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BAIRNELL'S FOOTHOLD - FIVE YEARS AGO
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Nesseth steps off of the ship the Explorers Guild expedition used for transport from Orela and spends a short bit looking around at the unfamiliar port town. He looks quite youthful, just starting to reach his prime, though he's certainly looking a little travel-worn right now, having been on the ocean for the past week or so. He spends a little while getting his bearings on solid ground, then sets off to explore the port a bit as the more senior Explorers Guild members go about getting transport to Respite Falls set up.
Bracvar finds himself humming a bit of a tune to himself, hauling along a fine load towards the port from just offshore, the waves around him offering no resistance to a strong swimmer, even one towing a floating net of fish. He ducks under the bow of a familiar looking ship, nodding to himself as he reaches a barnacle-crusted wooden ramp. "Excellent, hopefully they'll want to set off right away." The crustacean rises out of the water via the ramp, pulling the net up only so far that the waves don't carry it off as he's looking about himself. Moments later, Bracvar is hauling the net across the docks, a board he scrounged up acting like a makeshift sled, scuttling across the way with gusto.
Nesseth stands at the end of the wharf where the pier butts up against the permanent stone walkways. The scrape of wood over wood makes him look around curiously, then he hastily steps aside when he sees a... crab-person scuttling his way carrying a massive haul of fish. "Whoops, sorry about that. Looks like you had some good fishing today."
Bracvar looks around to find the voice, slowing on his way as he quickly assesses Nesseth. "Excellent, my friend! Just excellent!" He spots a familiar mark among the stranger's clothing, one that the colors of the Explorer's Guild ship bears. "Ho! Are you an explorer? What's your destination? Wait, follow along, these morsels don't care for the sun." His words are short, sharp, and have a salty itch behind them, and his scuttling pace matches them well as he continues toward a warehouse near the pier.
Nesseth casts a glance over at the senior members of the guild, who are still busy figuring out transport and other logistics issues with the locals of the port, then nods as he strides after the crustacean. "Yeah, I'm one of the folks with the Explorers Guild, though I'm admittedly still kind of new. We're supposed to be heading to Respite Falls, from what I heard, for another expedition south into the desert."
Bracvar lets loose a hearty guffaw, pushing the heavy warehouse door aside before dragging his haul inside. There is little light streaming in from narrow windows up high on the walls, other than what spills in through the door. The room is cold, more than it should be from just being closed up by the sea. Other than the new load of fish, only a large cart covered in a heavy hide tarp sits in here. "Excellent, then you are exactly who I need! Respite falls is my destination as well, and the wilderness isn't kind to a loner carting delicious fishes."
Nesseth steps into the warehouse after the crustacean, only to shiver as the cold air washes over him. He stands near the door, just to have some warmth to work with. "S-so you need a... guard escort to the town? I c-could run the idea by my superiors now, and then you c-could just link up with us when we're about to leave." He takes a moment to rub his hands together, "H-holy moly, it's cold in here..."
Bracvar nods, though the gesture is hidden from Nesseth by the carapace covering his back. "Yes, I would be greatly thankful if you could! Your people seem to be quite talented at keeping me out of trouble." Bracvar continued into the room, letting the net drop by the cart before reaching up and pulling the shroud off. Tugging the net opening to the cart side, he turned around, set his back against the haul, and heaved it up over the edge, his shoulders easily clearing the top of the cart as every fish spilled into it. Leaving the net inside, he tosses the cover back on and turns back to Nesseth, raising his voice to make sure the explorer could hear him from by the door. "I go by Bracvar, by the way. Someone may know the name, maybe not. Either way, there's money involved."
Nesseth hums a bit and nods. "The name's Nesseth. Good to meet you, Bracvar." He spends a couple of seconds rubbing some warmth back into his arms before continuing, "A couple of the senior members have been this way before... they might know of you. If they do, that'll make things easier. And, well... we're pretty good at guarding, because the wilds can be pretty dangerous. We can't explore if we can't defend ourselves."
Bracvar laughs again, pulling a lumpy hide bundle from a side box under the cart, which he unravels revealing a smock that he hangs over his neck, with slits cut to drape around the joints at his hips. Ducking under a steel push bar mounted to the front of his cart and taking hold, he pushes the bar with a quiet grunt and a lot of creaking, the heavy load is brought to the threshold of the warehouse where it begins dumping a small amount of fog in the warm air. The load emanates bitter cold, and a bit of fishiness. "You're half right, friend! Any explorer can venture without skill, but a good explorer makes their way home mostly intact."
