---

---

In his rush to get her somewhere safe, Antaeus's answers to the guards were a bit more fast paced than his usual speech. His experience had obviously flustered the normally confident boy, and while the initial fear had passed his face was still flushed and his broad shoulders shook with every heavy breath.

"It's me, Antaeus! From the mines! I was hunting up north, came across her and this fellow!" he would gesture to the orc. "Brought it down but she's hurt bad! The orc's helped me, he's a good guy so if we can get through--"

The soldiers passed them through and directed him to Maeda's college. Antaeus nodded and urged the orc onward. He knew roughly where the school teacher lived--though he couldn't help feeling a shiver at the thought of meeting her again. He didn't dislike Ms. Maeda, he really didn't--but something about all those legs had always just made him slightly uncomfortable. He knew it was kind of silly and wasn't really fair to the spider-woman. And he wasn't even that scared of normal spiders. He swept them out all the time at home whenever his sister or mother screamed. But it was just...

He shook his head. None of that was important right now.

"Ms. Maeda is an Arachne, by the way, so don't let that surprise you." he said to the orc as they reached the door. He carefully let down his end of the stretcher so that he could knock on the door. He hated to wake someone up in the middle of the night, but this was an emergency, so his big fist fairly boomed against the wood.

"Ms. Maeda! It's Antaeus! Someone's hurt, we need help quick!" he called. He looked back at the orc. "I don't know if she'll use medicine or magic, but I'm hoping she can save her. Are you one of her companions, or did you just come upon us happenstance?" It could be excused given the circumstances, but Antaeus hadn't even asked this fellow's name yet. He wondered if he and the silver haired girl were together in a party. Were they real adventurers who had been hunting the stag? That girl had picked the bloody creature up all on her own, after all. Surely that kind of strength had to come from hard training or some kind of heroic power...

Crack.

Smash.

The sling had failed to throw the stone, as the goblin closed the distance rather quickly. Not that it mattered; at these ranges a loaded sling merely became a crude flail as the stone smashed into the goblin’s ear, causing it to bleed and for the gremlin to grown in annoyance at the buzzing. But as he turned to swing his wicked cudgel at Ethan fire struck him in the eyes. Blinded the goblin swung wildly, but none of these blows would come close to harming Ethan. In its blind panic it through to charge only for it to fall off the roof and to its death. The creature had tried to catch itself with his arm, but all he accomplished was shattering it in three places into a mangled mess. Fortunately for it, once his face struck the ground the pain stopped.

Two more cries in the distance, but only one sounded like a goblin. It would take Ethan some time to get there on foot, but perhaps if his exhausted and beaten body could muster up the courage, he may possibly find a short cut running across the closer buildings.

@Searat

---

The orc and Antaeus ran as quickly as they could to Maeda’s cottage, which was just a short walk away from her school. As they waited for a response the orc seemed calmer now that they weren’t in the forest, but he was still appropriately concerned for the girls wellbeing. Upon being asked who he was the orc shook his head. ”Nah, I don’t know her. I was jus’ huntin’ fer herbs in da woods when I heard da ruckus. Thought it might’ve been one of da locals an dats when I saw ya scraping wif dat big buck. Names Katalmach by da by.” His dialec was similar to the orcs at the mine, though his accent made it obvious to Antaeus that this orc, Katalmach, was not a local. Antaeus has only heard somewhat similar accents by the occasional caravan guards, usually the ones in chainmail with great beards and simple yet mighty axes.

Not long after Antaeus knocked the door opened, revealing Maeda wearing a shawl. It appeared that she had indeed been sleeping. However she looked at The wounded silver haired girl and whispered some words in a strange Fae language. A soft green mist flew from Maeda’s mouth and surrounded the girl as some of her more serious injuries began to fade. ”Bring her inside, quick. Put her on my couch.”

Maeda opened the door to lead the two young men into her living room. She cleared the way towards a large wood and silk couch, with various pillows propped up for comfort. While Antaeus likely doesn’t have the time to fully appreciate the decor, Maeda house was quite well furnished compared to his own, with book shelves, tapestries, and even paintings hung up. Though it was also very cluttered with clothing, thread, and times scattered about. Frankly, the miner barracks looked more organized.

@Zeroth

@Lucius Cypher

It was all over in a moment.

