your hair and scarf. Heat sears across your cheek as the flames devour, adding burnt hair to the already putrid odor permeating through the shop. You manage to flap it out before it does too much damage.

"You will get... no more warnings..." croaked the charred man.

The massive man steadies his companion in one arm and grabs you by the neck of your coat in a serpent-like movement and turns around to drag you. Kali's booming barks fill the store and she leaps upon your attacker, sinking her fangs into his meaty arm.

The massive man stared blankly at her as she struggled to tear through his dense muscle. "Well, that almost hurts. Good effort."

"Wretched... BEAST--" The rest of whatever the fire wielder was going to say was swallowed up in his own flames as he spat a particularly large and bright fireball at Kali.

The fighting dog yelps, but only sinks her teeth deeper. Kurush leaps forward, hands outstretched. Each palm has a giant pale mushroom sprouting from it that explode on contact with the giant's face, raining down spores over the five of you. More mushrooms swell rapidly in their place only to burst as he beats the intruders like a crazed animal and the spores keep coming, thicker and denser until your eyes slide shut and the world goes black.

>>546924
>Awaken
Hopefully this won't bite us in the ass too badly... It's their own fault though.

[x]Awaken

Your head is a throbbing mass of pain parasitically latched onto your neck. The simple act of blinking is nearly enough to knock you unconscious again, so you lay on the ground, breathing slowly. Your mouth feels dry and you can still smell the burning stench heavy in the air. You try to twitch a finger, but find that you can't move it or any other part of your body. Mustering all the willpower in your body, you manage to open one eye and observe the state of the shop through a bleary lens. Kali is wrapped up in bandages nearby, you think.

You hear Kurush before you see him. He picks you up and hoists you over one shoulder before hefting Kali over the other. Your head lolls around like that of a ragdoll but you can't seem to find signs of the intruders anywhere in the short walk between your spot on the ground and the door.

Kurush fumbles with his burdens momentarily, but manages to lock up shop somehow and you know you're on your way back to his home.

"It'll be a few hours before the spores wear off. Sorry," he says. "But they won't be bothering us again any time soon. You'll just have to rest for a bit."

[ ]Speak
[ ]Dream
[ ]Be that other guy
[ ]Other

[x]Speak
Apologize.

If we are able, say "thank you". Then drift off to sleep.

[x]Speak
Apologise for getting the dog hurt and thank him for rescuing you.

You mutter an apology for everything: Kali getting hurt, the presence of the men in the shop, for being useless to stop any of the troubles that invariably seem to follow you. Kurush doesn't respond, but you guess he accepts it and doze off once more.

You sleep hard and your dreams are blissfully empty.

When you do awake again, there's a steady thumping noise coming from one of the other rooms, but it stops abruptly once you get out of bed. Maybe Kurush is right. There is no noise. None at all.

You wander around the house, but can't find signs of Kurush or Kali being around. There's a bowl of rice and a pitcher of water on the table that you help yourself to. There are no notes--not that you could read them, anyway--indicating where they could've gone. Perhaps they've gone ahead to the shop already?

[ ]Go to shop
[ ]Explore house
[ ]Other

[] Other
Hrrrm...Time we learned to actually USE our magic, somehow. In our case...We have the massively overgrown teeth..
Imagine the magic in those teeth flowing down your teeth, through your skull, down your spine, through your shoulders and down to your fingernails, where it collects, growing more potent, needing something, ANYTHING, to do, and then push, gently at first, but more and more, until something happens, and the magic begins to ebb away...

>>554500
I'm sorry but NO! Absolutely no unsupervised random channeling of unknwon magic in the middle of a small and fragile sanctuary in hostile environment! Never, ever do that!

>>554491
After this I would prefer not to walk outside alone for a while. Kurush has probably hidden us away here. I'm sure he will come back soon.

>explore the house
Maybe there is something useful we can do around here. Clean or the like. Try not to disturb too many things though.

>>554500
Let's wait until we have talked about this at least once with someone who knows more. I suggest we wait for our dear saviour and do this then.

[x]Do magic, wait for Kurush

You've never actually attempted to try out using your magic, but if Kurush can use his, surely that means you can figure out how to do it too. You close your eyes and focus on your teeth, the most obvious sign of the plague that you're afflicted with. A slight hum resonates in the core of your oversized incisors. Perhaps if you could...?

