The Irish Tree

Goblin Slayer: Newblood (CANCELLED)

It was a shame that her suggestion wouldn't work out, but the archer felt that she'd be a bad person if she didn't at least try and suggest a peaceful alternative. Though, yeah, if someone wanted her tribe's land, she'd fight back too. There was only so much one could do, after all, and letting one's family die was never an option. She'd do the same in his position, she assumed.

At the actual listing of everything that went into learning the entirety of a new sword's benefits, the girl's usual smile gradually got replaced with a pout. "Nnn...That's way too much. I'm fine with my curvy sword, better for fighting mounted anyways," she said, stowing the sword and putting it on her back. "Besides the arrows, I don't think I'm gonna keep anything of what they have. My gear was worn down, sure, but its still in better shape," The archer said, proudly patting the knife on her hip. "And, no sewers. No," the archer said, making an X with her arms while shaking her head. "I've seen what's down there, and it is NOT pretty. Let's go see that blacksmith though," the nomad said, her feet already finding their way back to town. She hoped they'd find work today after this, but wasn't counting on it. At least they had a decent amount of coinage now though.

For porcelain ranks, at least.

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

While she managed to keep up until the angry housewives, Alice quickly found herself belted by rolling pins, insulted for letting that "mangy mutt" run around, and more than once felt like she'd have to leave town for this. After all, even IF they were getting paid enough to cover the meats, there was no way they could keep Ms. Elmwood from hearing about this. She'd be lucky if they managed to get paid and skipped town but...all this for one dog!? Alice grit her teeth, bearing the pain of enraged housewives before suddenly pulling her extra special bone from her pack, and throwing it at Francoise's feet before he could bolt again. It was a succulent, premium, grand looking bone, the likes of which a fine hound like Francoise could tell was the kind that only top dogs had.

Alice was on the verge of tears, but...she had to prove to this newbie she had adventuring chops! Regardless, Alice would get to explaining that she'd handle washing all of the ruined laundry herself if they'd: "STOP HITTING ME!"

Goblin Slayer: Newblood (CANCELLED)

Well, this pow-wow was going well! Everyone was giving details about why they became adventurers, and it seemed like everything was hunky-dory between them. "Y'know, it sounds like your tribe is a lot like how the steppe is. Lotta small tribes that disagree or fight. Though, my home's not as big on wiping other tribes out. Instead, we have a competition to see who leads for a few years," the archer said, thinking that maybe that might be of some use for their Lizard friend to consider. Naturally, she knew nothing of the other tribes that Big Red was speaking of, but she felt like a system like that makes a physically minded group content, since, really, friendly competition means that there's no dispute over a winner.

Stretching her arms to the sky and straightening her back, Steppe Archer beamed, finishing her stretches before turning to look at her companions. "Wanna go see about that sword and some more quests? I'd like to keep it, but I'd need to practice to be any good with a straight sword." Today she hoped would be better than yesterday, far from goblins and the thoughts of how if they were less prepared, the red-haired girl's fate could have been her's.

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

There was a very, very long pause as Alice processed many things. First was that Francoise was suddenly an energetic normal dog. Second was that Francoise was a normal dog and liked rolling in mud, barking, and being a generally agreeable dog. Which was great! EXCEPT FOR THE PART WHERE HIS OWNER WAS A TYRANT AND NOW THEY HAD TO WASH HIM!

Shaking in her boots as she watched him go, Alice turned to Brandy as she ran off, before dropping to all fours and dashing after. "If we don't have him clean before we get back, Ms. Elmwood is going to tan our hide! And maybe not even pay us!" she said, ears drooping as she ran her 50% canine self after the 100% canine, avoiding mud because...gross. Alice wasn't as fast as Brandy was, but she was able to keep the dog in her sights as they followed its tracks along. "Francoise, you are being a very bad dog!" she said, using the forbidden term among canines to try and stop him.

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

Once they had the pooch, Alice relaxed a little, but still remained vigilant in how she basically kept herself between the dog and any potential...anything, really. "The village sounds good. The quest did say that we shouldn't let Francoise eat anything or be touched by anyone, so just make sure that nobody tries to...do anything to him, basically. Here's where adventurers are made or broken Brandy! After all, if we can't look after one precious wittle doggy, we can't rise up the ranks in GORE!" The werewolf girl looked excited, tail swishing to and fro as they took started their walk. ...Brandy might have the sneaking suspicion that she liked going for walkies herself, being a werewolf and all.

"Oh yeah, probably goes without saying, but I think Ms. Elmwood wouldn't like us touching Francoise either. Picking him up is a last resort in case of danger. And don't feed him anything. And also tell any kid that comes by that he bites. And also..." Alice seemed very persnickety, but that might also be because she didn't want to deal with Elmwood chewing them out and making them bathe a poodle for an entire evening. Either way, they had a job to do, a pittance of pay to earn, and the smuggest dog in the world to guard. Hop to it!