The sling smashing to the Goblin leader's ear. His torch striking the goblin in the face and cauterizing it's eyes. It's wild and panicked attempts to kill Ethan...the satisfying crack its skull made as it collided with the earth. Ethan leaned over to sneer at the goblin's still form before he on it. 'Another abomination cleansed from these lands.' The man then heard two cries in the distance, though only one voice was distinctly like a goblin's.

Adrenaline still pumped through his veins and he refused to let any goblin from this town leave alive. The fall would likely be fatal if he were to make a misstep, but that was a thought for later. Now was the time for action. Ethan attempts to leap from one roof to another, to Close in to where he had heard the voices cry out. But his tired body could not move as fast and as agile as he needed to be.

---

---

"Well, Mr. Katalmach, I'm Antaeus. And I'm exceedingly grateful for your help!" said the boy with a genuine smile.

Not long after Antaeus knocked the door opened, revealing Maeda wearing a shawl. It appeared that she had indeed been sleeping. However she looked at The wounded silver haired girl and whispered some words in a strange Fae language. A soft green mist flew from Maeda’s mouth and surrounded the girl as some of her more serious injuries began to fade. ”Bring her inside, quick. Put her on my couch.”

Maeda opened the door to lead the two young men into her living room. She cleared the way towards a large wood and silk couch, with various pillows propped up for comfort. While Antaeus likely doesn’t have the time to fully appreciate the decor, Maeda house was quite well furnished compared to his own, with book shelves, tapestries, and even paintings hung up. Though it was also very cluttered with clothing, thread, and times scattered about. Frankly, the miner barracks looked more organized.

"Um, Ms. Maeda, if it helps..." Antaeus said as he laid the girl down and took a few steps back from the spider woman as she worked, "She was hit in the chest by a stag's hoof, a huge one. I imagine she might have somethin' broke or bleeding on the inside...But you can save her right? She's, she's not gonna die?" The boy bit his lip and wrung his hands. Without anything he could do to help, at least at the moment, he tried to assuange his nerves by taking a closer look at the things in Maeda's house.

Ethan took a leap off the rooftop to try and cross to another rooftop. However the sheer exhaustion in his body was too much for his determination. He barely caught the edge of the rooftop and prevented himself from falling to his doom, and still managed to clamor his way up. But in the process Ethan's torch would fall to the ground, leaving him with only a sling and the blinding darkness ahead of him. Fortunately, the clouds moved to provide some moonlight so Ethan isn't entirely stumbling around in the dark. By the time he managed to run across the roofs to find Red Chaser, he'd see her locked in pitch combat against the last surviving goblin.The sallow skinned gremlin had managed to shatter her bow, but she wasn't defenseless as she drew her shortsword and sliced the goblin's shoulder. It was a deep cut, but not enough to kill the monster as he winded up for another attack. Ethan could barely make out their forms from his position, and could only discern the difference thanks to the height distance.

He still had some stones. While he would have a disadvantage to striking the goblin from here, perhaps if he was lucky he could still land a useful blow. Or perhaps if he could do something to distract or even scare off the goblin. There was much Ethan could do, and very little time to do it. He must take action.

@Searat



"Mr? Sod off wif dat, I ain't some old salt! Just Kat'll be fine." As everything was arranged into Maeda's home, Kat would soon take his leave. "Sorry mate, but I gotta hit up Barthen's for he closes up shop. I'll be back though if ya still need me. If not, I'll probs be at da tavern. Take care of yerself." With the orc gone, Maeda began to strip the silver hair girl of her clothing, applying medicine to her cuts and bruises. She listened to Antaeus telling her about the attack but she simply nodded. Maeda seemed much more focus on operating on the girl. "Of course I can save her. I've seen worse. But it is a good thing you brought me as soon as you did." Maeda took out some small knives and began to cut open the girl in order to operate on her broken bones. But what Maeda found was far more interesting. She looked over to Antaeus with a small smirk. "I'll take good care of her. It's getting rather late though, you should head home. Stop by tomorrow and I'm sure she'll be thankful in the morning."

@Zeroth

@Lucius Cypher

Ethan took longer than he would have liked when he traversed the roofs of the seemingly deserted town. To make matters worse, in his initial attempt to cross the roofs had failed and knocked the torch out of his hand and nearly cost him his life. His body begged him to stop, but ignored its pleas. He had to save lady Atisha from the goblins. The moon provided him with a dim enough light so that he would not have to maneuver in complete darkness but he did not need a bright light to realize that the female ranger was engaged in combat with the last surviving goblin. From this distance and lighting, he could barely see them. The smaller silhouette was already winding up for an attack, an attack that would surely kill his savior in one strike if it lands. Ethan was not having any of that.

