There was a place called the forbidden kingdom that was said to be the home of the people who had transformed into monsters do to the effects of some form of dark magic. Few dared to travel into the forbidden kingdom and even fewer returned to tell the tale of what they saw. Those who did told stories of monster that looked human-like and those that were monstrous versions of normal animal, some able to use magic.

The concept of magic was considered normal but human who could use it were forced to live outside of town because of the feet they could achieve if they were skilled enough and were seen as a potential threat if they were allowed to live in town.

While traveling along a road that boarded the Forbidden Kingdom you saw a young girl walking towards the road stumbling from side to side unable to stand up straight. Was she ok? A moment later you realized she was walking from the direction for the Forbidden Kingdom and her clothing was torn on her left side. She was hurt and needed help. After getting off your carriage you walked over to her to offer help to her.

After getting close to her you had an uneasy feeling, you couldn't put your finger on why she didn't feel right she just didn't feel normal. As you got even closer she collapsed to the ground and something white and feathery looking protruded from her back as she fell but closed up when she hit the ground.

Bump

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Robert was returning home from his business dealings. The Estate Manager, Aspers, had sent Holder Robert into town to negotiate a trade for wool and bee's wax for candles. It was an excuse to get him off the estate and away from the running of things. The manager had given him the amount that they needed and the amount they could accept. Robert's Grandmother, Lady Agatha, was the title holder for the estate that held a profitable mining operation, hard wood logging, and fertile land.

Robert knew that he was being sent off, probably by his Lady Agatha. After a couple nights of drinking and gambling he brokered two trades between two warring houses and completed his dealing, that would be beneficial to his purse and the estate. He had promises for the wool, wax, along with coal, and some breeding stock - cattle, sheep, and horses. He even still had money in his purse. On the back of the carriage were strapped a barrel of flour and two barrels of beer. Two bottles of a new wine were in the driver's seat next to him.

To the alarm of Aspers, Robert had chosen to drive the carriage himself. Having servants along raised the prices and interfered with his other activities of chance and choice. He had enjoyed what had been arranged for him. He entertained, charmed, and partook what was offered to him, but Lady Agatha was not going to get what she wanted, a new lady of the house. Another perfumed handkerchief would hang from the rafter of his workshop to remind him.

As Robert hummed a tune, he saw the young lady staggering and fall. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him when he though he saw feathers from her back. He stood in the driver's spot and looked for thieves. The birds were singing and nothing moved. He set the break and pinned it so the wheels would not move. Then he slowly climbed out from the carriage to check on the young girl. He touched his arm to make sure his throwing knife was at the ready and grabbed a blanket. He approached her at an angle while talking. There were stories about people fleeing to the Forbidden Kingdom, changing and attacking people. This is why the estate proper had high walls.

It was reported that monsters had killed his parents. But monsters normally do not leave a horse and a servant alive to tell the tale. Bandits do. The money box had been broken and a month after the incident, the servant asked to leave. The trauma of that event was just to great for him. That was right before Robert got home from university.

As he approached he said in his most charming tone, "Miss, I'm not going to hurt you."
As he moved close enough to touch her, he said, "Miss, I am Robert. I have some skills with healing and I have food and water in the carriage. I just want to help you."

Robert did not really have much of a plan. If she attacked he would try to pin her down till she calmed down. If she was dead, he would make a grave for her as best he could. If she was not responsive, he would pick her up put her into the seat of the carriage. Two things went through his head, Lady Agatha and Aspers would be shocked if he tried to bring a young lady into the house. He did not know if she was contagious and did not want to put the house at risk. The second thing was how to deal with ripped clothing to preserve her dignity and reduce the chance of scandal. If she did not respond, he knew that he would probably see more than he should. But He would wrap her in the blanket. He wondered if she had wings or was the feathers his mind playing tricks on him.

The workshop was a combination of things. It was a two story old stone barn that had been repurposed for him. These were not his rooms, but Lady Agatha let him have some freedom and it kept him from disrupting the operations of the estate. He made his appearances as the Lady required.

The first floor was room to entertain, his workshop, and a room where he could experiment. A small forge and furnace heated the place a washroom, where one could take steam and clean up was there. His latest experiment was a shaft that was powered by a water wheel. He had been working on mechanical billows that cause the forge and furnace to be hotter. Aspers gave him a look like he was daft. Lady Agatha swore he was going to kill himself with one of his contraptions. The upstairs held a study with a large windows facing the manor house, an apartment, and a hidden room where he could practice his magic. He had four dogs that had the run of the place provide security, barking at anyone who came near.

