A brief but vigorous mud fight ensues. When the pig decides to get into it on my side, Tiene yields.

“Fine, I give up. What’s wrong with you LP? You’re supposed to support me.”

She gives me a suspicious glance.

“Do you have some sort of pig manipulation skill? Piggomancy?”

I try not to look guilty as I shake my head.

“Nope. Just a regular farmer with a pig friendly face I guess.”

She shrugs and exits the pen. I follow, and she takes me to a water tower. It’s an impressive structure, with several rain collectors attached to the sides. A few pipes stick out from the underside, and she stands under one of them.

“I’m pretty proud of this one. I made it myself.”

She smiles, and pulls a chain attached to the pipe. Water flows out of the end, hitting a grate, showering her. She stops it and invites me to try it. I boggle slightly at the ingenuity of this woman, this NPC. I definitely have to get her to come with me when I get my own place. Standing underneath the pipe, I pull the chain. Cold water washes over me, and soon the worst of the mud is off. I’m still filthy, and dripping wet, but at least the clumps are gone and my face is clean.

Afterwards, we leave the farm, going into the nearby forest. She shows me a clearing nearby where there’s a fire pit, and a structure of rocks that look nearly melted. She has me gather firewood as she prepares, and soon we have a warming fire going. As my clothes dry, I wonder if S is watching us right now, waiting for her opportunity. Tiene tilts her head as she looks at me.

“You seem so far away. What are you thinking about?”

I check my standing with her. ‘Appreciates me’… Is that going to be enough? I go for it.

“I was wondering about what you were going to ask me, before. You seemed hesitant to talk to a stranger, but now that we know each other better…”

She looks into the fire.

“Oh. Yeah. I nearly forgot.”

A haunted look comes over her face.

“I can trust you, can’t I? I mean, you’re a stranger and all, but you’re the only person who’ve dared come up to the farm and talk to me. Twice. All the village boys are too scared of my family, and the suitors who do come are just… wrong.”

I stay quiet, letting her come to her own conclusions. She nods to herself, then continues.

“I want to leave here. I want to go far away, and I want to live my life the way I want. I want to tinker with machines and work with my hands without my family telling me I have to stop, to be a good daughter. Staying here means I’ll be nothing but chattel for my family to trade.”

She looks at me imploringly.

“It would be dangerous, and they would come for me. Can you help me?”

You have been offered a quest: The farmers daughter.Tiene has expressed her desire to flee her family and their designs on her future.Accept: Tiene will become your companion.Success: Greatly increased relationship with Tiene Candrid. Greatly diminished relationship with the Candrid family.Failure: Greatly diminished relationship with Tiene Candrid. Greatly diminished relationship with the Candrid family.Reject: Greatly diminished relationship with Tiene Candrid. Improved relationship with the Candrid family.

That worked out better than I thought. I accept the quest.

“Of course I’ll help you. I’m leaving town either way. If I can help you at the same time, all the better.”

She scooches closer to me, hugging me with an arm.

Tiene Candrid has become your companion.Companion state: Happy. Tiene will listen to what you have to say and consider your words when you ask her to do anything. She will reject if the request goes against what she wants or believes.Your relationship with Tiene Candrid has increased to Trust.

I hug her back as I consider my next move.

“Tiene, I have to ask you something about your family, and it might be hard to hear.”

She looks at me in confusion.

“About my family? What?”

I take a deep breath.

“A friend of mine is investigating the disappearance of one of her companions.”

She nods uncertainly.

“I found a note from him in a cell underground outside of town. The cell was probably made by the cult.”

Her eyes go wide and she retreats from me just a little bit.

“My friend scouted the area, and found a strange cave near here. People were entering that cave. Six people in masks. One of them had a cane. She had to leave before checking closer, but I told her I’d talk to you about.”

Tiene looks worried, but nods as she thinks about what I said.

“A cave? There are lots of caves near here. We’re not allowed around them, too dangerous. What else did your friend say?”

Encouraged by her response I continue.

“Mushrooms. The kind that will kill you or paralyse you if you eat them.”

“I don’t know much about mushrooms, but there’s the cave where auntie used to get her toadstools. She died years ago, so we haven’t really been there since. Tee, are you saying you think my family is involved with the cult?”

I look her in the eyes.

“I don’t know, but my friend is worried. If it’s okay with you, I can call her and you can talk. She’s a bit direct, but she seems trustworthy.”

Tiene nods.

“If you think that’s the right move. Is she dangerous?”

A hand touches my shoulder, and I very nearly soil myself.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“I’m pretty dangerous. Beat this guy up a few times. Even killed him once.”

I grumble a bit, keeping my mouth shut so they can speak. Tiene is staring wide eyed at the dark apparition in front of us.

“Come with me, and I’ll show you where the cave was. I don’t know if your family was involved, but the location means that you’re the closest group of people.”

S leads us into the forest, and we meekly follow. Tiene stays close to me, holding on to my arm.

“I hadn’t called for you yet. Were you watching us?”

She doesn’t answer.

“I mean, I don’t mind so much, but I would have liked to know about it. What if I was in a compromising position or …”

S turns around, her eyes burning into me. Tiene lets out a squeak and hides behind me. I very nearly hide behind her in turn.