Quickly loading a stone into his sling, he twirls it around in a rushed manner before sending the stone careening to the smaller silhouette's body. Despite the disadvantage he had, he needed to do something to help. Even if the distance had put him at a disadvantage, he was confident that the stone will strike the goblin. Even if the attack might not kill the ranger's foe, the injury caused by it might give the red chaser a chance to finish the creature off before it could finish her off.

---

---

"Ah, sure! Thanks, Mist--Kat!" Antaeus watched the Orc go, and for the first time realized the guy must not be a local. Had he come in with all those other out of towners who were looking for work? Maybe that was why he was heading for Barthen's--the storekeep was still offering coin for medicinal herbs, and Katalmach had mentioned something about gathering things. He turned back at first to watch Ms. Maeda work--but when she started stripping the silver haired girl he whirled right back around, his tanned face turning red. When the teacher told him to head on home, he nodded.

"O-okay. Thanks again, Ms. Maeda! When she comes to, if I haven't come back by in the morning just tell her where my house is!" He scratched the back of his head as he turned back around, though he made sure to keep his eyes on the ground. "If it weren't for her, I'd probably be dead. And I need to talk to her before I show the guard the proof of my hunt--I was on a quest and she ended up helping me, so if I don't share the credit it wouldn't be right..." He realized he was rambling, and clamped his mouth shut. "A-anyway, good night!"

Just as he was about to leave, he remembered one more thing. Quickly taking the odd folding knife from his pack--and holding it as if it were going to bite him--he placed it on a nearby table.

"Ah, that was hers! Tell her I'm sorry if I didn't get all the blood off!"

He hurried out, breathing a sigh of relief once he was in the cool night air. After double checking his pack, and the White Stag's horns, he headed for home. No doubt his mother and sister wouldn't appreciate the gory trophy, but if he wrapped it in an old blanket or something hopefully it wouldn't smell too badly by the next morning. And hopefully his father wouldn't be too angry with him for coming home so late...or quitting his job at the mines...

---

---

Antaeus was always a pretty early riser, but this morning his eyes popped open right away. The first thought in his head: I did it! I hunted the White Stag--with Katalmach and that girl's help, of course--and I did it! I've gotta show the Captains! And Barthen! Oh, and I guess I should take his trap back to him too, since I ended up not using it...

He sprang out of bed, did some squats and jumping jacks and pushups to get the blood flowing, then started throwing his clothes on and gathering his things. Without even stopping to eat breakfast he ran outside, eager to greet the day...

As Red Chaser and the goblin dueled, Ethan's stone was casted through the darkness. It flew true, striking the goblin in the back of the head. But rather than stunning it, it surprised Red Chaser, who had not expected Ethan to still be here. And it was at this opportunity that the goblin was able to knock her blade aside and swung upwards, smashing the club into her face as she fell solidly to the ground. The goblin let out a victory cry as he turned around towards Ethan. Seeing the man have the high ground, the goblin could only move to hide behind some cover.

But barely a few steps forward and something lurched forward. Red Chaser. Bleeding from the scar going up her face, she plunged her blade into the goblin's neck. It screamed in agony, which was short lived as she twisted the blade and jerked it forward, tearing it out of the goblin's neck. The partially decapitated goblin fell dead to the ground as Red wiped away the blood from her eyes to look at Ethan. "Damned fool. Don't you know how late it is! Get over here quick, I need to take you somewhere safe!" Ethan may protest, but Red Chaser would near none of it as she would drag him, literally if needed, to a small but sturdy hovel. She knocked thrice and the door opened, revealing an adult man with a hatchet and his two sons with knives. However when they saw it was Red and Ethan they seemed relieved and allowed the two inside.