He had six but two of them had been poisoned by another family who thought they had earned their wealth by using black magic. His Grandmother told him not do anything rash. Robert took two weened puppies to the daughter of the house as a gift on her birthday. A twelve year old girl with long black hair and a nice smile. Whoever ordered the poisoning would be reminded daily.

He had his plans, now he needed to see if this young lady wanted or needed his help.

The girl was semiconscious and was muttering something but you couldn't make out what it was. She was holding her side tightly with a red cloth underneath her hand. She must have been attacked by something and had gotten way but by what? To make things worse for her she had walked herself to exhaustion. After going silent for a moment she managed to coherently say the word "water" before passing out.
Why was she even out hear to start with, especially so close to the forbidden kingdom? It dangerous to travel alone For women but so close to the forbidden kingdom with no clear way to defend her self was asking for trouble and she was lucky to be alive even though it was just barely. No matter the answer she needed he help, in her condition, she wouldn't last much longer on her own out here.

(sorry its short)

Robert moved to get water for the girl. He grabbed the bag of medical supplies that he picked up for the farm. Things he could use to bandage her wounds. The dirt road was not the best place to dress a wound. He would do his best. He wondered what she was doing out this far towards the boarder. The girl was a mystery.

Coming back he lifted her at the shoulders, and gently poured water into her mouth to drink trying hard not to choke her. He then started to tend her wounds. He gently rolled on her side to take a good look at it. Then poured some water to clean the dirt and dust out of it. With some skill, he went to work bandaging the girl. He had tended to wounds of his friends where dueling less about honor and more of a sport. With gentle but firm touch, he bandaged the wounds. Looking to see if they were a bite or from a weapon. Then he gave her more water to drink. He planned to use some of the magic to stop any serious bleeding or if she were unconscious he would push his magic to heal more of the wounds.

Most people reacted to magic in different ways. For some it seemed like a warm sunshiny day, gentle and calming. Other like a storm of emotions and force. Robert felt it as pure power surging through him. He wasn't sure how those who received the magic felt.

The girl, although unconscious, slowly sipped the water from the bottle. Her injury on her lefty side looked to be from some kind of wolf-like animal but the bite marks seemed to be slightly larger than a normal wolf and looked to be deeper as well. Her left hand was also bruised suggesting that whatever it was she had to hit several times as hard as she could to get away from it.
If Robert were to accidentally slip his hand into one of the holes for her wings he would feel something soft and silk-like under his hand, and if he were to pick her up off the ground he would find that she was extremely light for a full-grown woman. She looked to be well feed so she couldn't be suffering from malnutrition.
It was starting to get dark so if he was going to make it back to the estate safely he needed to start thinking about how he was going to move her to the carriage without hurting her.

Robert Philip Ball

With a gentle hand he does touch to feel the softness on her back. He wrinkles his brow as this isn't right.

He lifts her one hand under her knees and the other at the shoulders curved a little to keep her head from flopping and caries to the coach, placing her on the leather seat still covered by the blanket. He retrieved the water and the supplies and placed them inside with her. He gave her another drink and then got the horses moving. He thought about the bite. He had seen wolf bites on animals, this was like the size of a bear, but the teeth positions were wrong. He placed a hand on her head gently and brushed her hair out of her face.

He grabbed the reigns and released the breaks. He clicked for the horses to head for home. They had made the trip so many times that he only partially paid attention. Worrying that she was in pain and how he was going to sneak her past the house. He slowed the horses just a little so they would arrive at the evening meal. That would take care of much of the eyes and if he headed for his shop first no one would be surprised.

As they rode we watched - her, a storm that was building from the afternoon heat, he noticed fences that would need repair soon, he watched the apple and other fruit trees in the grove. The walls of the main estate appeared then grew. The lanterns were starting to glow softly in the dust. He moved the blanket to try to cover her from view. As he turned in and called for one of the servant boys.

"Get anything good?" the lad asked.
Robert prayed that the girl would stay still and quiet. He imagined her biting his hand and screaming.
"Please, close the gate. A storm is brewing," Robert said then continued, "Just the wine for the Lady and things for my experiments and the supplies. Fetch the carriage from the side door of my shop once I get my stuff out and the lamps lit. Tell my maid that I've had a bit to much to drink and that I need broth with my meal. I will take it in my shop. The small keg is the new ale from town. Give the boys a taste after you unload."

