Help the bandit out.

"All right. We'll hear you out, but you better not try anything. If you're trying to lure us into a trap, you best know it won't work. I took you down without use of my sword, my spells, or any of my allies." You step right up to her and take hold of her cheek. "Am I clear?"

She nods and swallows. "I'm very aware, Demon King. If I had known who you were, I'd have been grovelling at your feet, not aiming a weapon at your ally. I swear."

"Where is your leader?" you ask.

"Not far. We have a base just up the river, into the hills. It's hidden around where you start seeing trees. I wouldn't say it's even an hour away from here."

"Sounds good. Niki, you can untie her now."

The warrior gulps. Though she doesn't say anything, she side-eyes you nervously.

"... You don't know how, do you?"

She clears her throat. "I didn't exactly learn that part."

"Of course not."

"Don't worry," says the bandit. "I can get out myself, if you'll let me. I'm still able to reach my ring from this position." Then behind her back, using the fingers from her other hand, she twists the ring and activates its powers. The amber crystals flash, and just like before, she shapeshifts into a small, flailing salmon. The ropes of course fall loosely to the ground. Then after flopping to the side, her form once again turns into that of a naked girl.

"Useful magic," Eva says.

"Kinda. I mean yes, but the problem is the only thing I can take with me is the ring itself. Clothes don't shapeshift along with the rest of me. I can't even wear the ribbons I usually do in my hair. Thankfully I'm quite good at conjuring weapons, but still."

"The downside isn't that bad. You're a mage, so you don't need armour."

"That's not..."

"What's your name?" you ask.

With a hand timidly between her legs, and an arm across her chest, she steadies her nerves and answers. "I'm Kaelana. We're a group of mountain bandits that run the outskirts of these lands. In a way, we make it safer for those in the cities with how many monsters we slay or ward away. It isn't like we slaughter innocent people. We just, you know, take their money once in awhile. A girl's gotta eat."

"Tell me more about this leader of yours then."

She nods. "She goes by Monarch. Honestly, she's just incredible. Lately though, she's been acting super strange. The problem is we can't go to our usual contacts for this problem. One, because we'd have to go through her to do so. Two, because we can't show weakness to other gangs and stuff. You know how it is. So now I have to go behind her back just to help her out."

"What makes you believe something is wrong with her?" Amara asks. "Is she ill?"

"I don't know. Usually we do a lot more, travel to more places, but we've stayed rooted in one place way longer than usual. If she's not careful, what she's built up is is going to start crumbling. It isn't like her to make the decisions she's been making. There's something different in her eyes. I can't explain it. And one night, maybe I'm crazy, but I swear I saw a sort of... darkness around her, as she sat by the bonfire, like--Ugh. There's no way I can do this without sounding insane. You just have to trust me. Most of us know something is wrong, and I wouldn't be doing this unless I was serious."

It might be a really good idea to make a valuable contact right away. It would be like Rose with Shadow Garden in a sense, though of the hills and not the city. There's no telling what sort of things she'd know, or connections she has. And even though she's being very vague, if this Monarch is actually cursed or something, it could be bad to leave it be.

"We're adventurers, aren't we?" You look to your party--a rhetorical question. "It sounds like we have a quest."

Niki slaps her hand down on Kaelana's shoulder. "All right, naked guide. Take us to your leader."

"... Do you not have something I can wear?" she mumbles.

"Here." You hand over your cape--an incredibly valuable garment, especially sentimentally. But something inside you nudges you to help, and you know there isn't a chance she escapes with it. As you drape it around her back, her heart skips a beat.

She looks to you and swallows hard. Through a flustered face, all she can make out is, "Th-Thank you," quietly beneath her breath.

"It isn't much, but we don't have to go far."

"Yeah," says Eva. "Not much at all. I mean I can still see a lot of you."

"That isn't helping!" Kaelana shouts.