Goblin Slayer: Newblood (CANCELLED)

The druid girl's question left Steppe Archer thinking for a moment. "...Before I came here, I was actually looking into mercenary work. Like, army work. I always figured I'd be pretty good at it, since I can shoot a bow as good as any man in my tribe...but I guess some laws or something else meant that I couldn't. Adventuring was my second option," the nomad girl said, getting that off her chest, a small smile on her lips as she observed the fire.

"...Adventuring hurts a lot more than I thought it would. Seeing people get ruined...like that girl and her friends, nothing ever happened like that back home." The girl's posture shifted, pulling her warmed up knees to her chest as she wrapped her hands around to keep them close to her heart. "I like it now. Mainly because...well, you're both really fun to be around!" As she spoke more and more, the druid girl could feel as if the warmth of the nomad girl was competing with the fire, as her trademark winning smile emerged once again. "I'll adventure so long as I have a party like you guys."

Now that Big Red was at their side once more, the archer would stand up, grabbing her now dry small clothes and putting them on, boldly pointing to the sky and saying: "From now on, I'm an adventurer for real! Oh yeah, before I get all pumped up...how're you both liking adventuring?"

(Finals are done, and the Tree is Free!)

MAGILOCK=DRAGOKEY [Magical Girl Harem Thing]

Huh. Wasn't expecting this to resurrect. Well if its still ongoing, I'm still onboard.

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

Alice kept her smile throughout the barrage of the old lady's instructions and sweetly replied with: "We understand Ma'am. Francoise will come back without incident, even if I have to throw myself in harm's way. Though, if you don't want to use a leash, a harness might work better since it will only hold onto his chest. Just a thought for the future-" she said before cutting herself short, eyes narrowing as she sniffed once, smelling the mouse that was approaching. "Brandy! Don't play with mice!" she said, before very sternly staring down the field mouse, arms crossed. She needed to at least set the example that they could handle a small animal like a mouse...and a much larger animal like Brandy. Setting her eyes in an intense gaze, she would stare down the field mouse, raising her tail behind her.

"Don't you worry Ma'am, I'll protect Francoise from anything! Even things more threatening than that mouse. Like children. Or...children-sized mice."

Goblin Slayer: Newblood (CANCELLED)

By the time that Big Red had the fire in place, the nomad archer was already neatly washing her clothes, using a bristle brush she usually used to groom her horse to scrub the bits of blood out as best she could. After all, medieval washing was only so good....and as such, little rusty brown splotches would remain. Not like it mattered that much to the girl though. After hanging her clothes to dry she would dive into the river without hesitation. She would shiver, of course, but you got used to the shock of cold water after a moment. With her silvery hair pooling around her, she looked less like a girl and more like a strange hairy monster that was in the middle of devouring a girl...or a wet alpaca. Either or, really, same difference.

Once she was duly cleaned and emerged with her sopping wet hair, the archer would take a seat by the fire and warm herself along with her washings, smiling in idle contentment. In spite of the cold water that clung to her skin, she felt warm because of her companions. She hoped the girl they found could, somehow, come back to a normal life, and held hope that nobody would suffer a fate like that. ...But, that was all it was, was hope. Nothing substantial enough to change the world. Warming her hands by the fire, the girl found herself lost staring at the embers. How long had that girl been there? What exactly did they do to her?

...And why did nobody ever tell her goblins were so...evil?

Fate/Iliou Persis

Caster of Red - Skuld

A small smile graced Caster's face as her ideas were approved of. It seemed that even despite her reserved nature, praise had its desired effect on her. Or, maybe she was just really hoping to make a good impression on her master. Either way, she would look a bit happier as she raised the unfinished chocolate to her lips and bit into it, dull eyes conveying nothing, but her lively ears sprung up and down for a brief instant. "Let us be off then. I cannot leave you alone with another servant. Not until I'm certain we can trust them. I walk in your shadow, my Master," Caster stated, entering her spirit form and following Jacob. The ancient master could sense the transient state of the mana that comprised Caster's form was trailing behind him at a respectful distance, perhaps fearing to cause discomfort to her master...

Or, perhaps she was just walking slowly to savor the lingering taste of chocolate and caramel.

Either way, there was nothing to indicate that Caster had anything but the best intentions for her Master, which, if Jacob had already been privy to her True Name already was true to her nature. A being that was loyal to their master to an obssessive degree, willing to topple nations, to destroy her own family, to wage war against the world simply because she was asked to...

That is who Skuld was. And that is who she shall remain forevermore. A beast that didn't question why out of morality, but of efficiency. A servant that didn't belong amongst the more heroic members of her team. As such, she wouldn't try to, unless approached about it. Trust wasn't something earned easily, but was something that should never be broken easily.