Both the Druid Girl and the guard stood silent, staring almost agape at what had transpired before them. The lizardman had let out a bellowing, thunderous roar that echoed so loudly and intensely that one could be forgiven for having mistaken it for a lion, or something even fiercer! But, that wasn't the main reason why they were gawking in disbelief. The main reason was the foreign girl, who had somehow managed to intercept a charging boar, latch on and swing herself on top of it, and was now trying to ride it... Or at least hang on to it. While the guard looked more to be in disbelief and somewhat impressed by the astounding feat, the druid looked far more concerned and worried.

Boars had excellent stamina, and while they couldn't buck as well as horses, the fact that they were far wilder and more prone to crashing into things without a care, made them ill-suited for mounting. Plus, while holding onto its tusks made it temporarily unable to gore anyone, a single slip of the hand, or the boar slamming its head into the side of tree, would cause serious damage to the girl's fingers and palm, and it was very unlikely that she could hang on with just one hand.

Unfortunately, while the brave steppe girl's plan had managed to occupy the male boar from attacking their lizard-friend, the same could not be said for the sow. The reptile's beastial warcry had left an impression of danger and alarm in both hogs, and they had seemingly deemed him to be the single most potent threat out of all the gathered bipeds. As such, while the galt bucked and shook and made dashes in zig-zags to try and shake its unwanted rider off, the female boar locked eyes with the lizard, let out a snarling squeal, and charged! Dust and dirt kicking up behind it as its powerful legs propelled it forward at high speed. If the red giant wasn't careful, he'd get a nasty gash for sure!

However, this wasn't all bad. With the male being occupied and the female now charging the immediate threat, the druid was free to act wihtout fear of being charged in the back. Not wanting to waaste the efforts of her allies, she turned back to the trapped piglet and, though not rushing, did her best to hurry to its side. Kneeling down, she began to tug and pull at the various wooden spikes and poles that kept the little critter locked in. The babe merely stared at her, curious and confused - as if it wasn't sure what was going on, or if this was a dream perhaps. Still, many of the wooden protrusions proved to either be too heavy, or too rigid and solidly stuck in placce to move, at least with her strength. The lizardman could probably have yanked these sharpened poles out with a bit of effort, but she sadly did not possess the strength to wrestle bears in the nude.

Then, an idea dawned on her. She might not be strong physically, but there were two things wood in general was weak to.

Rising up again, she took a few steps back and to the side, away from the tiny boar. Breathing out slowly, she unhitched the staff on her back, holding it in her left hand, firmly placing the butt-end of the shaft on the ground. With her right hand held out infront of her, fingers spread wide, she opened her eyes and began to chant in an uncharacteriscally forceful and commanding voice.

"May winter's touch chill your bones, shiver in the icy cold, frost fingers!"

Upon completion of the incantation, an azure-white glow eminated from her palm, and in a sudden burst of luminous light blue, a short-ranged wedge that looked to be the very essence of ice and cold shot forth infront of the caster. The wispy, gassy, mist-like energy spread out and enveloped several of the spiky extensions, causing frost and even small amounts of ice to immediate form upon them. The druid had been careful though, stepping far enough aside so that the spell hadn't touched or harmed the piglet, but still being close enough to effect the palisade poles close to it. Letting out another breath, she now firmly grasped her staff with both hands.

"NOW, TAKE THIS!" She called out, apparently believing the inanimate spike-defenses were capable of hearing her...

With that though, she began to whack at the now-frozen woodwork. Hopefully, the cold from her spell would have made them more brittle... That was her plan anyway. If she couldn't pull them out, she could at least try breaking them. Sadly, this would have been easier if she'd had an axe or a hammer of some sort... She only hoped her allies could hang on long enough without getting hurt. Once the piglet was free, she could release her hold on its mind, and then the three boars could run off - without anyone needing to take a dirt-nap.

Lizard Fighter blinked once when the male boar was stolen away by the Steppe Archer. It was going to be a slow game of cat and mouse, every time the boar would pass he'd have added another cut. But that was changed when the girl decided 'Imma ride the piggy!'. Sighing he watched the pair for a moment before the mother board let out a threatening squeal and charged at him. That garnered his attention quick, but he wasn't in a good position to slash since his original target had been the male. Couldn't have grabbed the female? He thought grumpily.

When the female neared he shoved himself to the side, avoiding her tusks but splashing dirt and sand into one of her eyes as he went. They were pretty damn large but they were still just boars and had predictable attack patterns. Just avoid the tusks and you were good, their kicking was pretty subpar if they ever even did kick. He kept his eyes on the female, waiting for her to turn or to focus on clearing her eye, before he'd move again. Although hearing Druid Girl yell in the ditch almost made him turn.

What the hell was that girl doing? And why was she so bent on the boars not dying? Whatever, he rolled his wrist making the joint crackle, before starting to slowly move, circling the female boar like the predator he was.

Thwock! Thwock! Clink!

Things were proceeding... Slowly, at best. Althhough the freezing of the spikey protrusions had indeed had some effect, it wasn't to the extent that the druid girl had hoped. Perhaps her magic just wasn't strong enough? Or perhaps the wood, despite its appearance, was tougher than it looked? Regardless, stopping now was a no-go! But what could she do? A moment of contemplation, before a proverbial candlestick lit up above her head. Quickly moving one hand to her hip, she unhooked the sickle that hung there, brandishing the curved and shiny blade like some kind of mad dentist.

With sudden swift and carefully aimed strikes, she began to sweep her instrument down at the frost-covered poles, cutting into their sides, one by one. It wouldn't take much really - if she could just carve away enough chips and splinters, the integrity of the pole would become weakened, and more susceptible to breaking off when struck with her staff, pure brilliance! Well, in her mind at least.