You try to direct the buzz, urge it out of your mouth. Sharp pain throbs through your teeth and you lose all concentration. No, this was a mistake. You'll end up like the others. Your bones will get all crunched up and wrong like Felix's did when he got magic.

Clasping your hands to your mouth, you wander the house and wait for the pain to subside. Quite some time passes, but Kurush does not return. You suppose that the only other place he could be is the shop.

As you leave, you hear a soft, mournful sound coming from under the floor. But there's nothing down there. Kurush told you so.

The shop is unlocked, but empty. Did he want you to run the shop until he came back? That meant he trusted you, right? Yay, responsibility!

Then you realize you have no idea how to run a shop or even how much any of the stuff in here costs. What if someone broke in and tried to rob you? You couldn't really do anything to stop them. And what if a customer wants something you don't have? You don't think you've seen even half of the things that Kurush has in here. And what if the customer buys something and needs change? You don't know where Kurush keeps the money. And what if the customer got angry at you because you didn't know how to do anything?

You change your mind, responsibilities were awful.

"Oh, Saniyya? Is that you? It's been so long since I've last seen you." An elderly woman hobbles into the shop and gets uncomfortably close to you, squinting hard. "Oh, my apologies. You're not her after all. Does she still work here?"

[ ]Answer truthfully
[ ]Lie
[ ]Other

>>565828
>Truth
We don't know who Saniyya is. Did she work her before?

>>566034
"I don't know anyone named that," you mumble. "Did she work here before?"

Kurush hadn't mentioned having other employees. As far as you knew, this place had been a one-man operation until he hired you on.

"Yes, yes. She was a part of the shop since Kurush came to Rawling. She was the sweetest little thing. Always had a kind word for everyone, always went out of her way to do good for the townspeople to make up for Kurush being so unsociable. Business was quicker because folks would come in to see her. The whole place just brightened up when she was around. But she disappeared one day. Up and left without telling anyone. No one knows where she went or why. Kurush was particularly devastated. The shop ended up closed for a week." The woman sighed. "There was never an investigation of her disappearance. Runaways weren't worth the effort of looking, the guards said. It didn't make sense for her to leave, so we all assumed that she would come back some day. Poor thing. She was just about your age."

[ ]Question further
[ ]End conversation
[ ]Other

Two possible explanations come to mind: She might have been kidnapped for her powers (would explain his fierceness in fighting them) or he killed her when his powers awoke.

In any case, a touchy subject we should not yet touch with him.

>"Thank you for telling me this. Kurush took me in just yesterday, is there anything I should know if I work for him?"

"Thank you for telling me. Kurush took me in just yeshterday, ish there anything I should know if I work for him?"

The old woman thinks it over for a little bit. "I can't say there's anything in particular I know of. He scarcely leaves his home or the shop and he never was much of a talker. There's a lot of rumors about him being a dogfighter with all those scars and that huge dog of his, but rooster fights are more popular here. The only one who knew anything about him was Saniyya. I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm afraid that I must get going to prayer service. It was lovely meeting you. I'll stop in again some time."

She left and the shop remains empty for several hours until Kurush finally arrives around noon with a sluggish, bandaged-up Kali in tow.

"Any business?"

You shake your head no.

"I expected about as much. Though it might've been for the best, since I doubt you know the first thing about shopkeeping. I suppose we'll have to fix that. We have the rest of the day to get you started. Where would you like to begin?"

[ ]Basic math
[ ]Reading/Writing 101
[ ]Learn about stock
[ ]Magic
[ ]Other

probably should learn what he's selling if you're going to work here so might as well start there. So Learn about stock I guess.

Hrrm. Torn between basic math and the stock, myself...
Basic Math-we can't maintain the shop on our own yet, but with this we might be able to assist Kurush somewhat.

Stock and the absolute necessities of math seem like a good start.

[x]Basic Math/Stock

You sort of learned a little bit of math from Felix in Colcliv but you had forgotten most of it in the time that has passed since then, seeing as being a hobo child has not called for it. Kurush works over enough problems with you that you feel sort of familiar with sums. Single digits were easy, double digits were where it started getting tough. You could probably keep track of small change transactions.