“If I follow someone, they don’t know about it. Now can you be quiet so I can concentrate? There are traps here, and it’s hard enough to find them without your yapping.”

I swallow heavily, nodding in agreement. She turns away, continuing into the forest. We follow her much more closely now.

***

We arrive at the cave as the sun starts to set. S motions for us to stand outside while she enters. A minute later she comes back outside, waving for us to follow.

“I’ve never been here before, but those mushrooms look like the ones aunty would gather. I don’t know what she did with them.”

Tienes voice is no more than a whisper as we walk down the entryway. It’s a gentle slope taking us below ground level. After a sharp turn, torches begin to line the walls. There’s a smell of decay suffusing the air, and a definite feeling that something is wrong. After a few minutes walk we arrive at a large chamber.

S stops, her head turning this way and that, taking in the scene. Tiene gasps, a sound much louder than expected, yet muffled in the cavern. All around the room are torches, burning eagerly. In the middle of the room is a large stone altar, intricately carved with symbols of nature and life. The surface is stained by blood old and fresh.

From the ceiling hung dozens of wooden cages bound with twine. Each one contains a blackened lump of flesh. S cautiously moves towards the altar, stops and waves for us to come closer. Tiene shakes her head, and I approach. When I get closer, she whispers to me.

“Look at the one over there, the bright one.”

I look. One of the lumps has a different colour to the others. Fresher, in a way. That’s fair enough, maybe it’s a common happenstance.

In the middle of my thought, the lump contracts twice, and fluid drips to the floor.

“What the fuck! Did that thing just beat? Is that a heart?”

She looks at me and shrugs.

“I think it is, but traditionally they don’t beat outside of a body. Hey, blonde and greasy, what do you make of this?”

Tiene hasn’t entered the room yet. Her eyes tell me she’s slipping into shock. I guess a sheltered NPC is a bit more sensitive than two desensitised players. I walk over to her, talking to her in low tones. After a minute of this she snaps out of her trance.

“What the hell are they doing in here? There were rumours, always rumours but this? That one is fresh! The blood over there hasn’t even coagulated.”

We move to the centre of the room to investigate the altar. S is on her knees checking out the base while Tiene and I look at the surface. Blood has been spilled here. Lots of it. It doesn’t look like there’s been a lot of effort to clean it up over the years either. I look at S.

“So… Is your friend here?”

She stands up and takes another look around.

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think so. I’m going to check. Don’t disturb me.”

With that, she stops talking. I look to Tiene.

“So what kind of rumours were there?”

“Aunty was known in the village as a wise woman. The people of the town would come and talk to her, ask her advice and buy remedies for various maladies. But during the night, others would come and visit. I never saw anything myself, but Sel told me there were Orcs and Shadelings. Even a troll once. They came to trade knowledge and magics. With these dark spells she would make sure our family was strong, and that the others were weak.”

S grunts, swinging her arm out. We watch her a moment, but she’s perfectly still again. Tiene continues.

“I thought that was all nonsense, just stories made up to scare me about a sweet old woman who was always nice to me. To find out that she’s some sort of fiend that kidnaps and sacrifices people is…”

S takes a deep breath, shaking her head.

“She wasn’t.”

We look at her.

“She was a kind of witch. Her power comes from the crossroads where Nature and Darkness meets. A dark shaman I guess.”

Tiene looks desperate, her voice a loud whisper.

“How do you know?”

S smiles sadly.

“I just talked to her. A nice woman, if a bit family centric. My friend isn’t here. Never was. Your family isn’t involved in the cult.”

A raspy voice comes from the entryway.

“Cult you say?”

We all look. S swears under her breath. Oltab Candrid stands there, leaning on his cane. Behind him are two men, one leading a cow, the other holding a sickle. The old mans smile isn’t comforting.

“Tiene, I’m disappointed in you. You refuse to do as you’re told, you defy our traditions. When things finally calm down a little you start cavorting with this vegetable, and now I find you leading strangers to our family's sacred grounds?”

She takes a step towards him.

“Father, I…”

He waves her off, interrupting her.

“Don’t bother. You’re going straight to your room. You’ll stay there until the day after next. Then we’ll travel to the Kellen farmstead. Tabathon has agreed to our terms. He’s willing to ignore your glaring faults for the chance at our livestock.”

She stops, looking down. As she turns towards me I get a sinking feeling I’m about to lose out on a quest and an excellent companion.

“Tee, I’m sorry.”

I step forwards, standing next to her. Facing the old man, I steel myself for a beating.

“Mister Candrid. My name is Tee, and I’m here to take your daughter to the life she wants and deserves.”

The three men and Tiene look at me in shock.

“Now stand aside before my companions and I have to force the issue.”

The man with a sickle steps forward with a grin. Oltab gestures towards the room.

“You and what companions? All I see is a quaking leaf I call daughter, and an errant piece of vegetation in dire need of pruning. Jackson, kill him. He’s an adventurer, he’ll be fine.”

Your relationship with your companion has increased to Admiration.

Jackson raises his arm, sickle in hand, and brings it down on my head with a wet sound.