DnD Wife Stories

Tobias finished selling his remaining buns to Captain V. As they were eating Captain V noticed that this cart was positioned much further away from the others, no one cart stood within a hundred yards of this one. So he asked Tobias why that was.

“Honestly my friend, not too many of the MyrRin like the Rohmar as much.”

“I see, and I can tell you’re obviously a cook.

“What gave it away?”

“Haha, I will give you five gold but I have a proposition. My ship seems to be missing a cook. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever been on a ship but it doesn’t taste good eating the same hard tack day in and day out without any cooking skills. Would it be possible for you to join my crew as well?”

“Ah, well anything’s possible with some gold my friend. This would be after the festival of course.”

“The festival right. Have you ever been?”

“Once as a boy but I didn’t get to enjoy the full experience that time.”

Bricky and Bogbean, meanwhile, exchange bewildered looks and Bricky asks,

“What are zey talking about? What festival?”

Luna spoke up at that question,

“I’ve been here before. Not for a very long time I think. It was quite lovely that last time I was here. There’s lot’s of things to do, lot’s of fights to see, and you can fight yourself, if you want to. I never did but you can try it. I never fight but a lot of people seem to really love it and there’s a great prize for whoever is the winner. It’s really nice. The food vendors are amazing! ”

“Why thank you!” exclaimed Tobias with a grin.

Meanwhile Drexla had taken up a position on the wooden cart counter and sat staring at Luna in wonder as she spoke fondly of the festival. She had never seen anyone else with pointy ears like her but so much bigger! Captain V quickly redirected the conversation with Tobias back to his main objective,

“I want transportation to the event that happens, the festival.”

“I can probably arrange something like that.”

“I will give you an additional five gold for transport to the festival. How does that sound?”

“Well, I travel with a caravan so I cannot make any guarantees but I can point you to who to talk to.”

As he said this to Captain V, a large Tuskari woman came walking up to them. She is dressed in her usual regalia but Captain V notices a faint blush of pink powder brushed all across her exposed skin. Like a faint rouge across her entire body. Jewels winked out from all over her as she walked over.

“Ah yes, there is much to do at the festival! So Tobias, have we succeeded in our little task?”

“And some, but I am getting rid of the last few now.”

“Ah very well! Congratulations! Hmm, my son got into a bit of a heated discussion with a local merchant and decided to let his fists do the talking for him which nobody wants to purchase of course. It only seems to cost us more! But is seems you are the winner!”

With that, Sodia reached into her pockets and brought out a hefty pouch which she chucked in Tobias’ direction. He caught it with a huff as her throw was pretty powerful, even for a full sized Rohmar like himself.

“I could not help but overhear that these kind folk are seeking passage with us to the Festival?”

“Ah yes!”

“Well, I don’t see a problem with it. As I understand it we are the last caravan headed out there. So I am sure we can work out some work for these fine folks to do without needing to finance too much, but they would have to stay with you as they seem to be your clientele. I mean who wouldn’t pay to travel with a cook. They can sample all your delights along the way. You wouldn’t happen to have more of those special buns for me would you.”

Her large trunk twitched as she sniffed the air for her favorite food. Tobias smiled as he reached behind the counter and brought out a tray he had prepared especially for her. She took it in her eager paws and sniffed their scent in deep.

“I was hoping so! Ah yes little one?” she responded as she felt a tug on her sleeve.

Drexla looked at her and asked, “Are you the leader of the merchants?”

“Ah well, no not of the merchants, just of this traveling caravan. I am the leader of the Mastadori trading company!”

With her answer Drexla, still twitching a bit from that sparkling powder she had inhaled, pulled out her schematics of a powered object and presented it to Sodia.

“I prefer to deal in luxury items like jewels and water, but I imagine there may be some among the festival goers that will have what you are looking for. Certain tribes are known for excavating powerful stones, which you may be able to fashion into something like this. I know the Rooka are known for excavating and working with stones. Perhaps you can seek out their tribe. Or you can go to the Tuskari chief and he can help introduce you to other MyrRin that have been helping to excavate certain surface stones. They have found some exquisite pieces and there are rumors that they may be some of the prizes for winners in the tournament!”

In the time it had taken them to disembark, head over to the food cart, haggle over price, eat, and talk afterwards, the afternoon had given way to evening. Sodia began eyeing her tray of aromatic buns once more as she finished giving some information to the group.

“Well, I will be retiring for the evening with the delicious buns. If you need anything Tobias, you can always come to me but, steer clear of my son for a while. He’s got a bit of a scratch on his shoulder,” she said with a chuckle.

” I will only be looking to resupply and bed down for the evening.”

“Yes, I would. We plan to leave early in the morning so I would have all your supplies ready tonight as we leave at first light tomorrow. We have about a two week journey until we reach the Sacred Clearing.”

With that last bit of parting information, Sodia bowed to the group and headed back to her own wagon for the night. It seemed like they would be settling down right where they were for the night and heading out in the morning. Tobias turned to his new travel companions for the moment.

“I do not have much in the way of accommodations. I mostly cook in my cart so I sleep under or around it usually. I prefer no one sleep in the cart as that is where I prepare the food and I don’t want it to get too dirty, no offense.”

With that they all agreed to camp out under the stars next to the cart so as not to sully its pristine nature. Without a warning Luna snapped her fingers and a black cat poofed in out of nowhere into her arms. She snuggled her face into it to keep warm and it purred back in happy response. Everyone was too stunned by this blatant show of magic to say anything but they all looked at Luna with new wonder and wariness too.