Red scolded Ethan lightly for his involvement, but would eventually calm down once one of the sons served some tea and pointed out that Red would have a hard time facing the goblins alone. It was only due to her stubborn pride that she was angry, as she wished to have been the sole savior against the goblin gang. The father would then explain the situation of how there had been some recent robberies as of late, usually just stolen tools and livestock, but recently a family was found murdered and some children had been gone missing. Red Chaser choose to find the lost children and unfortunately she could not save them, but she could fend off the goblins. It's unknown if these were the only goblins nearby, but whether or not it was didn't matter. They had managed to eliminate this gang for now, and the village was safe. Ethan was commanded by Red to stay the night; the boats aren't going to be sailing until morning and even Red wouldn't try to head back to the Frontier Town so late at night.

The family didn't have much, but they offered Ethan and Red a bed for the night. Red choose to sleep near the hearth instead so she was given some extra furs to make herself comfortable. Should Ethan ask about the a delivery he would need to pick up, one of the sons would inform him that he actually works at the grocer in town and would make sure Ethan receives his package first thing in the morning. Regardless, there wasn't much else to do tonight, short of going back to loot the goblins. While certainly a possibility neither Red nor the other menfolk would accompany Ethan and highly recommend that he stay inside where it's safe. If he chooses to stay here, his rest would be fortunately uneventful.



Ethan would manage to return to the Frontier Town before the first dawn. He would receive his package as well, and the guards recognize him and allow him entrance without much hubbub. The Drunken Dragon was not particularly busy beyond a few miners who came to pick up an early breakfast, and it seemed as though only Revas the bouncer and one barmaid was on duty at the moment. Neither seem to react to Ethan beyond the barmaid offering Ethan a seat and a menu.

@Searat



For Antaeus, waking up early was not unusual even for miners. As they were often expected to be underground for hours, it behooved them to get in soon so they could get out while there was still daylight. Chances are his own father was also already awake and gone. As for the rest of the town, miners were no doubt awake, as were the fishermen who operated the boats, guardsmen changing shifts, and other businesses that needed to start early. The White Stag's horns were fortunately left exactly where he had left it, though the blood had dried the sack to the scalp. Barthen's should be open now, even if Barthen himself is probably still asleep. He did have a few elven workers who usually took the early morning shift after all. And of course, one important thing for Antaeus's dreams, was that today was marching day. In the Frontier Town, marching day was when Ork and Daegun would take the recruits out from the town and into the forest to hunt, both to provide meats for the town as well as to test the recruits in their ability to cooperate with each other to hunt and fight. With so many young men and women working together, it's usually easy for them to take down things like wolves or bears, so someone who was able to fight a beast alone and come out on top tends to get more recognition. And the fact that Antaeus more or less did that yesterday, it could help prove to the militia he wasn't just a rock beater.

Still, if Antaeus wished to find Katalmach or the silver haired girl, they didn't seem out and about. The silver-haired girl was obviously still resting at Maeda's place, and Katalmach might be at the Drunken Dragon as he told Antaeus. The March won't happen until around midday, so Antaeus would have some time in the morning to do his own business before trying to impress the captains.

@Zeroth

It's hard to quite grasp how vast the world is until you travel across it.

Alucio had lived most of his life within the same five or six square miles. His family's estate in the kingdom of Varjik, the capital city of Dejan, and once a lakehouse owned by his aunt. It was not until they'd traveled for two weeks and STILL not quite reached the frontier that he grasped just how massive the world actually was.

It was a good thing the Lord and Lady Aversano had sent several servants along with him to aid in this task.

"Are we THERE YET?!" Kyras shouted.

On the other hand...

"It should be another hour or so, tops." Maria told him. "Though"

"We will never even find the criminal out here." Ronan mused. "Even if we did, how, precisely, do you plan on capturing her? We are sorely underequipped to imprison and transport."

"We can get a carriage in town, and there is no need for chains. We are here to help a friend." Alucio reminded them. "She will come willingly."

"Of course, master." Ronan said, voice dry. Maria and Kyras glanced at one another, but kept their mouths shut.

Alucio sighed and looked between the three of them.

Maria was a runner (and held the map), Kyras was his personal caretaker, and Ronan was his majordomo... or more accurately, his handler. The three of them were loyal servants of the House, and so they would do as he asked (though Ronan would push back). They would not be fighting, and he doubted they would help bring Damaria back to the light, but they would be able to help with smaller tasks while he focused on finding the tiefling girl. The servants (and his own mother and father, for that matter) were convinced he was a naive fool, and the fact that he'd brought them so far beyond civilization to chase a woman that had stolen from the house had only cemented that feeling.