>Acquired: Basic Addition/Subtraction

The stock was more difficult. Kurush's shop had more odds and ends than you could wrap your head around. Furniture, books, clothes, holy icons and sculptures, musical instruments, tools, and especially all the mushrooms. You had thought them to be simple, if grotesque oddities generated from Kurush's magic, but there was more to them than you had expected. Mushrooms for dyeing clothes, mushrooms for eating, tinder mushrooms, mushrooms that could be made into something like leather, mushrooms for killing, mushrooms for healing, and somehow there were more still. There were so many varieties and colors that you couldn't begin to keep track of them all, but Kurush said that there was a book under the counter that explained each and every one in entirely too much detail. Also under the counter was a ledger of the prices of the various items in the shop.

You get a handful of customers throughout the day, most of whom immediately request a variety of mushrooms and by watching Kurush, you start to get an idea of how things work around here. Watching the shop doesn't seem as difficult as you initially thought.

Right before Kurush closes up the shop for the day, a familiar woman in armor struts through the door.

"Heard you had some interesting wares, shopkeep." Leta marches up to the counter with her hand at the ready on her sword. "Any recommendations in par--well, I'll be."

Her eyes lock squarely on you.

"Just the other day you were brawling with the best of them and now you've got a little job? How cute."

She smiles and abruptly hoists you over her shoulder.

"Hey shopkeep, you can keep your junk for now. I'm going to borrow this kid for a while. She's an acquaintance of mine and I'd like to catch up with her. It feels like it's been a year since I've seen her. You don't mind, do you?"

[ ]Input

sure, she was one of the first people that didn't chase us away so it shouldn't be to bad... unless she was hired by the caravan. Ask if you could talk in here for now at first and see what she has to say.

>>567643
Sure. But for the moment stay near enough that Kurush (or some other people) would probably hear us scream. Also try to make sure at all times that she can not easily and quickly stop us from screaming.
>The first can be rescinded if she seems to only have friendly intentions.
>For the second one I would be ok with staying at about half a meter distance most of the time and being very careful if not. Jovially wrapping her arm around us or similar things should be avoided for now.
(I know I'm paranoid, but there is little harm in too much paranoia and a lot in too little.)

Ummm, I don't mind but we kind of got these magic carnival people mad at us...

"I don't mind, but I don't think we should leave. There are people who are angry at me." Leta's been nice to you but you don't want to get her wrapped up in all your mess. Kurush said that the caravan members wouldn't be bothering you any time soon, but you have no idea if they've left town or not yet.

She sets you down and Kurush busies himself reorganizing his counter as you find a place in the corner to chat.

"You know if there's someone heckling you, you can always just beat the shit out of them."

"That'sh why they're mad at me in the firsht place."

You could've gone peacefully with the jester lady or maybe even ignored her and ran away, but somehow you don't think that would've worked in your favor. If Kali hadn't attacked the jester lady, you would be the prisoner of a large number of magic users who were much more experienced and capable with their powers than you are. Unless that lady was like you, someone who got magic and didn't know what to do with it. Maybe she had started using it and didn't realize it. Your stomach begins to twist.

"If you keep beating up the people they send, eventually they'll run out of people. Or they'll contract out and have someone try to kill you in your sleep. I've been in both circumstances. If they're really determined, that's when it's time to move. Don't ever overstay your welcome, kiddo. It only hurts you in the long run."

You ineffectively dodge her attempt to tousle your hair.

"But enough about that, I'm glad I ran into you. I've got another job coming up and I was just thinking that I could use a second set of hands. Are you interested?"

"what?" hey we got money last time we helped her and she seems experience enough to know what a kid can and can't do so I wouldn't expect her to pit you up against a knight with years of experience.

also ask what you do if the people in question tend to move around and may be leaving soon themselves, just wait them out?

>>567691
Interested she is, but uncertain whether to compromise our plan of lying low. Then again our enemies already know where we live so lying low would probably not have worked and she does kind of need money.

>Reluctantly agree.

Before you even consider the request, you feel the need to diminish the threat of the caravan in your mind. "When people are mad at you but they travel a lot, should you leave even if you think they're going to leave shoon?"

