An interesting way to find raiders, that's for sure

Angelo made his way quickly through the forest, following the main trail through, but noticed something strange. Until a moment ago, the animals that had been making quite the ruckus had fallen eerily silent. Angelo thought, 'Hmm, this is not a good sign.' He wasn't sure if it was those raiders or some other group, but, whoever they were. He knew they were close.

He had seen far too many video games where the hero would get caught off guard. Sure, it would be easier to just go out into that clearing and most certainly be attacked, but that was simply a bad idea. One that would either get him, seriously hurt, or worse, killed. There was no way he would fall for this ploy, no siree, he will not allow himself to be caught like that. He wasn't about to be caught flatfooted. He slowed down, but made a dash towards the trees to his side. Once he stepped far enough into the shadows and out of the sight of anyone who could have been watching him from the main trail, he stopped. This action had activated his Shadow Waltz's passive. Angelo suspicions had been right on the money. He noticed something moving in the distance from one of the trees to another. Whoever or whatever it was, was heading his way. It was likely whoever that was, had been keeping an eye out for him. Clearly this foe wasn't used to this sort of tactic, but in their defense, losing track of your prey was never a good sign. This was perfect, their panic would be their downfall. He cast Sleeping Spore, sending that one small blue spore in the direction of those quivering leaves. - 25 Mp Shortly after that spore touched the leaves of that tree, it exploded in a 2 yd radius, filling the air with shimmering blue particles, a couple seconds later, Angelo could clearly hear the sound of heavy breathing.

He quickly made his way towards that tree, keeping to the shadows to avoid being seen. After arriving at the tree's base, Angelo climbed up to see who or what was breathing so heavily. He was surprised to find a harpy resting soundly against several branches, green and red feathers covering her winged arms and the top half of her legs, the lower half of her legs were like a bird's. He had seen several depictions of a harpy's foot in anime, manga, and even the occasional video game, but this was his first time seeing a harpy's foot in person, her feet had three talons in front and one in the back. When he looked closer, he could see she was wearing a green tube top, covering her modest A cup breasts, and a pair of green booty shorts covering her surprisingly wide hips. Angelo began to wonder, 'Are her hips this wide to make it easier to lay eggs?' He shook his head and looked around a moment, he needed something to tie her up. He opened his inventory and smiled seeing the 15 Large Rat pelts and the 100 Large Rat Teeth he had. He could use Craft to turn at least one solid rope for just that purpose. He looked at her and used Observe while thinking, 'The more information I have before she wakes up the better.'

Observe:

Title: Living Melody, Guild: N/A, Class: Bard, Lvl: 16, Height: 5' 4"

Weight: 115, Name: Aerethe, Age: 19, Bust: A cup, Body type: Petite/Slender

Race: Harpy, Relationship: 5, Mood: Sleepy, Hp: 250/250, Current thoughts: Unavailable

He had to admit that Aerethe had a cute face, but he wasn't about to let that keep him from tying her up. Who knows when her friends might arrive. He cast Craft while thinking about a rope that could bind her without hurting her. He received two options this time. - 5 Mp

Craft:

Merge: 5 Large Rat Pelts + 50 Large Rat Teeth + 20 Mp + $5. Results: Rat-toothed Rope of Binding. Uncommon Quality. This rope is self tightening, using the tooth nodules to tighten, but the soft pelts to cushion the pressure. Making it difficult to escape, but a pleasant experience for those bound by it. Length 8 ft. Material: Large Rat Pelt, Large Rat Teeth, and mana infusion. 35/35 Durability.

Merge: 10 Large Rat Pelts + 100 Large Rat teeth + 45 Mp + $10. Results: Jagged Rat-toothed Rope of Binding. Uncommon Quality. This rope is self tightening, using the tooth nodules to tighten, but the soft pelts to cushion the pressure. Making it difficult to escape, but a pleasant experience for those bound by it. Length 8 ft. Added defense, jagged teeth. These will cause 5 physical damage every time they are touched by those bound by it, weakening their will to try and escape. Material: Large Rat Pelt, Large Rat Teeth, and mana infusion. 60/60 Durability.

