Ferodias POV / Ten Years Earlier

The morning came rather early with a flurry of activity, the villagers and guards waking just before first light and being surprisingly diligent in packing camp. Ferodias was mobile enough by then and helping where he could, only slightly groggy due to having helped with the watch the night before. While the carts were being loaded with the camping gear, one of the guards who had been riding the warblers ended up rolling their ankle while carrying a crate. Their fall was rough, and the ankle was quick to swell, looking rather bad; though thanks to Regan and his life magic, the ankle would be healed up properly before the day was over. The problem now was that there wasn't another guard to ride the remaining warbler; thus Ferodias found himself riding along with the caravan on the warbler, free from the constraints of being a passenger and simply waiting to arrive at their next stop.

The warbler was a homely bird that had an array of black feathers that was interspersed with shades of greys and browns. His name was Shazoo, and there wasn't a thought behind its black beady eyes as it squawked out to nobody in particular. The day went on fairly quickly this time, and being actively part of the team that patrolled the area around the caravan proved to be a very good way to help whittle the minutes away.

As lunch rolled around, Ferodias found himself riding along with various carts and wagons, checking in with everyone while passing out sandwiches that those in the larder wagon had made for everyone else. Once all the food had been passed out, Ferodias noticed that there wasn't any food left for him in the basket he had been handed. At first, he was disappointed, that was until he spotted Tori waving him over from the back of the larder wagon. Quickly making his way over until he was riding along beside the wagon. Tori held out a cloth-wrapped bundle, reaching out with one arm while hanging off the back of the wagon as Ferodias leaned over to meet her, taking up the bundle with a curious expression on his face. "What's this?" He asked though he could already smell the bread, dried meat, and freshly sliced vegetables within the bundle.

Tori flashed a smile as she leaned back into the wagon, sitting along the edge of it as she watched him ride along. "Your lunch, I made it special for you." She explained with an almost mischievous look on her face.

Ferodias couldn't help but smile in response, though he curiously sniffed at the sandwich and quirked a brow at Tori. "What's special about it?" He asked as he gave the sandwich another sniff before unwrapping it.

Tori chuckled softly as she watched him before speaking up. "It's made special with an excuse so we can talk for a little bit." She mused before covering one side of her mouth with her hand as if to hide her words. "Also, I added a few extra slices of meat, but keep that between us." She mentioned playfully.

Ferodias ears waggled with delight as he nodded before taking a bite of the sandwich and chewing, though he swallowed soon enough, washing it down with some water before looking over at Tori. "So how have you been handling all this? Are you okay?" He asked, taking another bite of the sandwich but savoring it more as he listened to what she had to say.

She hummed thoughtfully, taking a moment to consider her words before nodding to herself. "I think... I think I'm doing better." She said, a smile on her lips and in her eyes as she watched Ferodias. "I'm in a better place because of you and yours, and I won't have any scarring or long-lasting injuries on my body thanks to how skilled Regan is. Besides all that, this experience has been very illuminating, and I believe I have a few ideas for my R&D team to look into for new products." She explained with obvious enthusiasm.

Ferodias swallowed before tilting his head curiously. "What is an R&D team?" He asked, his ears perked with curiosity as he took another bite of the sandwich. For some reason, it seemed to taste better than most sandwiches he's had before, and he briefly wondered if it was due to the idea that she made it for him.

She looked momentarily surprised by the question before smiling as she scratched at her cheek. "It means Research and Development, I have quite a few ideas for various goods and products, and it is up to them to figure out if the idea is practical or financially sound enough to invest in." She explained as best she could.

Ferodias looked more than intrigued as his tail curled and swayed behind him. "I see! A novel idea in of itself." He said as he nodded with approval before considering something else. "So I take it you have your own business? I remember you mentioning how you said you proved to your father that you were worth investing in. Is that where you put the money you earned?"

Tori nodded intently, looking out at the treeline as the wagon rolled along. "I have a few general good stores around the kingdom, and while I do personally sell a lot of my own ideas, most of my money comes from selling the ideas to other companies and businesses that are better geared for producing the things I come up with, and taking a percentage of the sales via royalties." She explained, seeming more than happy to talk about business as she turned to watch Ferodias again.

Ferodias nodded intently, clearly impressed as he swallowed another bite he had been working on. "That sounds pretty lucrative, I quite like the idea of making money off my thoughts." Ferodias mused kindly. It was certainly an interesting idea, but he couldn't talk down on it at all if it works for her. Besides, he was pretty sure he could recall something about laws regarding patents and the selling of ideas during his studies.