The cat looked so delicious to Bogbean, who was still hungry, the she began drooling as she inched closer to Luna. She saw the little one getting closer and eyeing her cat so she took out the other half of her bun, which she had stored away for later consumption that night, and waved in in front of her instead.

“Will you leave my cat alone if I give you the rest of this?”

Bogbean nodded and Luna handed over the half bun. It was devoured in the next instant as Bogbean scampered away. In order to take the attention away from her cat, Luna agreed to go shopping with Tobias for supplies. She was on the look out for incense. When they came back she gathered what other supplies she could. Specifically searching Bricky for some living fleas with which to cast some of her spells. Luna lucked out and managed to grab two from his dirty hair.

“Thank you so much Bricky, and you’re much cleaner now too! Isn’t that great?”

“Danke schön?”

“You’re welcome, I think..”

“But um, why were you so interested in mien freunde over there earlier?”

“Well I just get a really fun vibe from her. I feel like I know her. She seems very familiar to me for some reason. I’ve never seen anything like her before and I’d like to find out more about her. I don’t remember much except from a few years ago, or maybe it’s been much longer. Time’s a bit fuzzy for me, but there is a lot I cannot remember. Perhaps I know her from somewhere?”

Luna gives a puzzled look to Bogbean in a sort of silent question to ask if they knew each other, but Bogbean looked on in bewilderment.

“i never met anyun outside the swamp befor.”

“Well, you are still extremely fascinating to me!” Luna wrote down notes as she spoke with a vicious speed. Bogbean was, understandably, a bit put off by the sudden attention and backed away a little.

“i been kidnapped befor.”

“Oh I wouldn’t dream of doing that to you. You feel like a friend to me and I would never put a friend in a box. You’re safe from me at least, I can’t speak for anyone else.”

With that, Bogbean gave her a grateful smile and went back to devouring her remaining half bun. Captain V made sure to give some directives to his crew, making sure to give them more subtle directions to sell some of their contraband in a discreet fashion. Sarsoon nodded his understanding and got to work. With a eye for future expansion and needing more hands on deck Captain V agreed to take on Drexla as another member of the crew. For her part, Drexlas was super excited to have someone to help her realize her ideas.

The captain had instructed his crew to unload the cargo and bring it to where Tobias was set up for the night. Among the crates, was a shoddily mended one with a sobbing creature that wailed every so often in pain and grief. Tobias was moved by the pitiful creature so he moved to help him. Captain V intervened and asked him not to touch the cargo. Tobias looked at with with incredulity in his eyes,

“He his hurt, I am going to help him.” With a final scoff at the audacity of the Captain, Tobias helped lift the blue Scalekin to his feet and walked him over to his cart for some aid. Upon first seeing the cooking implements in the cart, Miguel begins to get hysterical, but Tobias quickly calms him down, explaining that he only brought him here for some peace and quiet. When he was sure Miguel was calm, he turned him around and attempted to heal the stub of his tail. It was the second time he was trying something like this and the first time had been an accident. Now he was trying to heal on purpose and it was much harder.

He succeeded but, seeing that his tail had not been grown back, Miguel was still inconsolable. He bawled about still not being able to get big ever. Not knowing what else to do Tobias simply prepared a small meal for the pitiful creature. It was barely on the plate before the ravenous scalekin tucked in without holding back. He attacked the food like a starving man. Once he was done, he put the creature outside the food cart. He had heard of people like him before, they were ravenous and would anything they could. It was why he was making so much on food along the way. Normally, he would not be selling as well due to his exiled nature but times were tough and food was becoming scarce.

Conversation continued with Luna interrogating Drexla as to who she was and how she came to be there. Drexla had few answers. She had been born wingless and without magic. She had been raised by Dimmin parents and had no concept of Fae. After much talking and planning, they went to sleep with the fading fire to light their dreams.

In the morning the small port town had shrunk even smaller. The various stalls that had filled the square were now mostly packed up and gone. Some were visible, moving into the horizon in a line. Tobias, having woken before the others was almost ready and set to leave. He asked if they would be joining him for the journey and reminded the captain to pay his docking fee before leaving for an extended time. Captain V just smiled and told Tobias his crew had everything well in hand. He ensured his cargo was secured nearby for transport. The others awoke to the smell of Tobias’ delicious cooking and share a small portion before getting ready to set out themselves.

The Mastadori Trading Caravan was already making their way out of town in a long line. They had some time before it became too late to join them but not much. In a flurry of activity, the group began gathering their belongings and getting in a sort of formation to travel in. When Captain V hopped on the seat next to Tobias, Luna hopped off and opted to walked alongside Bogbean and Bricky, while Miguel was placed on top of the cart and Drexla joined him up there to create her own small to work in. Tobias got in the front seat and began to move them forward. They began to follow the trading caravan, but not too closely, on their way to the Sacred Clearing.

As they began their journey Tobias remembered to haggle over the price of his sercives and mentally smacked himself for not doing it earlier. Luna readily agreed to pay for her meals but refused to pay for passage as she was walking and didn’t see why she would be paying as nothing was carrying her there. As for the rest, Drexla let Captain V know that it was his responsibility to pay for the cargo and their passage. With reluctance V asked how much. Tobias smiled and asked for fifty gold. With a frustrated frown Captain V agreed. This was the last caravan to the Sacred Clearing after all. He could ask whatever price he wanted for his services.

With that settled, the group continued on their journey in peace. Although, the occasional sob would waft over from the top of the wagon as a depressed Miguel tried to sing out his sorrows but was summarily told to be quiet as he caterwauled too loudly for their liking. Now only muffled cries could be heard from the roof of the cart. The road stretched on and the new companions made the best of the situation they found themselves in for the next two weeks. All this for the chance to see the great Festival of Umanano.