"If they're going one way, then you sure as heck better be going the other. There's nothing to stop them from coming back around. Maybe they'll forget something. Maybe they get their horses stolen and have to go back to the nearest town. Maybe they can't stand the thought of leaving you alive and decide to give it another go. Or maybe they will go away for a while. But you don't know how long that'll be. Unless they're true wanderers, people always retread familiar ground eventually."

With that to consider, you suppose it couldn't hurt to hear her out on the job offer.

"There's a city in the east called Nellidae. It's about a quarter day's ride out and I've been asked to assist in removing some unwanted visitors from a doctor's clinic on the outskirts of town. A group of raiders invaded the place a week and a half ago and apparently the local enforcement is too tied up in the rest of the town's problems to handle it in a timely manner, so the job's been contracted out. I have a couple friends in the area who would be more than happy to come along. I only want someone to watch the horses and our extra gear. A few extra hands to carry whatever we get off them wouldn't hurt either. You'll be back by nightfall."

[ ]Accept
[ ]Refuse
[ ]Other

eh... alright but make sure you tell Kurush that you're going out for a bit.

Adventure sounds fun and adventurous, but we should let Kurush know and get his ok first. We are gonna have to fly by his rules if we're staying here.

>>568988
It seems like a good offer. Let's do it.

You agree to go along with Leta in the morning, provided you can get the go-ahead from Kurush.

"Hey shopkeep, can I borrow your hired help for a day? I've got a little job for her. I'll bring her back tomorrow evening."

He looks between the two of you skeptically.

"Ish it okay?"

"If you must." He lowered his hand to pat Kali's head, keeping a steady eye on the swordswoman.

Leta stepped up to the counter and sized him up. "You from Kalambri?"

Kurush nodded.

"I thought so. You remind me of a girl I did a job with once. She was a real piece of work. Talked fast and got into fights faster. And her dogs, don't even get me started on them. Huge, both of them. Easily twice the size of yours and mean to boot. But they got the job done. We had to bust up a den of thieves and I had the idea to go in all stealthy-like, but she just walked in and gave the order. One dog killed all the horses and the other killed most of the people. It was like nothing I've ever seen before."

Kurush chuckled to himself. "They're Hasar dogs. Back home, they used to pit them against every creature under the sun until they realized that the only thing that could kill a Hasar was another Hasar."

"Monster dogs is what they are, like something dreamed up by an Ambrist." Leta shuddered, then slapped you on the back amicably. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow, kiddo."

Leta departs and you and Kurush finish closing up shop and head home for the night.

As you sit in the guest room after dinner, you feel a bit of excitement surging up in your chest. You hadn't been out and about since you ran away from Colcliv and eventually arrived in Rawling. While you worry about getting attacked on the road or getting lost or getting trampled by a horse or something equally horrible, you're a little excited too.

You wonder if there's anything you need to prepare before you go.

[ ]Yes (input)
[ ]No

well you defiantly want to bring a weapon just incase things go horribly wrong, some coins if you have them so you can buy a snack or something once you get to the town, and some food if you can bring it. Also see if you can't bring some math problems with you so you can study on the way there... wait are we going by horse, foot, or wagon? cause if it's anything other then wagon I guess we could study if we spend a night at an inn or something

>>569868
We don't really have much we can prepare. I guess we should bring our hunting knife and enough food for the day/ a bit of money to buy something. I'd leave the rest of our meagre possessions at home lest the be lost during the adventure. Remember to go to bed early.

You lay your belongings out on the bed. You don't have very much, but you figure you don't want to be overburdened either. Taking the hunting knife was an obvious choice. Even if your job is as simple as watching horses, you never really know what could happen. You also decide that you want to take your meager amount of coinage as well as the beef tongues and bread, which you think may spoil if left uneaten for much longer. You set aside the bedsheets from the church and the letter to Varya, which you forgot to deliver during all the hubbub. Mr. Hoot, the owl totem, stares blankly up at you as you wrestle with whether or not you should bring it. You don't really need it, but somehow you feel a little more comfortable having it on you. You decide to take it with you and get some sleep.