Tori could see where he was going with that comment and smirked a bit before shaking her head. "It's not all about coming up with an off-the-wall idea and making others figure it out. I still have to research and test things on my own so I can send my R&D team down the right path. Like, I can't say I want a handheld black mirror that lets me talk to people on the other side of the country. I need to figure out how it should work and why it should work before my team can start effectively going down that path."

Ferodias chuckled softly at that before nodding intently. "I see, I see. Well, if you ever come up with one of those mirrors, I want to be one of the first to have one." He mused with a waggle of his ears.

Tori winked playfully at that. "You'll be the first one I call." She mused.

Before Ferodias could say anything else, one of the other guards whistled and made a gesture for Ferodias once he looked over. He then shot Tori a glance and smiled a little more. "Duty calls, talk later?" He asked, and once Tori nodded, he hurried off after the other guard to scout around some more.

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Later that day, they had once again come to a stop, Ferodias ended up riding further ahead with some of the guards to another village, this village being larger and significantly more developed. Perhaps it was due to the fact that they were only a day away from the city or any number of other reasons. Regardless, the guards and Ferodias were simply there to inform the village head of this community that their caravan was half a mile up the road, so they wouldn't have to be wary of any campfires in the distance. Ultimately, Ferodias got the impression that it was just the neighborly thing to do since it seemed the people of this village at least recognized the guards of the other village and were warm enough upon their arrival.

On their way out, Ferodias couldn't help but get a familiar sinking feeling in his heart. He didn't know what it was, but it was a sensation that hadn't driven him wrong yet. Almost absently, he glanced around as they passed through the village gates, but nothing out of the ordinary caught his eyes as the various guards rode up beside him. For now, he'll just have to remain vigilant until the feeling passes.

By the time they got back to the caravan's camp, the feeling had only worsened as he looked over their surroundings. Everything seemed normal at the camp, too. His party was clustered together at the edge of the camp, chatting away about something. All the others were just talking as well, the smell of food in the air as Tori and some of the others were at work preparing dinner for the rest of the camp. After dropping off Shazoo with the other warblers, Ferodias made his way around to his party, settling between Danica and Brasyl as he looked among them with a strained smile. "So, what did I miss?" He asked.

Regan seemed to notice Ferodias' stress, though Brasyl was quick to speak up as he flashed a brief smile. "Regan was just talking about recruiting others to our party. I, for one, am hurt." He mused with an exaggerated amount of distress and sniffling. "Wasn't I enough for you?" He asked as he wiped at the nonexistent tears before throwing himself back into Ferodias' lap and reaching up to clutch at Ferodias' tunic. "Don't leave me behind Rodi, I promise I'll be good!" He mused, shaking the feline before dramatically going limp. After a few seconds, he went back to normal, though remained sprawled out over Ferodias' lap. "Meh, I'm over it... So, are we gonna get more porcelains or irons? Or are you aiming a little higher?" He asked curiously as he looked up at Ferodias from where he lay.

Ferodias couldn't help but smile at the young half-orc, some of his stress fading away at his antics as he hummed thoughtfully. "I'm not exactly sure, it would be easy to just pick up some competent-looking irons or promising porcelains, but I think we should get the guild involved to match us to other adventurers closer to our ranks and experience levels who are also looking to join a party or a bigger party. We'll also need to see how things go down once we turn in the bug hunt and explain the situation with the ladies and the caravan escort." He explained as he looked among the others.

Monty nodded intently. "Right... Do you think we'll all be able to go up for a promotion?" He wondered, looking rather eager at the idea. "Between being vouched for by a caravan of two villages and three ladies, I'm sure that we'd be able to meet the requirements." He then glanced over at Regan as he looked back at the others while gesturing at him. "At least Regan here needs to be reevaluated. He took down that massive group of bandits and overwhelmed three other mages at once." He mentioned with a grin on his face.

Though at that, Brasyl spoke up, raising a finger in the air while insisting on remaining in Ferodias' lap. "Excuse me, he only overwhelmed two mages." He corrected before tapping a thumb against his own chest, looking rather smug. "I took down the third one."

Regan smirked at that before nodding as he watched Brasyl. "Yes, you did, and it was an impressive shot as well." He expressed with only a slight amount of sass.

Brasyl looked proud enough as Danica spoke up while leaning forward on her hammer. "I just can't wait for the payout." She said with a smile. "Gonna see about getting myself a strong bottle of brew and perhaps upgrading some of my kit." She then looked back over at Ferodias and looked rather mischievous. "Though I'm more interested in the compensation that Count's daughter has been promising you, will I need to start calling you Count Rodi before the week is out?" She teased while stroking her glorious goatee.