Unfortunately, the two pigs were none too happy with either of their respective situations. The female shook her head and snorted in discomfort after having gotten dirt in her face - not that it actually had accomplished much, since she was used to trekking through mud and underbrush, with goop and klegg going every-which-way, but having it delibaretly thrown in her face was apparently somehow insulting... The sow flared her nostrils and narrowed her eyes at the big red lumbering hulk, agitated and eneraged at him. With an slight rearing motion, she squealed loudly once more and charged again, thundering along the ground with her hooves kicking up dirt behind her as she rushed to get the lizaard back for his actions.

Meanwhile, the male was done bucking and side-hopping. He had changed his approach to the unwelcome guest clinging onto his back. If trying to throw her off wasn't going to work, then scraping her off would have to do - and to that end, he was now charging full-speed towards a nearby, tall spruce tree, intent on colliding or brushing his side against it... And unless the archer on his back had legs made out of stone, getting your limb caught between a fast-moving mass of muscles, and a static pillar of several tons of weight, wasn't likely a recipe that would end well.

The guard, over by the sidelines, had finally sprung to some kind of action. No longer standing idly by, he'd taken to run all the way back to the pyre, grabbing a thick, burning branch, then sprinting back towards the adventurers. Perhaps even he had a conscience? Or perhaps he just didn't want to get scolded by his superiors after these three gave their reprot to the guild and mentioned his apparent apathy towards their situation... Regardless, with a loud, raspy yell, he hucked the burning torch with all his manly might, launching it in a spinning motion towards the lizardman. With a thud and a sizzlign, crackling noise, it landed off to the side of the red reptilian.

"USE THAT!" THe man's words rang out over the myriad of other noises... Though he failed to explain just what exactly what the purpose of this burning piece of lumber was for... Perhaps he assumed the lizard already knew?

Meanwhile, back at the spikes, the druid had now managed to cause gashes and cuts in many of the white-laced spikes of wood. Nodding and dropping her sickle to the ground, she once again took hold of her staff with both hands. And with a battle-cry that was less than impressive, and far more too cutesy to intimidate anyone, she once again had at it! Strike after strike, clonk after clonk. However, this time, there wwere actual results. Te sound of cracking wood, the sight of the poles bending and becoming misshapen, the random piece of splintered wood-fragment going flying in a random direction. It was working! Encoruaged by her own success, she gathered all her strength and with a mighty, decisive blow to the gods-forsaken-palisade, she struck true once again and...!

CRRUNCH! CRACK!

The tip of the spike she had been striking broke off, flying downards in a spinning fashion and landing hamrlessly at her feet. The dark skinned girl's eyes went wide and an expression of both joy, relief and wonder washed across her face. Not wasting time though, she immediately dove into the newly made gap with both arms, dropping the staff as well. With rough, hurried motions, she bent and pushed the nearby poles aside and apart, before finally, finally reaching the tiny piglet stuck inside. It was like a pearl that had been hidden away inside a stubborn, unrelenting clam - frustrating and ridiculous to get to, but now it was finally within reach. Smiling, she gently took hold of the tiny creature's back and slowly hoisted it out of the prison.

Setting it down on teh ground, up out of the ditch beside her, she let out a sigh and then closed her eyes once more. Almost at once, the piglet's eyes went wide and its eear perked and twitched. It looked around itself confused, then witnessed the scene unfolding before it... Then turned its head to see the human behind it. In an instant a panicked squee was unleashed from the babe as it barreled towards its parents... Well, barreled wasn't the right word... More like, clumbsily tripping forward...

"IT'S FREE! GET AWAY FROM THE PARENTS YOU TWO!" The druid called, worry again spreading across her face as she watched her allies dance with senraged beasts. Hopefully, the sight and sound of their approaching offspring would steal their attention away from her comrades.

Steppe Archer was doing just fiiiiine. Or rather, she would be, if not for this boar having the energy of ten wild horses, and all the stubbornness due of 20. This was a losing battle right from the start, and for all her bravado in taking on the large male in a rodeo contest, the girl's muscles couldn't back it up to the finish. The continuous bucking, slamming, and sharp turns meant that the boar nearly had her off...but, perhaps that was in her best interest, now. Especially given the tree that was quickly growing close. The boar clearly intended to grind her off, the tree serving as a perfect end to their impromptu ride. It being a spruce tree meant that trying to jump off to a branch wasn't going to work, the branches would snap under the weight of her jump, so her best bet was to kick off the boar, tumble backwards, and then try and climb. But how fast could she manage in the panic?

Just as she decided on her course of action, she would hear the cry of her druidic companion to get away from the parents, the archer more than happy to oblige. It was less of a fall to get off, and more of a very graceful slam into the dirt by the archer, managing to execute a quick roll to get back on her feet before she started blitzing away from the boar as fast as she could. A spruce tree wouldn't do, so the archer would have to gamble her speed could get her to a more suitable safe spot. Any safe place would do right now, and Steppe Archer could only hope that the parents would choose to depart with their child rather than fight. Looking over her shoulder at the male boar, Steppe Archer couldn't help but give the tiniest, most indignant pout at her loss. "...I really wanted to ride a boar for longer..." she would complain in her head, heart still pumping with the thrill of that ride. It was...a different beast from horse racing, to be sure. Less speed overall, but faster acceleration.

She had to admit, she had a small hope that they could have caught the boars and tamed them. Just because that sounded fun.

Lizard Fighter kept circling the overgrown sow as she shook her head. Seemingly not caring that he had purposefully flung dirt and sand at its eyes to blind it. Well physically she didn't react, but he could see some sort of insult in its eyes. Stupid boars, to big and smart for their own good some times. He readied himself as she squealed and reared up before the guards voice rang out to use something. A flick of his eyes and he saw the burning branch, which got that long tail to scoop it up before it dropped into his free hand.