Nesseth steps out into the blessed warmth of the sun, then steps aside to let Bracvar exit as well. He sighs as his scales begin to slowly warm up again. "That's perfectly true. Those that make it home intact are the ones you know will be better suited to future expeditions, too, so a lot of the veterans in the guild are pretty accustomed to stuff like caravan escorting."
Bracvar places a strong hand on Nesseth's shoulder, towering over the brave reptilian and looking at him with an earnest twinkle in his pitch black eye. "I'm depending on you, Nesseth." He lingers for only a moment before releasing Nesseth's shoulder and continuing on toward the port town proper. "Come! Let us find your companions."
Nesseth smiles a bit nervously and definitely a bit awkwardly as the force behind Bracvar's shoulder clap causes him to wobble before he can brace properly. He turns and walks alongside the crustacean after a moment. "They shouldn't be too far from the ship, still. Probably in one of the offices nearby, if anything." He casts a glance over at the wagon, then back at Bracvar, "So... you're obviously a fisherman, but do you also sell your catch in Respite Falls often?"
Bracvar shrugs at the question. "I try my best, but the ocean calls pretty hard, and it's easy to lose time when swimming with nothing in sight." He casts a glance at Nesseth, "You know, much like sailing. You didn't feel like a day or two vanished? Even when signing up for a caravan, I miss a lot of departures."
Nesseth hums thoughtfully, then nods. "Yeah, now that you mention it, I do feel like the trip went a bit faster than I was expecting. Though I would have guessed that it was just the fact that each day felt... similar to one another, you know? Kind of hard to remember details when there aren't that many differences day-to-day."
Bracvar nods sagely, his tendril beard swaying in the sunlight. Turning a corner, the town of Bairnell's Foothold falling to either side of the cobble road, bustling with merchant stalls and smaller carts of goods brought in from docked ships, or heading out to be taken away by them. Most of the buildings were stone, though a handful of older looking ones seemed to be put together from the hulls of retired ships. "Ho! Is that your crew up the hill?"
Nesseth shades his eyes with a hand for a moment and peers up towards the top of the hill ahead. He quickly recognizes the expedition leader, standing among a couple other guild members. "Yup, that's them. Looks like they managed to get transport sorted already, so you could probably link up with us."
Bracvar picks up his pace, the clacking of his scuttling legs not harmonizing in the slightest with the rumble of his fish cart as they approached the Explorers. "Ho there, distinguished guild members!" He raises a hand in greeting as the cart rolls to a stop, "How are you all this day? I've heard tell you plan on a trip to Respite Falls! I need to head that way as well, if you'll allow it!" The guild members look toward the crustacean, one, a tall elk with one damaged antler, seeming to recognize him and looking somewhat uncomfortable. The fish caused a bit of trouble in the past, although the cart doesn't reek as much as it had at that time.
Narrator: The expedition leader, a rather intimidating-looking old bull, looks over Bracvar and the wagon for a few moments, then nods. He lets out a booming laugh as he responds. "Ah, of course, Bracvar! We've got a larger group this time around, so we shouldn't have any trouble. Just... make sure you're ready to head out as soon as we do, yeah?"
Bracvar lets out a guffaw of his own, tapping his cart with some pride in his eye. "Not this time, old friend! Packed and ready for any caravan leaving soon!" He gives the bull a knowing look, and nods toward Nesseth. "Bringing along some real muscle this time, eh? I'll meet you lot at the South Gate, with half a payment of course." Bracvar patted Nesseth on the shoulder again before taking up the pushbar again.
Nesseth gets a bit of wind knocked out of him at the unexpected shoulder clap, but manages another, somewhat more confident smile. "Well, I dunno about muscle, since I'm a long-range fighter, but I'll do my best to make sure things don't get close."
Narrator: The expedition leader laughs again and nods. "Nesseth's certainly got promise, even if he's still green, right now. He's got a sharp eye and the accuracy to match." He glances between Nesseth and Bracvar for a moment, then nods, "Well, once we're ready to head out, I guess I know who'll be guarding your wagon, at least. We'll be ready to go pretty soon."
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RESPITE FALLS MARKETPLACE - NOONISH
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Erika saunters down the familiar street, the tall dark okapi grinning at the prospect of being back home again. She's lugging a huge overloaded satchel that has a couple of ferns of... whatever, sticking out of it. She's also carrying a metallic watering can, for whatever reason. If she has noticed her mane being tangled with signs of whatever the last bush she trekked through, she's not showing it.
