Tyr awoke to the smell of burning wood, a fire blazing near him warmed his skin. He sat up groggily, his hands heavily bandaged. Brutus was nowhere to be seen, but he saw Bryan laying on a wooden bed near the fire. The boy was bandaged and actively being tended to by several old women. Tyr tried to sit up, but as he did exhaustion swept over him. His eyes grew unfocused and once more he was asleep. In his dreams he saw the boy being struck by the club. He saw himself standing his ground as he'd cast mana blast against the bugbear. He also saw himself get hit and flung like a rag-doll from the creature. That was the last thing he'd remembered prior to the fire.
The fire was blazing, the heat against Tyr's skin was comforting as he awoke again. Brutus was sleeping in a chair next to his bed. Bryan was still on the bed near the fire, his title had changed.
"Bru.. Bruuuuss-" Tyr's words would barely escape his throat, so he shook his head while clearing his throat, "Brutus." The words were coarse and hoarse, his throat dried out beyond his comprehension. He rubbed his eyes then repeated his words again louder. This time the warrior stirred,
"Ah," Brutus straightened up. "Welcome back to the land of the living." Brutus quickly picked up a cup from a nearby table and filled it with water. Instead of offering it to Tyr he pressed it directly against the spellcasters lips. The water was warm, but in that moment it was the most delicious liquid he'd ever had the pleasure of ingesting. He coughed as he drank, but accepted it all without hesitation.
"Where are we?" Tyr managed to mumble, while his voice cracked.
"Bryan's town, Thorn Meadow." Brutus sat back down wearily, "It's night again, you've been out of it over a day. Should be dawn soon. I completed the quest and got a health potion. I drank it, saved the other for you." He produced the health potion from his own inventory and handed it to Tyr. Tyr graciously took the bottle and downed the contents. With every gulp he felt his hands stop aching and his energy returning. When the bottle was empty he rose to his feet.
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"We need to give one to Bryan," Tyr said while opening his own quest log and completing the quest to 'Survive the Goblin Horde.' He started glowing subtly as he leveled up and the content of quest rewards appeared. No health potions, but on a quick glance those robes look great. Provide more protection than what we're currently wearing and offer a small boost to the damage of your spells. The boy doesn't need your generosity anyway. Shut it. If they were here I'd pick them in a heartbeat.
"The villagers wouldn't let me, they said it was 'devils blood.' We have a more pressing issue, because Bryan's grandfather is dead."
"Dead?" The word hung in the air uncomfortably.
"He was killed yesterday while we were making our way here by soldiers from the western kings armies. The locals have told me quite a bit about them while we've been helping you guys recover. The specific branch that patrols this area is under the banner of the 'Silver Fang,' and before you ask he's essentially a war hero or a war criminal depending on how you look at it."
"Wait, so they're being what? Terrorized?"
"Basically." Brutus sighed heavily, "You have a quest waiting for you to accept in your quest log. I accepted it already and the more information I get the more it seems to update. Silver Fang collects taxes, fresh recruits, and leaves bodies if not enough of either of those is found. Bryan was out as deep as he was because he was avoiding conscription. The quest isn't to kill Silver Fang, it's to help Bryan avoid conscription."
"Do you think we should even-" Tyr stopped as an old woman entered the room, she stoked the fire and checked on Bryan's wounds. In a hushed tone Tyr continued, "Should we even be getting involved in the situations of the NPC's? These are their lives, and their traditions."
Brutus' eyes darkened. "First off they do not know that they're NPC's. To them this is the real world, this is life. These are good people Tyr. We have to help them. We have to." He lowered his voice even further, "Tyr, I know that this may not be your sense of adventure, but we need to do what's right by these people. And I.. I can't do this without your help man. I barely killed that bugbear without you. If you hadn't blown one of it's arms off I probably wouldn't have."
"Okay, so we help them. Then what? What do we do when they found out who we are?" Or when they find out what we are? Shadow's tone was so dark and sudden that Tyr visibly flinched.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Just help me keep him safe. Accept the quest." Tyr opened up his quest log, and stared hard at the words.
QUEST: Prevent Bryan Hunterson from being conscripted
Accept? Yes / No