Wild animals weren't keen with fire. It was the brightness and the heat that scared them, nevermind the pain of getting toasted. But it was day time, so no brightness. Holding the burning branch out he kept it between himself and the female boar. A twitch and he shifted it so the flames roared a bit and sent a wave of heat at the enlarged porkchop. Another voice range out as he leaped to the side, avoiding the boars charge at the last second, assuming the fire hadn't made it change direction. The druid had freed the piglet that had caused this whole damn mess.

Slowly he began to back away, keeping his blade up at the ready and the rather large torch between himself and the pigs. "A winged spear would be too circumstantial to keep around, but it would have been handy here. Maybe next time just silence the young?" He called out, some grumpiness lacing his tone while he kept those vigilant eyes on his opponent. Making sure she wouldn't charge again.

The bigger male boar continued his mad dash towards the tree, up until the point that he could nom longer feel the clamp-like sensation across his back. Skidding to a halt and turning about, snorting loudly and grunting like a ... Well, pig! The enlarged slab of ham watched as the unwanted rider now scrambled away from him, apparently terrified of his overwhelming might. Not that the boar thought this, of course, he was a boar after all. Still, seeing his assailant flee gave the large critter a boost of confidence, and a taaste for revenge... Scraping the ground with a hoof, he lowered his head to prepare for a chase...

But was suddently interupted, as a much lighter, shriller squeal caught his ears and caused his head to perk back up.

Over by the lizardman, the mama piggy was busy grnting and stomping her hooves as well, furious at the overgrown reptile for avoiding her charges. Narrowing her eyes, she almost seemed to try and anticipate where the large, red, gore-covered pile of stink would move next, but she was also wary of the new, smoking stick he held in one hand... The fire from the torch was enough to make the sow cautuious, though not enough to frighten or intimidate her. With another grunt, snort and hoof-stomp, she too lowered her head in preperation for another mad dash! ... But stopped in her tracks as soon as the squeal of her young was heard.

Both parents, in a fit of parental love - or instinctual desire to preserve their species - rushed to the side of the tiny, tumbling piglet. The mother brushed against its side and began leading the tiny morsel away, quickly heading for the bushes from which the parents had sprung frombefore. The male stayed behind, covering the sow and his child as they escped, slowly backing off, bit by bit... Until he too, with a loud grunt, turned and dove into the underbrush, scurrying away amongst leaves and foliage with clopping, thudding steps. The crisis, for now, was averted.

The druid let out a long-held breath of relief, using her sstaff which she had picked up earlier, as a means to steady herself and lean on. She wasn't sure that the boars would back off or give up the fight when their piglet returned, at least not both of them - but things had turned out for the best this time. She also didn't notice either of her companions suffering any major injuries during this scuffle, which waas even better! Calming down a bit, she walked briskly up to the lizard first, looking him over from top to bottom, from claw to tail-tip, from front to back.

"You're not hurt anywhere, are you? It didn't look like the mother managed to land any hits with he tusks, but... I was standing a ways away,a nd I didn't see your entire fight with her." She asked and stated at the same time. Turning her head towards where their fierce, boar-riding friend was, she raised a hand and waved, putting on a happy face as she called out. "Hey! They left! Come over here! Are you hurt anywhere?" She yelled - but in a friendly and warm manner.

The guard, who had been keeping his distance from the whole mess, finally came sauntering over - chin held high and looking surprisingly energetic, at least when compared to when they first met the lout. His step and posture were rather arrogant though, as if he had beaten off the boars himself and contributed no small effort to the battle.

"Well, I guess even porcelains can do it if there's enough of 'em!" He said, condescendingly friendly. "This'll give you lot something to yap about and brag to your other adventurers about tonight, huh? Hah! I might even tell the boys back at the garrison about this!" The man puffed out his chest and looked unwarrantedly chipper. "Still though, you didn't kill 'em, and the quest was for cleaning the ditches, not chasing off boars. Don't be thinking you'll earn any extra from this, alright?" He wagged his finger annoyingly.

With that said, the guard turned to look at the bushes where the boars had run off into. After which, he turned his head towards the sun, which had sunk a fair bit in the sky, though was not yet at the horizon. There were still hours left in te day, and hours left to clean the ditches. Once the trio had gathered themselves, rested and talked amongst their own, the guard wouold make sure to remind them to get back to work. He was such a helpful fellow after all.

The Lizard Fighter was calm as he kept circling the female boar. From his stance, and with his strength, he could literally go in any direction including up. He took note she was being cautious now because of the flames in his off-hand. Good, that'd make her steer a little awkwardly instead of just mindlessly charging him. She'd run out of energy before him if she kept stomping, squealing, and charging. A tired prey was easy prey.

But a tiny, more shrill, squeal rung out and got the mothers attention pretty much instantly. She abandoned the fight immediately and began to rub and lead the piglet back to the forest. Snorting the Fighter stood up fully as he sheathed his blade. An escaped meal, ah well. The male caught up to the pair and watched the group warily, backing up to the woods. Such strange behavior from a boar. Maybe they were magical? Doubtful but still possible.

The Druid came over to him, seeming to be winded from whatever she had been doing. "I've fought boars before. Not that size though, so no I didn't get hit. Wild straight line charges are easy to avoid." He stated before turning his attention to her fully. "Why were you so bent on us not killing them?" He questioned, he wasn't angry about the womans desire. But she should remember they had to pay for food, those boars could have fed the group for a good week if the meat was preserved properly.

Stretching his arms above his head he looked back at the palisade while Druid Girl called over Archer Girl. Just wanting to make sure she wasn't hurt obviously. The guard also spoke up, making the Fighter stiffen slightly. Snorting he tossed the torch into the fire before going back to the ditch. He hadn't ridden a boar so he was still pretty fresh. He silently went back to the job, tossing the corpses of animals and the rare goblin up out of the man-made mini-ravine.