But Alucio had not told them everything. Damaria had been his friend; some of it was an act, but not all. She had always spoken of getting as far from Varjik as she could. She spoke of the fortune and adventure that awaited those willing to travel to the edge of the world. There was so much to be had at the edge, where the world forever expanded.

She was a good woman. He would bring her into the light, and Frontier Town was the start. Of that, he was certain.

@Lucius Cypher

His moment of triumph had turned out to be a distraction to the Red Chaser. Ethan was left dumbstruck as the smaller silhouette smacked the larger across the face and let out a triumphant cry over the prone form of her body. The goblin then took notice of Ethan and promptly attempted to take cover behind a barrel. The human, fueled with rage, was about to load another stone into the sling and take another shot at the bastard that had likely killed the person he was trying to protect. A little too late, as the still silhouette of the Red Chaser lurched forward and stabbed the goblin to death before it even moved two feet away from her.

After the struggle, he could see that the Red Chaser had turned to him. Probaby to say she was grateful for the help dealing with the goblins; but to his surprise, she voiced out her ire to the young man standing atop a house. Ethan was shocked at the elf's words. She was upset with him? Why? Was he not helpful in routing the goblins? None the less, he hurriedly moved down the building as he attempted to close the distance between him and the Red Chaser, but even before he could even speak a word to her, she had gone and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and started dragging him to a small hovel. The duo was met by three armed humans waiting inside, their faces were stern for a moment. As if expecting something someone or something else at their doorstep. But soon softened as they saw it was just Ethan and the wounded Red Chaser.

As soon as the two was inside of the small and rather simple house of the three humans, she let Ethan have an earful of what she thought of Ethan coming to help her kill the goblins. But after they had served the tea and tended to her wounds, they admitted that she would have been hard pressed to deal with the goblins by herself and she was just stubborn and prideful. "Pardon my question, but what goblin gang? Whats happening to this town?" The father then explained to Ethan of the robberies and murders the goblins had committed. Not even the children were spared by the savages. The cruelty these goblins possessed was truly boundless. At least there were a handful less goblins wandering the frontier lands. It was already deep into the night and the whole day was very tiring to the human, even if the Red Chaser had not commanded him to rest, Ethan would have passed out in the seat he so peacefully sat upon.

Come morning, Ethan would have been one of the very first to wake up. Even if he no longer had to rise before the sun did to go to work and earn his wage back in the Empire, his body was simply too used to waking up at this time and Ethan had no issue with it. Performing some minor stretches, he began to prepare his items for the trip back. He refastened the leather strap back to his small satchel. He then withdrew his walking stick and began to polish it of grime and filth accumulated over the previous day. Finally he began to dust off and clean is attire as best he could. He doubted that the shop keep would have appreciated if he arrived with his clothes covered in dirt, grime and...other things. While doing his morning routine, he was soon greeted by one of the sons, apparently getting ready to go to work himself. Ethan smiled to himself while cleaning his clothes. "An early riser as well, I see? Quite an admirable trait of an individual is to wake up early in the morning." The son then told the older man that he worked at the local grocer and an employer always appreciates a punctual employee. This piqued Ethan's attention. "Perfect timing then. I was on my way to pick up a package of goods ordered by Mr. Sips from Frontier Town. I work as his latest courier, so would you kindly hand over the order to me?" The son was happy to do so as soon as they reached the store. After picking up the delivery, he thanked the younger man and returned to the house to the house to properly thank them for their kindness and welcoming behavior in his and Red's time of need.

Finally he would go move the goblin corpses to a more discreet place in the town, as he was sure that the townsfolk would not appreciate that the first thing they see in their morning would be the mangled corpses of the goblins. After piling the goblins up, Ethan would then take away the weapons and armor of the goblins and put them where the locals would easily find them. Most of the armors and some of the weapons would be useless to him anyway, but better in the hands of the locals rather than in the possession of the goblins...if there were any left. The boat ride back was rather uneventful, the Red Chaser mostly kept to herself and Ethan did not wish to bother her. Soon they would arrive back to Frontier town and Ethan would find his way back to The Drunken Dragon. Though it seemed that the other employees were still not used to him being part of the tavern's employee roster, but hopefully soon they would.

Ethan would politely decline the offer of the menu and explain that he was the courier that Sips had hired yesterday, though he would take the seat offered and then wait patiently for his Employer to arrive.