When you wake up in the morning, there's a well-worn leather bag sitting by your bed. Inside is a black slate with a piece of chalk and a rag tied to it. The corners are chipped and the board isn't quite clean, but it's a nice gift all the same. You pack your things into the bag and head outside.

Leta is waiting at the door when you open it, caught in mid-knock. The skies are still dark, but she's all geared up and ready to go. She helps you up onto the horse and you head out of town.

The ride is long and your legs ache by the time you get off, so it's a relief to finally dismount. You're within eyesight of the clinic, but far away enough that you don't think that people inside can see you. Before you can spend much time resting, two men ride up.

"You didn't go and have a kid on us, did you now?" laughs one. He's carrying a halberd and wearing a necklace made of animal claws and teeth. "Can't say I see much of a family resemblance."

"The day I become a mother is the day I quit being a mercenary and the day I quit being a mercenary is the day I die." Leta chucked a pebble at him playfully. He made no effort to deflect it and laughed more.

"Are we here to kill bandits or to stand around jabbering like idiots?" inquires the second. A sword and a bow hang from him. His eyes are golden, like his horse. "Do we have a plan?"

"If you can take out any from a distance, that would be much appreciated. If not, then we'll head on in and do the usual thing. Short stuff here will watch the horses and help clean up."

The golden-eyed man scrunched up his nose as his horse browsed the ground for scraggly grasses. Its metallic coat glistens in the sun. Even though you're looking at it, you can't believe it's real. "I'd rather not trust Sheka to strange children picked up from goddess knows where."

"I've got an eye for people, Fikri. She's good people. Have I ever steered you wrong before?"

"Puzzle of Zahid, six years ago. The camel job three years ago. The Dry Ruins group five weeks back. Those stupid, stupid Ruivites we had to deal with the first time we met. I could go on, if you like."

"Those are jobs, not people. Have I ever introduced you to a person who's done you wrong?"

"You. Repeatedly and in a number of unpleasant ways."

"Anyway!" interjects the man with the halberd. "Let's get this show on the road, unless our guest has any questions."

[ ]Input

just sit here, make sure the horses don't run away while you three are doing whatever you're doing, and if anyone tries to take the horses I should punch them in the dick. Did I miss anything or is that it?

>>571271
>"I'd rather not trust Sheka to strange children picked up from goddess knows where."
It's not like he has any better people standing around to take care of Sheka.
>questions
You stay there with the horses. If you see someone you'll hide the horses / move away. If someone tries to steal them, you scream alarm and threaten weak looking ones with the knife.
>"If I see people, I'll lead the horses out of sight. If people try to steal them, I'll scream alarm. Is that ok?"
Shall we use our board? (Can we even write?)

Shake your head. No we don't have any questions. We are here to be Efficient and Reliable and Professional.

>>571341
>"If I see people, I'll lead the horses out of sight. If people try to steal them, I'll scream alarm. Is that ok?"
Let's shorten this to
>"People come, I'll hide the horses. They attack, I'll scream alarm.

"People come, I'll hide the horshesh. They attack, I'll shcream alarm."

"Or run away," adds the man with the fang necklace. "We've spent enough time together that they'll follow one another if guided that way. Right, Mahine?" He patted his horse's head and it snorted what you guess is affirmation.

"Alborz, it's hardly a difficult task." Fikri rounds on you. "With that said, if there's so much as a hair on Sheka's head disturbed--"

"Don't be a hard-ass, Fi. Nothing's going to happen to your horse." Leta slapped his leg. "Let's get going already."

You think you've got the gist of it. Easy-peasy, like Leta said. Alborz and Fikri dismount and hand you the reins--Fikri with some measure of disdain--and began approaching the clinic.

Once they've become a distant blot in your range of vision, you hear shouting begin. The horses stir at the sound of conflict and with a curt snort, Sheka jerks her head to the side, testing your grip. Satisfied with the resistance presented, she quickly yanks her reins free with a full body about face and takes off at a steady trot towards the clinic. Her tail flicks insouciantly in your direction. The other horses, torn between minding the stranger holding their reins and their partner of many years, deign to defer to Sheka's will and bolt after her, dragging you along with little concern for your wishes that they would stop getting in the way of you being useful to somebody.