It felt easier doing it this way instead of each party member grabbing one or two animals, going up the steep side, dropping it in the fire, and then going down to do it again. Have a strong one down in the ditch to launch the light and heavy corpses and the others up top could haul them to the fires.

The archer would hurriedly dash back to her companions once the danger had passed, an eager smile on her face in spite of her rather ragged appearance. Her hair had been whipped around from the speed of the ride, as well as the various bumps along the way, but she looked pleased as punch. Thankfully the danger was passed, so it was completely fine to bask in the afterglow of her rodeo, crossing her arms and pointing out at the brush where the father boar had left. "Someday, I'll meet you again! And then we'll finish today's fight for real!" she would say, before practically skipping to the druid girl and patting her on the head. "I'm glad that you're okay. Here I was thinking that if that didn't work out, you'd be gored into that palisade. Or trampled. Where'd you learn how to do magic?" Steppe Archer would ask, before her attention was recaptured by the formerly unhelpful guard.

Much as she appreciated them being given enough of a break to catch their breath, she didn't mind getting a finger wagged at her. Once she was rested up, and the Lizardman rather startly started chucking bodies up for them to ferry rather than continually dive for one at a time, she smiled and got to picking up corpses two at a time. Now, she didn't have to trudge up and down the ditch to get them, so managing two at a time was no major problem for the short walk. After about the fourth round, she would call out: "This was a great idea! Thanks for thinking of it!" to her new lizard friend. Smiling in spite of the filth of her current job, Steppe Archer was content to have nice people to work with.

The Archer would continue until all the bodies had been cleared of the ditch, appreciating the pace that they managed in spite of the earlier distraction of the boars. Her hands were caked in mud, blood, and traces of viscera, but that was kind of what she expected. Nothing a quick once-over at the river couldn't fix in a jiffy. Once they were done, she would check and see if her fellows were up for that night patrol quest, if it was still up. The archer herself seemed a nearly boundless source of energy, not skipping a beat since the job started. It was unnerving to some that she'd met, but she never figured that there was anything in this world exhausting enough to break the back of those who broke the backs of countless horses.

When the lizardman asked her why she had been adamant about not killing the boars, the druid tilted her head sideways, a puzzle expression on her face.

"Why? Because there wasn't a need to. The mama and papa were just trying to save their child, they weren't causing any trouble for anyone. If the palisade hadn't been here in the first place, the piglet wouldn't have gotten stuck to begin with." She explained. Looking back towards the bushes where the family had scurried off, she added with a lower tone and a more serious look on her face. "Besides, we were hired to clean the ditches, not slay boars. We're getting paid for doing the former, and we're staying in a town with warm meals and beds, so killing them wasn't needed."

Her expression changed though, as a certain thought popped into her head...

"Although..." She said, now with slightly flushed cheeks and a small glob of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth... "Boar sure can be tasty..." She said, looking upwards as if viewing some imaginary visage of bacon and porkchops floating about her head. Though, as the lizard trudged off and ws replaced by the archer, the druid snapped back to reality with a slightly embarrassed and shocked look to herself.

This look stayed on her as the archer patted her on the head. What? What was that for!? She had wanted to pat the archer's head! The poor girl had put her loins in danger, riding an overgrown boar and then face-planted into the dirt, yet here she was - all smiles and rainbows, and was comforting the druid!? It didn't feel right, and the druid pouted a bit in frustration. Still, when the question about where she had learned magic came up, the girl's face brightened a bit.

"I was trained by an Elder Druid not far from where I grew up." She said warmly, fond of the memories of her old master. "He was a great man, patient and compassionate, fair and wise. He taught me everything I know about druidic spells and rituals, animals and plants... I'm really grateful to him." She almost spoke revverently about the fellow, though given her common upbringing and the fact ahat she had used what she'd learned to save her own family, it wasn't surprising that she was thankful to the old codger.

Still, as the guard approached and began his spiel of low-key insults and self-grandeurization, the druid felt a scertain urge to smack the lummox over the head with her staff. Fortunately, she managed to repress this urge and instead give him a smile that wasn't a good smile, before following in the lizard fighter's tracks back to the ditch.

As the large red one began tossing corpses and remains up onto the ground behind him, the druid was thankful that she didn't need to jump down, scrounge about, pull up and drag the carcasses back tot he pyre. This was far more efficient, and when she heard the archer call out thank the big softie, she smiled and did the same.

"Yes! This is so much better, thank you, Lizzie-poo! You're great!"

The guard nearby had to cover his mouth to stifle a laugh at the lizardman's nickname, but the girl herself seemed sincere and thankful. With the three working together, the work went smoothly and without further distractions, allowing them to clean up most of the entire eastern side of the palisade, making it look - relatively speaking - fresh and clean! With the sun now just ahalf-way visible across the plains and the sky turning a shde of orange, red, pink and purple, the guard nodded and apporached the trio.

"Job well done, you lot. Here's what you'll need to get your pay." He reached inside his coat and retrieved a small, yellowed scroll. "This is one of them official documents, stating that whoever delivers it has completed their assigned task for the guardsmen. Take it hurry on back to your guild hall, I bet you're all eager to boast about your grand deeds. Hah!" He laughed, shoving the piece of parchment into the giant lizard's clawed hand, before turning his attention to the pyre.

Apparently, this dislikable man would be stuck here until one of his colleagues would drop by and relieve him of his duty. After all, they couldn't very well just leave the roaring mass of flames unsupervised, and given the amount of fuel and critters in the fire, it wasn't going to go out any time soon.