Ferodias ears waggled, but he mostly maintained his composure as he averted his gaze. "Oh come now, that's not how it works, and you know it." He said with a vaguely annoyed huff. Though Brasyl was full-on snickering at his expense.

Danica quirked a brow, still looking rather amused as she twirled the end of her goatee around her index finger as she watched Ferodias for another moment before speaking up. "No, I really don't. But how are you so adamant and sure that is how it is?" She asked curiously.

Ferodias glanced over at her as his tail curled and flicked. "It's because my father works with nobles, I have experience being around them." He explained, not lying but not telling the whole truth.

Danica merely shrugged, seemingly appeased by the explanation as she toyed with her beard. "Perhaps that may be, but it's not like it'll be your choice. If that lady really wants you, and you want her back, then I'm sure she'll find a way for both of you to be together." She considered as she draped an arm around Monty and pulled him close, the young man's cheeks flushing faintly, but not moving from where he ended up.

"Should we get our own wagon?" Brasyl piped up out of nowhere, a smile growing on his face. "If what I'm hearing is right, we can expect a lot of coin coming our way, and I think we should get a wagon." He expressed excitedly.

Regan considered the suggestion and shrugged a bit. "That's actually not that bad of an idea, especially if we're gonna be traveling with more people and trying our hand at taking on more complex and dangerous jobs, it'll definitely increase our overall range and mobility, as well as how much equipment we can put together, or even spoils that we can bring back... Sure, I'll look into it." Regan offered with a nod, which earned an enthusiastic fist bump from Brasyl.

Before they could chat for a while longer, the smell of food had gotten stronger and closer. Ferodias' ear twitched as he heard Tori approaching with bowls of stew made with some fire-grilled meats from yesterday's kill. "Hope you all enjoy it." She said rather charmingly, holding down the tray as everyone took up the bowls. Danica was first to take a drink of the piping hot stew as Tori left, the lady smiling at Ferodias as he took up his own bowl before making her way back to the others.

As Monty went to drink from his own bowl, Danica took it away from him before looking over at Ferodias and speaking soft enough under her breath for him to hear. "Don't... It's been poisoned." She warned, eyeing the bowl of stew she already drank from.

Ferodias' back tensed as he took Brasyl's bowl before the half-orc could drink from it and tapped at Regan with his tail to get his attention. Looking over at Danica with a worried expression, he whispered back. "What is it, and will you be fine?" He asked.

Danica smiled a bit as she took another sip of the stew, swirling it around thoughtfully before looking over at Ferodias. "I'm glad to see you care." She teased lightly before looking at the stew again. "I recognize the taste, but don't worry, it's not lethal, nor is it nearly strong enough to take down a dwarf like myself." She explained with a gentle smile. Though she narrowed her gaze and looked among the others in the camp. "It's a knockout drug of some kind, though I have a bad feeling that we're not the direct targets." She mentioned spotting Lady Historietta starting to come back towards their group after a couple of minutes.

She was all smiles, though she looked to be unsteady on her feet as she came up behind Ferodias, draping her arms around him as she pulled him close, his shoulders against her chest while she nuzzled her chin against the top of his head. "I've been poisoned, and I'm not strong enough to resist it... Please help." She whispered desperately into his ear while being overly affectionate.

Ferodias went stiff at the display, cursing himself for enjoying the moment despite the direness of the situation. "We know..." He whispered back, bringing up a hand to cradle her cheek, which she leaned into. He flashed an overly charming smile to his party as he started to stand, supporting Tori as he held her close with one arm. "Spread out among the camp and pretend you've eaten the soup, drop when others start to drop." He instructed softly before walking off with Tori, the lady keeping up her act as she draped both arms around his neck, allowing herself to be half carried while he held her close at the hip. "You're gonna be okay... I'll protect you." He whispered back to her. His ears twitch as he could sense the camp starting to go quiet as people succumbed to the poison, just barely reaching his tent when Tori went completely slack, forcing him to take a dive as he went limp halfway into his tent.

He landed with a dull thud, doing his best to take the brunt of the fall to protect Tori in her unconscious state. Laying still, all he could hear at first was Tori's soft breath in his ear; though before long, he heard the sound of grass crunching beneath the feet of others. He could sense someone nearly atop of him. His body tensed until he suddenly heard the deep 'thwum' of Brasyl's bow.