This wasn't much to think about as Angelo selected the second option, Jagged Rat-toothed Rope of Binding. - 10 Large Rat pelts, - 100 Large Rath Teeth, - 45 Mp, and - $10. This was quite nice. He made a rather useful item. Which was nice, but on top of that, he even opened up some space in his inventory. This was the first time Angelo saw the item icons in his inventory change. All of his Large Rat Teeth disappeared as did 6 of those Large Rat pelts, but a rather mean looking rope took their place in his inventory. He took it out and carefully bound her wrists behind her back and her ankles, doing his best to tie them comfortably without allowing her to be able to escape. He did notice something interesting though, after binding her, she had a rather naughty look on her face. He shook his head while thinking, 'Well, someone is having a nice dream.'

When Angelo looked away for a moment, Aerethe began to stir. She accidentally tugged on those ropes, but when they tightened, she moaned softly. Angelo turned slightly to glance at her before turning his attention to the forest around them. He was certain her buddies would be on their way soon, but he had to ask. "I want to know why your group has been raiding the supply lines. If it were just for the supplies, these attacks wouldn't be continuing. So, what is the reason?" There was a short pause before she replied. "Partly to have fun, but also to vent out our frustration over losing our homeland. At least, that is what I have been told, sir. I, I am just a bard. Please, don't hurt me." She tugged a little more at those ropes and groaned when they tightened again. "Mm, this rope is, rather tight." He was about to ask more, but his quest's optional bonus just crossed itself off as complete. It would seem she was telling the truth. He sighed softly while looking her direction, noticing a bit of fear in her silver eyes. Her soft wavy green hair lightly danced along her cheeks as she looked down slightly and said. "I know it sounds pitiful, but it's true." He shook his head slightly and said. "I believe you. I'm Angelo, what's your name?" Her eyes widened with a glimmer of hope, her score ticked up to 15, as she cheerfully said."I'm Aerethe, it's nice to meet you, Angelo. Even if it is under these strange circumstances. Um, is it too soon to ask you to untie me?"

He thought about it a moment before moving his left hand's fingers through her hair when he asked. "Are you sure you won't just try to fly away, Aerethe? I can't have you just running back to your friends and bolstering them. Zisho and I wouldn't want them to have anymore advantages than they already have." Her eyes widened as her score ticked up to 35 as she said. "You've met the commander and lived!? I am very lucky to be alive then. Ah, this makes me want to know more and write a song about it." She growled cutely before continuing to speak. "I wish I had been there to see it. I bet it was glorious. However you got on her good side must have been quite the show." Angelo coughed while looking away, blushing lightly as he said. "Um, I am sure you can ask her about it later, but that doesn't answer my question." She nodded slightly while watching him and said. "I won't fly away, I promise. If you have Zisho's vote of confidence then you have mine too. Sadly, it will take a lot more than that to persuade the others." She closed her eyes a moment before continuing to speak. "To prove my loyalty, I will tell you about the others in my group. There are only two left out there, Daras Vigilstep and Khaxat Dustnail. Daras is a minotaur who specialty is fighting in close quarters combat with a large battle ax. Hmm, I believe he told me he was a beserker. Khaxat on the other hand is handy with a longbow, but his specialty is trapping foes and tracking down his prey. I believe he said he was a tracker." Angelo nodded slightly and said. "Hmm, well, that is rather useful information. Thanks." He started to untie Aerethe, but once he was done, he decided to rename his rope. After some careful consideration, he decided on simply renaming it, Jagged Rope, before opening his inventory to put it away. There were still a few things on his mind. If Aerethe was this reasonable, then who was really the cause of this rebellion? Was it Daras or Khaxat? Hmm, should he go in and find out or should he wait for Zisho and Fenvi?

Name: Angelo Gallo

Title: The Gamer

Lvl: 16 XP 1,742/3,200

Hp: 398/398

Hp regen: 32.89 per min

Mp: 586/586

Mp regen: 42.113 per min

Money: $57,494.84

Dick size: 9 inches

Inventory slots 7/28 (Angelo's Scimitar, Jagged Rope, Cock Ring of Infertility, 5 Large Rat pelts, Hearthstone, and Fantom)

Unspent skill points: 0

Str: 50 + (5) End: 31 + (3)

Int: 65 + (13) Wis: 56 + (3)

Agi: 60 + (6) Cha: 45 + (0)

Lib: 41 + (0)