With that and dusk upon them, Druid Girls tretched and let out a teeny, tiny yawn. Unlike her muscle-bound giant and perky, peppy foreign friend, she didn't have stamina in over-abundance. She wasn't unfit or anything, but hauling and tossing bodies onto a roaring fire for hours wasn't exactly eaasy work. Plus, she now smelled like a mix between a butcher's shop and the aftermath of a battlefield, with grime and gore and bits of fur and whatever-else clinging here and there to her. To say she was feelign unfresh would be an understatement. Still, desptie all this, the archer girl piped up and suggested that they all head back and pick up another job - apparently some kind of patrol duty? The druid gave herslef a look-over, then looked at the huntress.

"I... Would really like to rinse off, if you don't mind. Looking and smelling like something a bear's been chewing on for the past week isn't one of my favorite things." She stated, motioning with her hand in a wave to display how covered in blood and chunks of ... stuff... it was. "Maybe we could all wash up a bit first, then go report on finishing the job before we take on something new?" She suggested.

Luckily for them, even though Palisade Town was a small, frontier settelement, it did have a common bath house. It wasn't luxurious or extravagant, nor was it fairly priced, but at least it would offer hot water and a means to clean up after this whole mess. Well, either that, or they could just go skinny-dipping in the river, though that might be a bit cold with the sun setting on them...

Lizard Fighter shook his head as the Archer yelled after the boars before he returned his attention to the Druid Girl. "Having free meat is better than paying for it, and the hides could have been useful. Never mind the Experience boost we could have gotten from them." He replied while working. Another heave and another corpse was put up on the high ground for the girls. Both of who thanked him for the unspoken idea. Although the Druid Girl had to make a little nickname for him.

He didn't react to their thanks, nor the nickname. His ears flicked towards the lone guard who laughed, but other than that made no show that he acknowledged anything while he single-mindedly slung corpses up. He continued like this for hours, slogging his way along and leaving behind dull bloodstained and grimy dirt. They weren't paid to repair the palisade so he left the blunted spikes or broken ones, be. He didn't need to break any of them, just ripping the large corpses into pieces with flexes of those thickly muscled arms.

Soon, via small time skip, the sky turned to the colors of a sunset. The guard spoke up, congratulating them on a job well done. This was what finally got the lizard to climb up and out of the ditch. Any patches of him that hadn't been red were now from blood. He flicked a chunk of entrails off his shoulder before he was handed a piece of parchment that indicated that they completed the job and got payment.

The girls talked about rinsing off. "A stream will do, we don't have a lot of money to spend on something as luxurious as a hot bath. He said as he tucked the piece of paper into his bag. He pulled a rag out, it had seen better days, and wiped a portion of the blood and gunk from his body before it dried. That poor piece of cloth was stained deep red with tints of green and was launched into the pyre. It had seen its final use and discarded.

"So a rinse, turn in the paper, potentially do a second job if everyone is willing?" He questioned to confirm what they would be doing. The group honestly hadn't even decided to be a party, they just did one job together.

"Your master sounds like a really good person," Steppe Archer would say before getting back to work. The nickname of the lizard elicited a snicker from the Archer, cheeks puffed full of air as she struggled not to laugh. He'd fought hard and was super brave, but...Lizzie-poo!? The archer did her best to not laugh when she thought of it. It didn't fit the lizard's huge frame, or his calm demeanor. But gods damned if it wasn't funny to imagine that being his real name.

Once they had finished, the druid girl's mention of a bath sounded heavenly, but the pragmatism of the Lizardman's statement was more than fair. It wasn't like they HAD the money to go to a bathhouse...plus, who really minded a bit of cold water? They'd just have to dry off by a fire somewhere, and then they'd be ready to go. "The stream's fine by me. If you want to, we could take the time to boil some water, dampen some clothes, and clean off that way too. But we might not have time take on the patrol job," the archer would say, at least considerate of the druid girl's desire for a hot bath. "But, after that, I've still got plenty of energy! Riding that boar gave me way more strength than it took away."

That statement might very well cement that the girl was less than sane to the two, but her endless source of energy was no doubt enviable after the drudgery of the guild work performed that day. Sewers, body-hauling, and then night duty, it seemed that if she didn't have to, the girl wouldn't sleep a wink until every porcelain quest was scrubbed clean of the guild's ledger. Leading them to the stream, Steppe Archer would begin disrobing herself, tossing her clothes into a heap before diving right into the ice-cold water as if it were just the right temperature. The river was thankfully calm enough to just wade in, and the girl's long silvery hair flowed serenely with the tide. She didn't even seem to consider the societal taboo of undressing before a male with the Lizardfolk Fighter's presence, and simply got to bathing away the gunk and guts of the daily grind off of her skin. By the time she was done, the girl's soaked hair would completely dangle down in a wet heap, making her look like a shaggy white abominable swamp beast with human skin. "Maybe we should build a fire..."

The lizardman's comment about free meat being true, andt the bit about them selling the skins and pelts also being accurate, the druid simply smiled. He seemed like a pragmatist, someone who did things if they benefitted or made things easier for him. Arguing about things like necessity or balance was a lost cause with people like that, because they either didn't understand - or, they didn't want to understand. She had met many like that before, in particular merchants and noblemen, but the girl gussed that living as a gather-hunter society also leant itself to such beliefs.

When the archer later commented about her Master though, the girl perked up and seemed to beam with blaring sunshine, as if she had just received the highest of praise and adoration, even though it wasn't she who was complimented.

"He is!" She said, eyes shut, smile on her face and chest puffed out triumphantly. "I'll make sure to tell him about you two when I write my next letter." The ball of sunshine stated, as if it was some kind of great honor.

Once done, and with both the Lizardman and the archer suggesting the stream over an expensive, indoor bath, the druid simply nodded her head in agreement. True enough, this particular job wasn't paying very well, and they would have to keep working and taking more quests - either together or seperate - if they wanted to keep their pockets from drying up within a few days. A mere 30 or so copper coins wouldn't last you more than maybe a day or two, at least not if you were planning to stay at an inn or bunk house. The suggestion to boil water seemed a bit dodgy though... They didn't have a pot or cauldron, and going into the town to get one and then walk back outside to the stream seemd counter-intuitive. So for now, a quick cold bath was what was next on the menu.

