Home, home in the cave

Gil returned to the girl and the elderly wolf, and discovered that the meal they were eating consisted of some poorly cooked fish and mushrooms. He ate it, of course. One does not turn down food that isn’t likely to be poisoned, and these two did not strike him as the type for skullduggery. Far, far too wholesome and innocent for that. He was just keenly struck by exactly how bad at cooking a girl raised by a possessed wolf would logically be.

He gave the two of them a summary of his last trip to this world, keeping to the parts they would understand and find interesting. Noa listened with rapt attention as he described the small village, and he could tell she wanted to interrupt. The first time he let her field a question she decided to ask about what money was, so he didn’t feel overly inclined to let her keep asking too often.

“So, you trained Noa in how to fight?” Gil asked Terra, watching as Noa shamelessly bathed in an underground river. It didn’t seem like Terra had any real concept of sexual propriety, so Noa hadn’t picked it up either. She had a slim build, but it was all lean muscle. It was the kind of build you saw on young olympians.

“Yes.” Terra answered. “I knew that I’d need to bond with her someday, so I’ve done my best to prepare her.”

“Need to?” Gil asked, cocking his head. “Is there something special about her?”

“Multiple things, yes.” Terra answered, resting her head on her paws. “That I love her is reason enough, however. We will be an excellent team.”

“What about the wolf?”

“She will die.” Terra said with a melancholy tone. “I’ve already kept her alive past her natural lifespan. Noa was far too small for me when she was brought here, but she needed guidance and protection. This old wolf gave me strength and mobility when I needed it, but I can’t in good conscience ask for more.”

“So why haven’t you done it yet?” Gil asked, “I can't imagine it would be harder to teach her while hanging off her forearm than it is as a big dog.”

“The wolf isn’t the only one tired. I’ve been away from my cradle for far too long. I need the energy of a Genesis Tree to make the transition.”

Gil perked up at that.

“Maybe I can take the two of you to Rim Elm.” He suggested. “You can meet up with Meta and move on from there.”

It felt like an elegant plan to Gil. If he could fast talk these two, or perhaps three if one counted the wolf, into joining his retinue by using his portal as leverage, he’d do it in a second. Even if he didn’t sell them or bring them along offworld, they struck Gil as heroic main character types. Given that the missions here seemed to lean towards heroically fighting the Mist and its servants, that was practically passive income for Gil. He could still remember his missions well enough.

Convince a Ra-Seru to take you or a non-native retinue member as it’s bearer without compromising its mind.

Reward: 5 Credits, Memento Vive, Unlock Basic Inventory upgrade for purchase.

•

Revive the Genesis Tree on Mt. Rikuroa.

Reward: 5 credits, Zubat Card, Absolute Gullibility Spray

•

Arc Mission: Eliminate the source of Mist in the Drake Kingdom

Rewards: 10 credits, Binding Refresh, The Dungeon, Recast

Two of those would practically do themselves, assuming that his new friends were up to the task. Along with the missions, he was willing to wager cold hard credits that they would find better healing items as they traveled further from their starting point, possibly while also picking up new allies. He could come back whenever he needed to refill his medicine cabinet and check in on their progress.

If he was wrong, and this world was balanced on the assumption that Gil would help out? He’d kick himself for being lazy and sell them off. Alternatively, if it proved possible and cost effective, he would resurrect them so they could try again. In any event, profit.

The old wolf perked up, wagging its tail.

“You know a way?” She asked, “I’m sure you’re right. We’d be much safer with-“

BOOM.

An earth shattering crash echoed through the cave, and was followed by another crash, and another. The ground buckled and heaved beneath their feet, throwing Noa onto the ground as she tried to pull on her clothes. Gil moved closer to Noa, just in case the wise old mentor in the room was about to be killed by a cave-in. These things happened.

As the crashing ended, Gil heard something in the distance. A booming roar; one that was already familiar to him at this point. The creature that had pounded down the walls at Rim Elm had roared like that. He braced himself for that ponce Zeto to appear, but they were alone.

“Noa. Quick. Grab the supplies.” Terra snapped, shifting to her feet. “We might need to leave regardless. Can you show us the way? These caves are supposed to be closed off, but I can feel the wind. The mist is coming.”

Gil could not, in fact, feel any such thing. He wasn’t the ancient magical symbiote though, so he rolled with it. He waited only a few moments for Noa to sling a bag over her shoulder before jogging his way to the portal with the ladies at his heels.

Along the way, the three heard a faint electric hum in the distance. Gil had no interest in finding out the source, so when they reached the portal he turned to his companions.

“Alright.” He said, directing his attention to the relatively naive seeming Noa, “I can transport you pretty directly to the Genesis Tree in Rim Elm, but I’ll need you to trust me. Will you sell me your soul?”

“Sure!” She agreed easily. “Terra trusts you, so I do to. What is a soul, though?”

Gil checked his tablet, and cursed quietly to himself. He’d fucked up by ordering Candress to look for potential recruits. She’d done so, quite effectively, but now Gil had a Named tier 1 instead of whatever Noa was. At least tier 2, possibly 3 or higher. He’d been planning on capturing Noa with a pact and then grabbing Terra with his Beastmaster sphere, assuming that she was even able to consent to that. This… complicated things.

••••••••••

And another poll, this one for our next destination. Just getting it out of the way.

https://strawpoll.com/3RnYXd5d9ye