[ ]Input

Yell because the Calvery is about to arrive sans riders!
Alternatively, try to catch the reins on something that will not be so easy for the horses to drag behind them.

I guess good on that guy for training the horse to run in the direction of violence and then not telling us? Why would you even do that?

In any case: Golden guy didn't want us to take care of his horse. Now his horse broke free and ran after him. Guess he can now take care of it himself.

It would be foolish to try and catch a running horse. Especially, if we were to try and hold the other horses on the way. At best, we would struggle to even start running while holding several horses. At (a more likely) worst, them wanting to run in that direction and us leading in that direction would combine into them starting to run and dragging us along.

>Maintain a strong grip on the leashes. Don't try to bring them to a stop by strenght, they are several orders of magnitude stronger. Do try to order the to stop. If Clovis remembers any verbal commands the riders used to bring the to a stop, use that. Otherwise use simple commands like "Stop!", "Hold!", "Stay!" etc.
We were told the horses would follow each other. Let's see if Sheka follows the others / our commands. Otherwise, it was his fault for implying it would follow our lead and the other horses and for training it to run into danger for some reason.

>>572575
I assume they will notice the horse running towards them soon enough. Screaming seems more likely to further agitate the horses that are not yet running than help.

see anything nearby that you could use to catch the horse's reins? something sturdy? if so, if you think you could hook the reins on that before it bolts try that. If not then just put the other horses reins on something solid so they don't bolt either.

[x]Recatch horses, try not to die

"Whoa! Hey! Shtop shtop!" you yell at the horses whose reins you still have clenched in your hands. There are a few half-dead trees and weird rock formations you could tie the horses to, but you can't get them to turn towards them or run in their approximate vicinity.

"Shtay!" you yell again. Leta's horse hesitates for a moment, but forges on to the rhythm of Sheka's silky tail, followed closely by Mahine, wresting their reins from your grasp.

Sheka quickly found Fikri, who was locking swords with a bandit. Her teeth snap down on the stranger's hair and give a tug. Fikri gutted him with a quick blow and Sheka trampled the man as he dropped for good measure, crushing his skull beneath her hooves. If he was surprised at the sudden arrival of his horse, he didn't show it and hopped up on her back and switched to his bow. He fired an arrow clean through the ear of the man Leta was fighting and she felled him with a swipe of her sword.

She looked over and upon seeing Sheka, shouted, "I hate your stupid damned horse!"

"You speak from jealousy," Fikri yelled back as he sniped down an unseen archer peeping out from a second-floor window. "It's quite alright. It's only natural when compared to her loveliness."

As you run up to the thick of the conflict, Mahine and Leta's horse have been shooed aside by their owners. You take hold of their reins once more and cling desperately to them, hoping that they'll behave now that Sheka has calmed down. The door to the clinic is barricaded and Alborz and Leta have busied themselves kicking it in while Fikri stands watch with his bow at the ready. Corpses lay scattered across the sand.

After a few moments, the door is in pieces. Fikri rides Sheka over to you with a languid smile. "Let's see if you can hold onto her this time, little girl."

The sound of approaching hooves on the sand pulls his attention away.

"Get on a horse," he orders. "And be quick about it, if you please."

[ ]Ride Leta's horse
[ ]Ride Alborz's horse
[ ]Stay on the ground
[ ]Other

Leta's Horse.
It actually LISTENED to us for a bit there, and it (he/she?) likely knows us better than the other one. Besides, there's likely a reason he said to get on a horse, and given he's the guy with a SPECIAL horse, there's probably a reason for that!

Leta's horse.

[x]Leta's horse

With some effort, you manage to scramble up on the horse's back and sit uneasily in the saddle. You take the reins in your hands.

"Keep them distracted, please." With a whistle, Avani takes off at a trot.

Three horses with riders appear on the horizon, charging at full speed. Two of the riders are armed, one with a quiver of javelins and the other with a sword. The other lags behind the first two, carrying a great deal of bags but no visible weapons. You have a dagger, a horse, and absolutely no idea what the plan is. A javelin whizzes just past your ear. Unintelligible shouts ring out as the armed bandits split ranks and begin to press in from the sides. The pack horse is steered back the way they came from.

If nothing else, you guess they're distracted.