A smile appeared on the boys face and Robert clicked again and drove past the house to his shop. He parked to the side and was greeted by the dogs. He shooed them off. With haste he unloaded some of the supplies and looking to make sure no one was looking he unloaded the girl. He placed her on a couch. He stoked up the fire for the forge and the steams, closed and latched the doors then with a flick he sent his magic out to light the lamps. Using his magic, and hurrying to unload tired him. No one would think twice if he lit the forge. Even his maid would leave the tray and return to the house with rain coming.

He sat and watched the girl. Waiting for the food and the wash water to warm. He would check her wound again then feed her the broth and bread. The he would eat.

(sorry I've been busy)

When the maid came with the broth the girl started sniffing the air and moving her head as if she was trying to find the source of the sent. She also slightly parted her eyes as she started to regain consciousness. She was completely unaware of the potential trouble she was in, her kind hid from normal humans because every interaction ended with humans freaking out and attempting to hunt them down and kill them.
In her current state, she couldn't fight off a baby let alone a full grown adult, adding to that she was in an enclosed space she was unfamiliar with, which would make her escape extremely difficult if things when south. That's if she could make it to the door to start with. Her best bet till she could escape was to hide what she was and play human.
After a minute or two she tried to push her self up off the couch and sit up to get her bearings and maybe get a bit of the food she was smelling. Well... maybe all of it if she could get it. Siting up now she was holding her hand over the bandage and using the other to support her self as she looked around half awake. She was being more driven by her stomach than her head at the monet but she was slowly coming to her senses and becoming more aware of surroundings.

Robert Philip Ball

---

Robert brought the food into the room to find his guest sitting. He smiled at her closing the door behind him with a food. “Hello,” He said as he set the tray of food down on a table then moved a smaller table towards her, “If you give me a moment. I will set a table for you.”

He set a proper setting for her. It was more utensils than anyone needed, but he wanted to make a good impression. He then went filled a pitcher with warm water for washing ones hand and face, grabbed a basin, washcloth, and a hand towel if she wanted. Then he placed them and the food on the table for her.
“Please feel free,” He said gesturing for her not to be shy.

She jumped back in her seat slightly when he spoke to her, her lack of awareness of what was happening around her was very apparent. Once she was aware of his presence she began to slowly watch as he moved around the room, to Robert she looked to be just dazed and confused but she was really trying to figure out in her head if he was one of her kind or a human.
When he set down the food her attention switched over to it. She could tell by the sent it was mostly broth and picked up the boul and began to sip it down while letting some of the tips of her feathers peak out subconsciously. In retrospect, she should have made him eat a little bit himself but that was not the state of mind she was in.
Moments later she had finished the broth and pulled her feather in before looking back at him. Her eyes were a light color of blue and honestly seemed a bit larger than a normal person's eyes, not by much but by enough to be a little odd. She also looked like she had a complete lack of fat anywhere on her rather thin frame. it could just be genetics or taking longe walks by the forbidden kingdom by herself for no clear reason from time to time.
That said she didn't seem like a local girl from any nearby town primarily for her complete lack of a dress unless she was a tomboy and liked to wear a shirt and pants but, even that didn't explain it, her clothes seemed to have been made to fit her so she must be from somewhere far away. So why would a girl like her travel all the way from home to be by the forbidden kingdom? she didn't look like one of those adventurers who try and go into the forbidden kingdom in search of fame and fortune only to never return. So who was she and what attacked her? If the strange appearance of what looked like white feathers coming from her back had any questions to add what was she?

Robert Philip Ball

---

Robert smiled at the girl, yes, she was a bit odd. The feathers showed that she wasn't human like himself. But his curiosity was stronger than his fear. The clothing, the shape and color of her eyes, and the lack of body fat made her appear child like to him. This fed the protective nature in him.

Two thoughts danced in his mind but he dismissed the. The first was maybe she was the dangerous one and her bite wound was defensive in nature. The second was that she might have stolen the clothes she had and made them fit. In his mind that was preposterous.

He looked at her offering her some bread and said, "Well, it is good that you are awake." He moved in the chair a bit. "I am guessing that we will need to figure out how this is going to go," He said calmly then continued, " Or if you even understand me." He paused watching here then said, "I'd like to see you healthy enough to travel before you leave the estate."

He was wondering what she was up to but he did not want be pushy. She would tell her story if she wanted to and when she wanted to.