Having the archer lead them to the source of water, the druid looked rather surprised when her feamle cormade suddenly decided that shame and modesty were apparently nothing more than folktales, as she stripped down infront of her and the lizard and then leapt into the water with childish vigor. What was wrong with this girl? Just before she had said that she was feeling energized after tussling with that boar, and now here she was, getting naked infront of newly-met acquaintances and not batting an eye about if they saw her goods of not... The druid wasn't bashful or a prude, her summer outfit was proof enough of that, but she wasn't exactly uninhibited either... Then again, the lizardman had torn his shirt off infront of the two back at the ditches, and this girl was from a different region... Maybe they were prone to nudity where they came from? Or perhaps the archer thought of their big friend as nothing more than a walking pet iguana and didn't feel the need to be shy?

Regardless, watching the girl splash about in the cold, cold water sent a shiver down the druid's spine. She began roaming about the area, picking up twigs and fallen branches, along with tufts of dry grass. Sadly, there were no stones with moss anywhere nearby, but in a short time she'd managed to collect a decent haul. Returning to her allies, she laid the fuel down on the ground, and began to look for rocks and smaller stones. It wasn't hard, given that they were close to a stream - the banks of the water was littered with them in various shapes and sizes. Picking a dozen or so, cradling them in her still unwashed arms, she returned to the fuel and began encircling it with them, makiing a very makeshift campfire. Upon hearing the steppe-girl return - and comment about wanting a fire - she almost laughed. The silly thing had just jumped in and started washing herself, not thinking about how to get dry afterwards. She might be strange and a bit silly, but she had a certain cute, innocent charm to her. Druid girl liked that.

Still, this campfire wasn't going to light itself, and although she had managed to pick some stones up, none of them were flint. Furthemore, she didn't really have any steel - aside from her sickle, of which she was none too keen to scrape and nick for the sake of sparks. As such, she looked to the two companions instead.

"Either of you have somethign to light this with? I'm afraid I haven't learned any fire-spells yet, so..." She trailed off, rubbing her elbow and smiling sheepishly. The sun was still up, but setting quickly, and in less than an hour it would be gone, giving way for night proper to settle in. Unless they were quick about their baths and drying off, the gates to Palisade town would shut and lock, and they'd have to camp outside until morning.

Lizard Fighter stretched his arms out with twin loud cracks from his shoulders as the girls talked about the Druid Girls druidic Teacher. It was settled that they'd dip in the river, so while they moved out the large reptilian man pulled a brush out of his satchel. It looked like something someone would use on a horse to get dirt and grime from their fur. The Archer Girl led the way since she had apparently been there before. Which got a thought to come to the forefront, she had bathed here to get rid of the sewer smell. Luckily it was moving water, humans didn't want to dip in that.

Once they got to the shore the Archer immediately began to strip down to nothing. He had expected her to stop at her smallclothes but she had ether no shame or no fucks to give. Shrugging he began to work off his own clothing while the Druid gathered dead twigs, branches, and fibers to make a fire with. It took him a little bit to get his clothes off, except he kept his loincloth on. He didn't feel like scaring the girls.

Druid mentioned she didn't have flint and steel, Archer girl had at this point mentioned a fire, which got him to look at Druid. "Should always carry a flint and steel." He said before reaching into his satchel again. A smooth gray stone and his massive knife were retrieved while his tail moved around what she had gathered. A bundle of dry grass and bark were made into a little pile. Swamps made fire difficult to start due to the wetness but not impossible.

Striking the flint with the back of his blade the sparks showered the dry kindling, lighting it up quick enough thanks to the grass. These small movements alone got the muscles in his arms and back to dance under his crimson scales. He moved the small flame ball into the stone ring before snapping twigs and setting them on it. The dry wood and bark was catching quickly, soon he was putting larger pieces on. "If you want it to last longer you'll need green wood. Preferably not pine, pine smokes horribly." He explained before standing up. Just that simple movement made the muscles of his ripple dramatically. Maybe he was putting a show on for the girls? Doubtful.

Without further adieu he strode into the water with his brush in hand. Once fully submerged he began to scrub away at himself, scratching off drying and dried blood. Bits of gore pulp floated lazily away to get devoured by hungry fish further downstream. The joys of having a tail, one could scrub their own back without a long handle. He was going to be a while thanks to his scales though. The stream got murky a little away from where he had vanished into it only to vanish with the flow. Rising up, the top of his head breaking the surface, he idly swam about a little to make sure he was fully clean. He looked much like an alligator like this. A big red gator.

Steppe Archer would beam as the fire was lit, ceasing her shivering as she crouched before it. "I'll have to remember that one. I'm not used to being without tools at hand, never had to think of it much back home," the nomad girl would say, hands stretched out towards the fire. Once she was dry enough, she'd start adding onto the pile herself in order to keep it going, having a second set of smallclothes to wear while her own were in her bag, needing to be washed when daylight came. now thankfully, the archer could don her tribal dress with pride, warming up with a grin on her lips.

Seeing the Lizardman bathing, Steppe Archer couldn't help but admire how...experienced he'd seemed. At least in terms of survival and fighting, he was leagues ahead of where Steppe Archer was in preparedness. Sure, she could probably kill most anything normal within a certain distance, but in a melee fight, she had to just hope that her skill was superior without confidence in her strength. Then, her attention turned to the druid girl, before she would offer an even larger smile. "You're really nice. Even though we could have gotten more pay, and more loot, you didn't want to step on the lives of a family. I can respect that."