Nesseth wanders down towards the market from another street, having finished his daily patrol earlier in the day. He's carrying his crossbow, slung over his back as usual, and he's looking pretty relaxed as he walks among the rest of the residents going about their business for the day.
Erika greets the various sellers as she passes by, smiling brightly and exchanging a few words with each. She then notices Nesseth upon turning, waving at him: "Nessy! Hi!"
Nesseth smiles and waves upon seeing Erika waving at him. "Hey there, Erika! Good to see you again." He takes a moment to eye the satchel she's carrying, "I'm guessing you just finished some plant gathering?"
Erika nods excitedly, glancing at the satchel: "Yeah, got some new specimen from a delivery in Bairnell, and sorta found more stuff on my way back. Did you know that over at Sharp Peak there's several entirely uncharted nooks of flora?"
Nesseth tilts his head. "Really? Where, exactly? I thought the span between Respite and Bairnell was charted out completely over the past few years?"
Erika carefully lowers her satchel to the ground, then shrugs at Nesseth: "Well charted sure, but not like, charted like I do it."
Nesseth nods. "Fair enough. I still don't know how you weren't recruited into the Explorers Guild, with skills like yours."
Erika waves a hand: "Well you know, wasn't really my thing, and gotta take care of Mom's garden now that she's really not able anymore."
Nesseth hums a bit. "That's fair. How are they doing, anyway? I've not stopped by recently, now that I think about it, so I probably should."
Erika shrugs slightly, cracking her long neck: "Well, I'm about to head there once I drop these off at home. But they've been pretty good, still able to get out and about. Dad still can't keep away from the smithy even though Doc told him to leave things for the new generation already."
Nesseth chuckles. "Yeah, that sounds like him, alright. I can't imagine he'll be happy to just sit around when there's stuff he thinks he can still help out with."
Erika sighs a bit, smiling lopsidedly: "Yeah, dunno what he'll do when he stops being able to swing the hammer. I hope it doesn't happen too soon."
Nesseth smiles. "Considering how sprightly your mom and dad seem, I doubt they'll be slowing down any time soon."
Erika smiles as she kneels down to her satchel: "Yeah, that's true." She digs for a bit, then gingerly picks up a thorny branch of sorts: "Found another source for these little beauties, by the way. Brought you a few." The branch is coated in small quills that glisten slightly in the light.
Nesseth kneels beside Erika and examines the branch. "Oh, hey, perfect. These things make driving away creatures really easy. I just need to make sure I don't poke myself with them like last time..."
Erika gives a soft chuckle as she carefully puts the branch back into the bundle with its' cohorts: "Yeah, best not do that. I'll sort these out and drop them to you later."
Nesseth nods. "I appreciate it, Erika, thanks. It'll be nice to have a couple more of those in my quiver while on patrol."
Erika smiles as she packs her satchel back up, then stands again: "Yeah, always something-or-other wanting to come here. I've said it before, but I appreciate what you're doing - makes it a lot easier to go pick up stuff when most of the ugly and unpolite things avoid Respite."
Nesseth chuckles and smiles. "It's my pleasure, Erika. It keeps the town safe, and also gives a good chunk of the residents a fresh source of food without them having to risk getting hurt."
Erika lifts up her satchel with a small grunt, then picks up the watering can as well: "Anyway, gotta get these home and sorted. See you at the Minnow tho?"
Nesseth gives Erika a little, casual salute, grinning happily. "Yup, I'll be heading there once I get my gear offloaded back at home. I'll catch you once I get there."
Erika gives a small bow and grins: "I heard some murmurs from the guards that we've had an influx of new folks. Makes me all excited, you know?"
Nesseth nods. "Oh yeah, we've had a bunch of new faces coming in as of late. I've met a good number of them, and they all seem like nice folks. You might run into a few at the Minnow sooner or later!"
Erika chuckles as she shifts her satchel on her shoulder: "I figure I will indeed. Our oldest and dearest watering hole, after all."
Nesseth nods. "Exactly. The place to go if you want some good food and company!"
Erika smiles brightly: "Indeed! I have missed some of that." She gives Nesseth a wave as she starts heading onward: "See you around, Nessy."
Nesseth smiles warmly as he waves back, adjusting the strap of his crossbow's sling as he prepares to continue on his way as well. "See you again soon, Erika. Tell your parents I said 'hi'!"
Erika laughs a bit: "Will do!" She starts making her way towards her house and garden, eager to get started on sorting out all her new findings and the specimen she had gotten as well...
