It's morning again. And the bird is perched on Atalon's chest, staring at his face, beak about half an inch from the guy's nose, one black beady eye staring into a closed eyelid.
Enough waiting.
A single taloned foot reaches out and pokes the guy in the face. Nothing happens. This is repeated. Eventually, the bird moves to stand on the human's head, and takes to stabbing its beak at the man's eyes.
Nothing happens. The beak bounces off the eyelids as if they're made of wood.
Eventually, the bird wiggles his beak around further, trying to manually lift an eyelid up. This finally manages to succeed, and Atalon stutters awake, slowly reacting to the increased amount of light.
"Mmhmm.." he groans, slowly waking up. Blinking twice, he makes out the black shape that has relocated itself to his chest once again.
"Aaaaaaa!"
Dangit, Atalon, don't panic. It's big for a bird, but way too small to be an avian. And it's just sitting there, doing nothing.
The downside is his bow and pack are across the room, past the strange creature.
"Easy. I'm just going to move towards you. Nothing to fear. Just going to take one step at a time. Easy.."
He slowly shuffles, one foot after another, trying to step soundlessly. The black creature continues to stare at him with the black beady eyes.. but doesn't move.. yet. Eventually, it opens its beak. He freezes in response.
Dammit, why couldn't I have gotten into martial arts? Then I could just punch the thing. Or even be a melee guy in general.. I could take a hit or two, shrug it off, and plow straight through to my weapons. Always had to play it safe, stay at range..
"Are you the one who saved me?" said the bird.
"Aaaaaaa!"
"Okay. So lets see if I got this straight.", said Atalon, sitting on his bed in reverse, bow in hand once again. The bird is standing on top of a chairback, looking him in the eye.
"You're some kind of avian spirit. Yesterday's wolf ate you, and I killed the wolf, freeing you again. And now you're here to help me."
"Pretty much. And I've got to pay back my debt. I think I can only stay here a few days, though, so we'd better make it quick."
"Right, and you can speak, somehow."
"I remember being smart. So I must have been a smart avian. I know I wasn't black, but black seemed easy to do. And big. I remember being big, but small seemed easier to do."
"Right.. What can you do?"
"I can fly around, help you find things, track them down, tell you where to go. I can't fight for you. But you've got a bow, right? And you're a great hunter?"
"Okay.. this could work. How about we go out of town, and.."
"Lovely day, isn't it? I've got four for you today."
"That's pretty impressive. Get lucky with a pack?"
"Yeah.. I just had some help." he says, looking around. "This.. spirit thing helped me out."
"I was going to ask. Where did you pick that up? It looks interesting.."
"I'm not quite sure about that myself, but apparently I saved it from yesterday's wolf. So now it wants to pay me back."
"Well, good luck in the future."
The talk continues on for a few more minutes.
"So you coming in the bathhouse with me?"
"Do I have to? Its wet. Not good for these feathers. I will if you want, though." The creature says, limiting itself to quick sentences.
"No, that's okay. We did good today, and I don't think we're going to find anything to hunt in the bath. We'll meet up back at the boarding house. You can hang around downstairs if you like."
The bird shuffles its feet nervously.
"I don't think I liked humans very much. How about we just meet in your room?"
"Sure."
"And can you bring me some more of that bacon? Bacon is great."
"Absolutely."
"Goodnight, Atalon. I'm not sure how much time I have left, but I should be here in the morning. Maybe we'll do some more hunting."
"Sure... Goodnight." says Atalon.
.."Do you have a name?"
"No. I don't think so."
"Hmm. Would you like one?"
"Absolutely."
"How about.. Raucous."
"That sounds good. What does it mean?"
"It means 'Black', but in the old priest language."
"Well, thank you Atalon. And goodnight."
"Goodnight Raucous."
It is morning again. And once more the bird is perched on the human's chest. This time, instead of messing about with pokes and pecks, he just talks.
"Good morning Atalon! Rise and shine. I've got a present for you!"
"Mmmhmm.."
"I got you money!"
"What?"
"Well.. after you were asleep, I got thinking. You go out hunting to get money, right? And you work so hard and all you get is a few coins, right? So I went out looking."
"There's so much money out there! And lots of other good stuff, too. Rich, bright, shiny things. And they're probably all worth money. Your pack is full now, full of lots of money and shiny things."
"Raucous.. what have you done?"
"Come over here! Look at it!
The travel pack is sitting at the end of the room. Atalon nervously moves over to it, and he can see the pockets bulging, the compartments full of stuff. More full than they should be. Opening one up, he's shocked by the shine of silver, pulling out coins, jewelry, and other small items. This is repeated as he opens other compartments, with stuff packed around all his travel gear, and every compartment full of.. stuff.
"Where did you get all this stuff?"
"Well, lots of places! The guy with the counter who you gave your wolves to had lots of money. And there were so many interesting things in the market. All kinds of nice stuff. Gems, coins, all kinds of neat things. And then there was the big tall building with the pointy top. That had stuff in it too!"
..Yup, those are altar ornaments. And yes, that's a pair of electrum candle holders. And a nice belt buckle with an onyx in it. And more coins..
"But the best place was the big building on top of the hill. They had the best stuff. All kinds of things. I couldn't stay there for too long, though, they had some strong people with the hard clothing marching about, and it didn't look safe anymore."
..And yes, those are diamonds in that ring. And the pins. And those are gold Aurus. And..
"We've gotta get out of here. Now! NOW!"