Taking her bow free of her back, Steppe Archer looked at it, before chuckling and scratching her drying hair. "I'm no saint, really. My tribe hunts and kills a lot of animals, since the place we live in has bad soil. Only thing that grows there is grass fit for grazing animals," she would say before getting up to get more firewood, leaving her bow and quiver by a tree trunk left from the town's early development. Returning with a large bundle of dry wood and sticks, Steppe Archer would feed them in periodically to keep the fire going, but not growing. Sitting with her knees clutched against her chest and arms clutching her kneecaps, Steppe Archer rested her cheek against the pit of her elbow.

"...Adventuring is fun. Even just this much," Was all that escaped her lips before she fell silent, warming and drying more by the fire, and occasionally feeding it. She'd have to tell the Lizardman that she thought he was nice too, and compliment him on his skills. Maybe he'd even teach her a few secret swampy survival tactics.

The Druid Girl watched, with sideways glances, as the big, red behemoth stripped down toh is... Whatever that cloth covering his ... Whatever lizards had down there... and then bounding for the stream. It may have been a trick of the light, but the caramel-skinned girl could have sworn she saw the big brute smile when he entered the water. Maybe it reminded him of home? Or maybe he was just happy to get the gunk of nastiness off? That being said, she took a look down at her own body. Her hands and forearms were covered in dried critter-blood, dirt and mud - and her stomach had blotches of the same. Her hip-wrap skirt had suffered some tains, as had the bandeau around her chest... How troublesome, it wasn't like she kept a set of spare clothes in her tiny travelling pouch.

The words of the sagely lizard rang in her head like an echo. Always good to be prepared, yeah... Maybe she should've considered that not everyone was willing to spend their hard-earned money on heated basins of water to wash off after a day's labor.. Though, to her, that was perhaps one of the few good things about living in a town. Still, her contemplation was broken as the archer spoke to her - the words bringing a somber smile to the druid's face.

"Killing is a natural part of life, we as well as animals kill to keep ourselves fed and safe, there's nothing wrong with that." She mused, looking out at the swimming reptile as he sloshed about contently. "Even stocking up on supplies and killing in order to prepare for hard times is something I understand and accept. But, I just don't see the value in ending the lives of other creatures who have done no wrong, just to make our own sitation slightly better for a short while." She paused, looking back at the fire and the nomad girl, smiling gently. "Those boars had lived for many seasons, grown and reared a family, yet we could've undone all that they'd accomplished in no more than a few moments... Well, our Lizzie-poo could've, anyway." She laughed once. "It just seems like an incredible waste, especially since we didn't need to do it. But, that's just me, and I'm still just a naive girl after all." She ended off her little open-air monologue.

That little bit of personal philosophy off her chest, it was time to get to what really mattered! Washing up. Yup, she had to get this yuck off her, less it cause her to catch a disease or infection, or both! She might know a healing spell, but that would do jack-diddily against plague, lepresy or some other nasty contagion, which she would much prefer to avoid if possible. So, stepping a bit away from the campfire, she took off her hooded vest-jacket, slid her skirt down her legs and, finally, carefully removed the bandeau while at the same time covering her herself to preserve whatever modesty she could. While she was wearing undergarments for her lower body - and thankfully they hadn't gotten stained - she was not wearing any for her rather plump upper bits... This fact, coupled with the knowledge that there was a male present, as well as the fact that she wasn't used to being near buck-nekkid infront of peiople wasn't overly familiar with, caused the girl's cheek to flush with a tinge of red and her eyes became nervous.

Taking a deep brea, she quickly moved down to the stream, dipping one sandaled foot into the darkening water... Cold, as expected. Afternoon, close to evening-swims were not exactly pleasant, but this was something that had to be done. Steeling herself, she waded into the flowing stream, biting her lip gently in order to squelch a cry of discomfort. Once submerged to her shoulders, she quickly began moving her arms to and hands to brush and scrape off the goo. This really needed to be a quick bath, a real quick one. SHe could already feel her body temp falling and getting goosebumps all over. How the lizard could look so comfortable while swimming around in this place was beyond her comprehension. Thick ... scales, maybe?

Lizard Fighter listened to the girls talk around the small fire as he swam around. Making sure he was good and clean, well as clean as cold water could make someone. The Archer Girl was now dressed and drying while the Druid began to disrobe. He didn't even bother looking at her chest, the girls were pleasant to look at but it wasn't mating season. He rose up and began to leave the water, the water sloughing off his water-resistant scales.

Once out of the water he went to his little pack and pulled out a cloth. Whipping it and twisting it he had a new and dry loincloth. Turning away the girls would only see his back as he changed loincloths. The soaked cloth was unfurled and laid on a flat rock next to the flames. "I'd appreciate not being called lizzie-poo." He stated, he knew she was doing it in fun but he didn't want it to stick.

His brush was banged against his thigh, shaking the water from the boar bristle brush before it was slipped back into his satchel. He was drying faster than the Archer since his scales didn't absorb water or cling to hair. So he was getting dressed, pulling on his leather clothing and buckler and such until he looked fighting ready. He pulled his beastly knife out to check its edge before sliding it back into its sheathe.

"So turn in the paper and potentially get the patrolling job? Or would you two like to rest for the night and take on something potentially better tomorrow?" He asked while his emerald colored eyes looked the two over. He clearly wouldn't push them, doing a job exhausted led to disaster after all.

Steppe Archer couldn't help but feel like the druid girl was way wiser than her years were telling. She wasn't just someone obsessed with nature and believed anything not born of a human was pure and better in some way, she understood how survival worked. And, had a good understanding of what waste was. She had a feeling that she'd fit in right at home with her clan. Once the girl went off to wash herself up, she would greet the Lizardman on his return. At his dry reply of not wanting to be called Lizzie-Poo, Steppe Archer's cheeks practically exploded as she restrained her chortle, tears welling in her eyes at just how...serious he was. It made him out for a good straight man in this comedic three-man-band.