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TOWN CLINIC - EVENING
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Doc Plume pulls aside the curtain in the corner of the clinic and approaches the cot set up there. As they pull back the thin blanket over the unconscious patient, they frown as they once again see the damage wrought by the lightning that coursed through the kobold's body. Doc places a thermometer under the Kobold's tongue before applying ointment to the burn marks on Strix's shoulder and feet, double checking that none of the burns have started to peel or rupture yet.
Doc Plume wipes the excess salve onto a towel before reaching under the Kobold to extract the bedpan and replace it with a clean one. After rinsing out the bedpan and washing their hands, doc returns to check on the thermometer, frowning when it shows an elevated temperature. A cool compress is applied to the Kobold's forehead and a slow trickle of cool water is driped into his mouth, just as much as can be unconsciously swallowed without risking choking.
Doc Plume finally replaces the thin blanket over their patient and makes a few notes on a slate sitting next to the bed before finally stepping back into the rest of the clinic and closing the curtain behind themselves. "Stable is better than nothing, I suppose," they muse to themselves, though the look of concern on their face doesn't seem quite as upbeat as their words.
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TOWN CLINIC - AROUND MIDNIGHT
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Doc Plume sits dozing in the chair at their desk, a book they were reading having fallen to the floor out of their hand.
Nesseth blinks as he opens the front door to Plume's office, deciding to check in after seeing the office light burning well into the night while on a short, graveyard-shift patrol. He keeps his voice low, uncertain if they're awake or not. "Plume...? Is everything okay?"
Doc Plume starts awake at the sound of Nesseth's voice, almost tumbling out of their chair. They catch themselves on the desk and balance with their wings before blinking a few times. "Oh, Ness... yeah, it's fine... just have to keep an eye on Strix is all... it's been more than a day now, so he could come to at any time..." They lean over and pick up their book from the floor while also wiping some stray drool off their beak on a shirtsleeve.
Nesseth hums as he steps into the office and shuts the door behind him. "I was kinda worried something was up, seeing your office light on this late." He tilts his head a bit, a small frown of concern on his lips, "I hope you've not been awake since last night, though..."
Doc Plume shakes their head. "No no... I knew he'd be out all night last night..." I still checked on him every few hours..." They yawn widely. "Not sure what else I can do without a nurse or someone to watch him tonight though."
Nesseth chuckles a bit, smiling lopsidedly as he steps over to Plume's chair and lightly places a finger on the tip of their beak. "In that case, I'll volunteer so you can get the sleep you need."
Doc Plume playfully snaps their beak at the finger. They smile, but their tiredness is clear in their eyes. "Are you sure?"
Nesseth pulls his finger back with an amused little grin and nods. "Yup, of course I'm sure. You clearly need the sleep - preferably in something more comfortable than a chair - and I'm still pretty well awake. Pretty sure I can handle some hours of just observing Strix in case he wakes up."
Doc Plume stands up and leans against Nesseth in a tired hug, also wrapping their wings around him. "Thanks. You're the best." They nod over toward the curtained corner of the office. "He's in there. I wouldn't disturb him unless you hear any weird noises from the area."
Nesseth hugs Plume nice and tight, taking a moment to just enjoy their soft fluff. He smiles as he leans back a touch. "I'll keep that in mind, then. If he wakes up before you do, is there anything you want me to do?"
Doc Plume holds the hug for longer than they would have a couple of days ago before letting go. "Wake me up. There's the button for the bell outside." They yawn again and smile. "Anyway, make yourself at home. The tea stuff is in the corner there." They gesture vaguely to the corner behind the desk where the kettle and such sits. "Anything else you need to know?"
Nesseth gives Plume another soft squeeze and shakes his head. "No, I think that should cover everything I'd need." He pauses for a couple of moments, then leans in and lightly pecks Plume atop their beak, about the best approximation he can guess to a kiss on the nose for other races, "Go and get yourself to bed. If anything comes up, I'll wake you."
Doc Plume nuzzles the side of Nesseth's face with their beak. "Will do... I'll be back in time to open up in the morning." They give another squeeze and then let go, heading up the stairs to their apartment, their tail swishing behind them in a manner far too energetic for their tiredness.
Nesseth smiles a bit as he watches Plume heading upstairs. He waits for the door to shut, and for the sound of the bed settling against the floor above, before he settles into the seat vacated by the gryphon a short while earlier. He stretches a little, yawning, then idly pulls a book from the desk and begins to leaf through the pages.