It's morning again. And the bird is perched on Atalon's chest, staring at his face, beak about half an inch from the guy's nose, one black beady eye staring into a closed eyelid.
Enough waiting.
A single taloned foot reaches out and pokes the guy in the face. Nothing happens. This is repeated. Eventually, the bird moves to stand on the human's head, and takes to stabbing its beak at the man's eyes.
Nothing happens. The beak bounces off the eyelids as if they're made of wood.
Eventually, the bird wiggles his beak around further, trying to manually lift an eyelid up. This finally manages to succeed, and Atalon stutters awake, slowly reacting to the increased amount of light.
"Mmhmm.." he groans, slowly waking up. Blinking twice, he makes out the black shape that has relocated itself to his chest once again.
"Aaaaaaa!"
Dangit, Atalon, don't panic. It's big for a bird, but way too small to be an avian. And it's just sitting there, doing nothing.
The downside is his bow and pack are across the room, past the strange creature.
"Easy. I'm just going to move towards you. Nothing to fear. Just going to take one step at a time. Easy.."
He slowly shuffles, one foot after another, trying to step soundlessly. The black creature continues to stare at him with the black beady eyes.. but doesn't move.. yet. Eventually, it opens its beak. He freezes in response.
Dammit, why couldn't I have gotten into martial arts? Then I could just punch the thing. Or even be a melee guy in general.. I could take a hit or two, shrug it off, and plow straight through to my weapons. Always had to play it safe, stay at range..
"Are you the one who saved me?" said the bird.
"Aaaaaaa!"
"Okay. So lets see if I got this straight.", said Atalon, sitting on his bed in reverse, bow in hand once again. The bird is standing on top of a chairback, looking him in the eye.
"You're some kind of avian spirit. Yesterday's wolf ate you, and I killed the wolf, freeing you again. And now you're here to help me."
"Pretty much. And I've got to pay back my debt. I think I can only stay here a few days, though, so we'd better make it quick."
"Right, and you can speak, somehow."
"I remember being smart. So I must have been a smart avian. I know I wasn't black, but black seemed easy to do. And big. I remember being big, but small seemed easier to do."
"Right.. What can you do?"
"I can fly around, help you find things, track them down, tell you where to go. I can't fight for you. But you've got a bow, right? And you're a great hunter?"
"Okay.. this could work. How about we go out of town, and.."
"Lovely day, isn't it? I've got four for you today."
"That's pretty impressive. Get lucky with a pack?"
"Yeah.. I just had some help." he says, looking around. "This.. spirit thing helped me out."
"I was going to ask. Where did you pick that up? It looks interesting.."
"I'm not quite sure about that myself, but apparently I saved it from yesterday's wolf. So now it wants to pay me back."
"Well, good luck in the future."
The talk continues on for a few more minutes.
"So you coming in the bathhouse with me?"
"Do I have to? Its wet. Not good for these feathers. I will if you want, though." The creature says, limiting itself to quick sentences.
"No, that's okay. We did good today, and I don't think we're going to find anything to hunt in the bath. We'll meet up back at the boarding house. You can hang around downstairs if you like."
The bird shuffles its feet nervously.
"I don't think I liked humans very much. How about we just meet in your room?"
"Sure."
"And can you bring me some more of that bacon? Bacon is great."
"Absolutely."
"Goodnight, Atalon. I'm not sure how much time I have left, but I should be here in the morning. Maybe we'll do some more hunting."
"Sure... Goodnight." says Atalon.
.."Do you have a name?"
"No. I don't think so."
"Hmm. Would you like one?"
"Absolutely."
"How about.. Raucous."
"That sounds good. What does it mean?"
"It means 'Black', but in the old priest language."
"Well, thank you Atalon. And goodnight."
"Goodnight Raucous."
It is morning again. And once more the bird is perched on the human's chest. This time, instead of messing about with pokes and pecks, he just talks.
"Good morning Atalon! Rise and shine. I've got a present for you!"
"Mmmhmm.."
"I got you money!"
"What?"
"Well.. after you were asleep, I got thinking. You go out hunting to get money, right? And you work so hard and all you get is a few coins, right? So I went out looking."
"There's so much money out there! And lots of other good stuff, too. Rich, bright, shiny things. And they're probably all worth money. Your pack is full now, full of lots of money and shiny things."
"Raucous.. what have you done?"
"Come over here! Look at it!
The travel pack is sitting at the end of the room. Atalon nervously moves over to it, and he can see the pockets bulging, the compartments full of stuff. More full than they should be. Opening one up, he's shocked by the shine of silver, pulling out coins, jewelry, and other small items. This is repeated as he opens other compartments, with stuff packed around all his travel gear, and every compartment full of.. stuff.
"Where did you get all this stuff?"
"Well, lots of places! The guy with the counter who you gave your wolves to had lots of money. And there were so many interesting things in the market. All kinds of nice stuff. Gems, coins, all kinds of neat things. And then there was the big tall building with the pointy top. That had stuff in it too!"
..Yup, those are altar ornaments. And yes, that's a pair of electrum candle holders. And a nice belt buckle with an onyx in it. And more coins..
"But the best place was the big building on top of the hill. They had the best stuff. All kinds of things. I couldn't stay there for too long, though, they had some strong people with the hard clothing marching about, and it didn't look safe anymore."
..And yes, those are diamonds in that ring. And the pins. And those are gold Aurus. And..
"We've gotta get out of here. Now! NOW!"