Once she settled down, the Lizardman had begun checking his equipment, a good habit for one that frequently risked their life in melee battles. Checking the stringing on her bow at the same time, Steppe Archer would simply wait until the Druid Girl was ready to decide on their course of action. At the Lizardman's set of questions, the girl would puff out her chest proudly, saying: "I'm not tired in the slightest. After riding around on that boar, I don't think I could sleep tonight if I wanted. I'm more than willing to do that patrol duty after we get paid, if you two have the energy for it."

Adding more fuel to the fire, the archer would sit with her back to it, letting her ridiculous amount of hair dry from the heat, careful to not let it catch fire or touch the ground.

The bath was very... Rushed, to say the least. Quickly moving her hands and arms to brush off the yucky stuff, the druid hurried as best as she could to minimize the time spent in this none-too-pleasant-temperature stream. After a few minutes, at the most, the absolute worst and most of the undesirable gunk was washed off, and with a deep breath, sudden quick full-body dip, and resurfacing with a loud gasp - her bath was finally over!

With as quick of movements as she could, she waded back to the shore, making sure to cover her chest up with her arms as it left the obscuring water. With a slight huttering, she moved over to their little makeshift camp and plopped herself down next to the other girl, and the fire. That sweet, sweet fire... An expression of relief and content spread across her face as she sat infront of the heat-spewing flames, feeling the smokey warmth against her skin. She watched the other girl dry her hair in a dangerous way, which worried her a bit.

"Would you like me to braid your hair for you? It might be easier to move about without it getting in the way, plus I think it'd look quite cute, right?" She offered and suggested, looking over at the lizardman for confirmation about the latter part.

Still, when he stated that he didn't want to be called 'lizzie-poo', the druid feigned disappointment, letting out an elongated aaaaaawww~! as if she would miss not being able to use the pet-name for him anymore. Truthfully though, she had only called him this because it was so unfitting and cutesy, while he was overbearingly large and masculine - the clash of concepts made for a fun contrast. Still, she didn't want to anger or offend the big guy, so she'd have to come up with something else for the future.

At the mention of what to do next, and the suggestion of the nighttime patrol-quest, the druid didn't say much. She was more focused on getting dry and getting her clothes back on - even if they weren't all that clean. She'd have to wash them properly back in Palisade Town, and take a real bath in an inn or the local bathhouse tomorrow. For now, she'd just suck it up and put the dirty things back on once she wasn't drenched with stream-water anymore. She did, however, perk up at the archer's mention of boundless energy and not needing to sleep anytime soon.

"I suppose we should get ready to go then. If we're not back by sundown, the gates will be shut and locked, and we'll not just miss out on the quest but have to stay out here all night." The girl said, now finally feeling dry enough to start putting her garments back on - with her back turned to the other two, obviously.

Still, the sun had sunk even lower since they came to the stream to bathe. If they didn't make a bit of a hurry, they really would have to stay under the stars for the night. As such, once she and her compatriots were all set and dressed, she helped put out the campfire and make sure nobody had left any luggage or possessions around the campsite, before grabbing her own things and joining in on the trek back to the town's eastern gate.

Plan now? Get through the gates, head to the Guild, hand in the parchment and get their reward, as well as give a report on how the mission went and THEN, hopefully take on the patrol duty if nobody else had claimed it. Yup, them's the plan.

The Archer was apparently energized, and Druid Girl offered to braid all that hair. The joys of being hairless, no braids, no shaving, no having to take care of something extra! Gotta save up those copper pieces. Druid Girl awwwed when he nixed the lizzie-poo which earned her an eye roll. The Archer was trying her best not to laugh it seemed. Humans were so strange. Still the group started to get up and break 'camp'. His tail thumped to the ground and casually swept the coals and heated rocks into the stream. Only a black smear on the ground was evidence that they had been there.

Stretching his back, and eliciting a few loud cracks, he started to move with the girls back into town. He reached back and pulled the slightly bloodstained letter of accomplishment out of his satchel. He could have zipped ahead but he stayed with the girls, he didn't want them to think he'd take the whole reward. He was mainly a fighter, not a thief.

"Have either of you ever given a report before?" He questioned as they walked along. It didn't sound hard, but how detailed were you supposed to get? Was it verbal, paper, or both? It felt like the Guild didn't explain everything, probably assumed their porcelains would die at every turn.

Once Lizzie-poo their lizard-friend took care of the campfire, and Druid Girl had checked to make sure neither she nor either of the other two had left anything behind, they were off. Walking back along the same way they had came here, it wouldn't take much time to get back to town. Still, the sun was setting and getting dangerously close to sinking below the horizon - still, barring a sudden ambush by bears or bandits, they should be able to get back in time.

The Great Red One then asked a curious question, one that caused the druid's eyes to grow slightly bigger and a confused expression to spread across her face. Had he never given a report before? Was this his very first quest? But he was such a capable warrior though... Surely he was jokibng? No, he didn't seem the type to do so. No, he was the overly serious type it seemed, and so, this too was a serious question. Druid Girl smiled at the prospect of being able to teach him something in return for his help and tips earlier - even if she did know what kind of firewood worked best, given her own training...

"Well, once we get back, we go to the front desk and tell them we've completed the quest. We give them the document, and then we'll go to a meeting room with a guild official and a Truth Seeker. We'll give a brief re-telling of all the major events that happened and answer any question they might have." She explained, before adding on - with a raised finger. "Oh, and don't try to lie or dodge any of their inquiries, Seekers can tell if you're lying, so there's no point in trying. Not that we've got any reason to lie in the first place, but just in case you didn't know, Big Red." She said, attempting to give the lizard a new nickname.