[ ]Turn left, towards the sword wielder
[ ]Turn right, towards the javelin wielder
[ ]Continue straight, towards the pack horse
[ ]Other

straight, very much straight.
Javelin is less likely to miss if we get closer and Sword will win the melee.
Pack boy is probably a magic-user or something so he's our best target.

>>575149
Straight seems least dangerous. If you need to change direction (to avoid a javelin for example), dodge toward the swordwielder.

[x]Continue straight

Avani surges forward, catching up to the overburdened horse. You cling to her reins as she rides neck and neck with the bandit's horse. The man turns away, trying to make a fast break in the other direction. As he rounds, the horse catches sight of you and suddenly freezes. Baffled at the sudden pause, the rider cuffs the horse about the head and digs his heels deep into its sides.

"Are you stupid? Let's go!"

The horse rears high, whipping its head from side to side as it ignores the frantic screams of its rider. With a short hop, it flips itself and crushes the man under the combined weight of baggage and body. Dazed and short a rider, it rights itself and shakes off. It walks over and nibbles at your coat sleeve.

You are mostly sure that horses don't usually do that. It's hard to tell with the amount of irregular horse behavior you've seen in the past few minutes.

A short distance away, Fikri is attempting some sort of maneuver to break up the two riders but it doesn't seem to be working. He's switched to his sword and is playing a dangerously close game of keep-away with the javelin thrower. The swordsman is closing in on his flank. There's no sign of Alborz or Leta.

Your mind begins to race.

[ ]Input

pull down the scarf and smile as best you can before...
"CHARGE!!!!"
If nothing else you'll definitely pull a distraction, which the bandits being less experienced in combat, will probably not handle as well as the mercenaries you're with.

>>575427
Sure, not like anything could go wrong with that. I suggest intercepting the swordsman, but not going close enough to attack.

I also assume that the other party-members will return shortly. We could just do as we were told and keep away with the horses.

Can we chuck something at the sword-horseman guy and hit in the head or otherwise distract him? Or possible chuck something at or in front of his horse to startle it?

[x]CHARGE!!

You lower your scarf, exposing your gnarled teeth to the heat of the desert sun. You can hardly think of a better distraction. Avani takes off at a full gallop.

She is not fast enough.

The moment the swordsman is within flank's range, Sheka bucks abruptly, striking his horse in the face. It screams and turns away while the javelinist finally manages to land a hit, impaling Fikri through his side. Through some feat of endurance, Fikri rides out both the buck and the spear to close the distance between the two of them and thrusts with his sword. The bandit topples from his horse as you intercept the swordsman's horse, preventing it from getting any closer. The swordsman makes a move to dismount and continue the battle on foot. He only gets one leg up before Alborz rushes in on his horse and rudely unseats him with his halberd.

"Are you alright, Fi?" he calls out as he finishes off the swordsman.

"Aside from being stabbed, yes."

"There was only a few others in the clinic. Let's move inside and get you cleaned up."

Leta is hauling dead out of the clinic as the three of you ride up. "You look like shit, Fi."

"I know I can always count on you for such astute observations. Tie Sheka up." He adds a 'please' as an afterthought. "And go catch those idiots' horses. We can sell them."

"I'll need my horse back, kiddo," she says to you. You dismount and enter the clinic.

The clinic looks as if a group of slobs have been running it. Medical supplies, food, clothes, books, and weaponry are scattered across the floor. Alborz clears off a table, deshirts Fikri, and starts working on the wound. Fikri stares at you for a moment, then seems to recede into some quiet corner of his mind.

[ ]Input

>>576146
>exposing your gnarled teeth
Let's hope none of our new aquaintances has seen that. Make sure the teeth are concealed again.
>What do?
The only useful thing I see right now is to sort the various supplies strewn across the floor. Currently it is a hazard for anyone walking around. Either we are going to loot the place, in which case presorting may help, or we are going to give it back to the rightful owners, in which case it would be a nice gesture. Other than that, try to stay out of the way and ask if anyone wants you to do something.

Cover your teeth again, go round up the bandits' horses. The luggage horse was pretty calm or dazed, so he should be easy, the javelin horse idk, and the sword horse got bucked in the face, so is probably not doing well.