After a moment of thought, she finally spoke and said, "thank you". Robert, although much bigger than herself, he didn't present himself as a threat which helped to put her in a relaxed state of mind. If he presented himself as more of a threat she would have slowly started to get more and more panicked as she became more aware of her surroundings.
"My name is Wren," she said secondes after, "what is yours?" Her name was uncommon and really showed how far away from home she was. The name was used more in the Kingdom of Laryrith which was over a thousand miles away from the Estate. That said she here self could have been close to her home, she was from the forbidden kingdom which might as well be on a different planet. Two worlds separated by a thin uninhabited strip of land preventing them from colliding, only the bravest from ether side dared to cross that line risking their lives in the prosses. This border is what her kind safe but for how long will it continue to do so?

Robert said, “My name is Robert,” and gave a fancy bow trying to make her laugh but then thought about her wound. “Are you in a lot of pain?” He asked, worrying about the wound. This was more important than the many questions he had for her. What bit her, where she was from, how she got here and where she was going?

He wondered if she had magic, everything on the other side had magic and was dangerous. At least that was what the stories said.

She looked at him with her head turned sideways and smiled, "its a lot better than what it was." She wanted him to think that the bight wasn't hurting anymore. The bite itself would probably heal in a week or so but the animal that attacked her wasn't normal, to any human that saw it it was a really big wolf but it had evolved to hunt her kind. Its saliva had potent proteins that would attack her nerve system and attempt to make their body lock up whit pain.
Some of this stuff was still in her body causing her some pain and for the most part, she could poker face it and pretended that everything was fine.
"By the way where am I?" she said as she looked around the room with her eyes.

Robert Philip Ball

---

He nodded feeling better about what he had tried to do for her.
"Well, you are not far from the boarder of the Forbidden Kingdom on my family's estate," he said.
"Anything I can get you to help you feel more comfortable?" he asked.
He would be a gentleman and let her tell him what she wanted.

She knew that the humans called her people's homeland the forbidden kingdom but, she was kinda surprised that someone would live close to it. Well, the land value might be cheaper, that's all she could think of for reasons why. The land between her people and humans was a no man's land filled with dangerous monsters that would love nothing more than to rip apart anything that could food.
"And what's the closest town?" Wren had gotten pushed off course by a large storm, a few days before, and had to find shelter before she was flying inside the storm. She wanted to find out how far off course she had gone.
After asking that she wraped the blanket that she was brought in with around her and let her wings out a little to relace them.

“We about a half day ride from Rapid Falls,” he said. “My family was sent out here because people feared we had magic. We were blessed with lumber, mining, and some farming and life stock,” he smiled, “as you can see my Grandparents did alright for themselves.”

She was a little stunned he said that his family was run out here because they might have magic. Her kind had built their society on magic and so few of them could use magic that it was considered a blessing have such power. When one of them started to show their ability to use magic they were immediately put under an experienced spellcaster so they could learn to control their powers. Wren didn't possess such powers herself, in fact, her family hadn't had a Spellcaster in the family for fifteen generations until her little sister was born.
She was concerned about the name of the town that he had said, from what she had been told, flying around Rapid falls was asking to be shot or even killed. Not to mention the bandits who could make a base of operations and not be deserted. Too far out from the capital of the kingdom to have any funding from the state and close enough to a lot of resources to steal from unsuspecting supply wagons and shipment back into town. It also didn't help that she lost her stuff to one of these groups. The bag and other things were replaceable but one thing was not a map. It was a map of several thousand square miles of the forbidden kingdom. If it found its way into the hands of someone who could read it and wanted to use it to nefarious acts against her people, all they'ed need is the backing of the crown.
She was considering whether to come clean on what she was, unaware that he already knew she wasn't human, to try to convince him to see if he could somehow to get it before something bad happened or hope that the bandits destroyed it in some way or it never makes its way into the wrong hands.

"Well, Wren. I should let you rest a bit. I need to work on trying my machine out for processing ore," he said proudly. He pointed to a contraption from the water wheel shaft hooked to two billows to a blast furnace.
He laughed, "If they don't see smoke, they might think I brought a mysterious woman into my shop from town." It sounded funnier in his head than it did when he said it. He let her rest for a bit as he changed into work clothes with a leather apron and gloves. He shoveled a large amount of coal into the furnace. Then from the fire he shoveled two scoops of coals. He released the wheel and the billows started to turn. He pulled a lever slightly in and they started to move faster. In the top he shoveled crushed ore, a broken plow and a gold coin for good luck. He sang a song that was calling up magic to the metal, but he did not know the words. It was the song that the miners sang in the mine and had for many years. It was a language he did not know, but it made him feel better. When the furnace got going he would attend to his guest some more after putting a bit of oil on the wheel and gears to take care of the squeaking.


@AmberTheAlbedo