The Throwback Mountains

[Max!!]

"No I'll pay. I should have protected you two better," Axindr said as he went to grab his share of the reward money. He gave Freya a look then went ahead to pay off the doctor.

"I guess it could have been worse. We gotta get a room for you to recover in. And also celebrate the fact that we were successful."

[Kadakism]

Rowan wanted to protest about them paying for her injuries, but she was too light headed and so just gave up on that fight. Leaning between the two of them, using them as human... dragon?... crutches, she kind of gave a small smile and hung her head.

"Fine fine. But drinks, I think, are upon me. Is how you say this?"

[ladyhawkca]

Before Freya could say anything more, Axindr went and unexpectedly paid for Rowan's doctor.

"Well, dinner is on me then," she insisted, not wanting to be outdone as the two of them helped Rowan back to the inn.

"Besides, we all deserve a hearty dinner after today's big adventure, " she explained as they neared the establishment.   

[Max!!]

"Sounds like a good plan. We can take it easy for a couple days. Plus, we still have loot to sell, I'll let you two take first pick of the gear I looted, but I gotta get it. I'll handle that tomorrow though," he grinned as they headed into the inn.

"You two... you're alright. Definitely need some training if you wanna be out in the world, but yeah. I like you both."

[Kadakism]

"I was thinking something similar. You are both very kind. And I do need to learn how to fight, yes."

Inside the inn, Rowan took a seat at the table they had utilized the day before. She rested her arm on the table, gently tracing her fingers over the rough stitching. It was bizarre to think she had been laid open so easily and with so little pain: the sword must have been really sharp.

She ordered each of them a more expensive drink than she was used to getting, both for the novelty of actually getting to drink something nicer than the bulk swill that she normally had and, because as Axindr and Freya had said, they were celebrating.

[ladyhawkca]

"I hate to admit it, but I also need to learn how to defend myself better," Freya admitted, somewhat uncomfortable with the idea that she was such an easy target. She had not realised until Zantaric just how lucky she had been to get this far in her journey without being raped, killed or seriously hurt.

Sitting down at the table next to Rowan, Freya asked what there was to eat and after some back and forth, she ended up ordering a small roasted pig, a couple of meat-filled pies, fried fish, boiled eggs, and bread. 

[Max!!]

For his part, Axindr just dug in. It didn't really matter the circumstances for him, if there was food to be eaten he would eat. He did nod in agreement to both Rowan and Freya's comments.

"Hate to say it but it's even more dangerous just because you're women. You gotta be able to fight harder and smarter than others. The world is big and pretty, but some places and people are just shitty," he took a big swig of his drink.

"Why are you guys travelling anyway?"

[Kadakism]

"I will consider that, though I do not know who I will get to teach me. I am still... very new to this, and I was not allowed to learn how to use a weapon as a child."

Rowan ate more slowly, both because her appetite was tempered by the pain in her arm and because, well, she only currently had one arm to work with.

"I have no particular destination. I am just following..." she trailed off, taking a sip of her ale and sighing. "Following my heart, Mother would say."

[ladyhawkca]

As Axindr and Rowan talked, Freya took a small sip of her honey mead while also deciding on what to eat. After a moment, she put a piece of fried fish and two boiled eggs on her wooden plate.

"Me too, I also need to find someone... This week has made me realise how powerless I really am," she admitted ruefully as she gently tapped the egg on the table and started removing the shell.

"And I guess, I'm sort of making my way back to Thanatos," Freya said as she cut the egg in half and sprinkled some salt grains on it. "Although I want to see the world a bit before I do," she confessed.

[Max!!]

"Huh, we're all kinda out here for different reasons then, no real surprise there I guess," he shrugged and looked around. He thought about it a little bit.

"I don't know anything about magic, but I could show you two how to fight a little better if you wanted," he said after a moment of eating.

[Kadakism]

"I also know nothing of magic. But I would be honored to learn a bit about fighting from you." Rowan paused and looked at her injured arm. "I believe my first lesson should be to dodge rather than block when my opponent has a weapon."

[ladyhawkca]

"Could you possibly teach me how to use a walking stick as a weapon?" Freya asked Axindr as she pulled apart the fish she was eating while silently acknowledging that, to her shame, she was also woefully in need of expanding her magic to include some offense spells.

"You know... I'm gonna see if I can find a mage who will teach me a few spells to defend myself. I don't know if you'd be interested in accompanying me?" Freya offered as she took another bite of her food.

[Max!!]

"Might as well. You damn near lost an arm today. And that would've just been a real bad time," Axindr said in between bites. "

Besides, if we make this a thing we kinda do then things should be balanced. I don't like..." he trailed off frowning. "Nevermind. Just understand I'm a strict teacher and stuff."

He puffed his chest out a bit like he was confident in his abilities. Truth be told, Axindr hadn't actually taught anyone how to do anything once in his life.

[Kadakism]

Rowan didn't know what thing Axindr was referring to making, but she assumed that he knew and so all she had to do was follow his instructions.

"I am not concerned about the strictness of the lessons. But, ah. I am feeling light headed. I think I might go have a lie down and rest, now that I have eaten."

Rowan tilted her head back, draining the rest of her drink so that it didn't go to waste. Giving her companions a smile, she pulled herself up from the bench to go find a room to sleep.

[ladyhawkca]

"Okay, sleep well. And if you need anything or are feeling unwell, just yell," Freya said as she watched Rowan head upstairs to their rooms.

When Rowan was gone, Freya let out a small resigned sigh. "We were really quite awful out there, weren't we?" she asked Axindr with a grimace.

"Oh... and I will also take you up on your offer," she said as she took a meat pie and broke in in half. "Just, well, be patient with both of us, please," she added afraid that Axindr might expect too much out of them.

[Max!!]

Axindr nodded to Rowan as she headed up to her room to rest. There was still definitely a hint of concern on his face as she went upstairs. There was definitely something about her. Not anything that he could put a finger on precisely. He got a similar feeling from Freya as well. He mentally crossed his fingers in the hopes that he was right about this hunch of his.

"Well, it could've been worse. Maybe next time we should just go for simpler jobs. Like a courier job or something. But yeah I'll do my best to be patient," he dug into his food for a couple of moments then thought about something. "I don't know what Rowan's plans are, but if you want I could stick help you find a magic teacher. I've got a knack for attracting weird stuff. Or... I could even see you all the way to Thanatos even."

[ladyhawkca]

Hesitating a moment while she considered Axindr's offer to help her find a mage, Freya finally nodded. 

"Yes, maybe that might be for the best. The way my luck has been going lately, I'd probably end up tied to some skeevy wizard or something worse,"she admitted, unconsciously shivering at the idea of being at the whim of some dark or perverted old man.

"Thanatos is still a long ways off, I'm afraid you'd get bored of looking after me," Freya confessed as she looked at Axindr with a smile. "I intend to see the world first, maybe find my path in life. Who knows, maybe I'll never return to Thanatos," she shrugged as she poured herself more drink.

"What about you? What are your plans?" Freya asked, curious about the young dragon who had decided to become Rowan and hers "saviour" as it were.

[Max!!]

"Me? I'm gonna make a name for myself," he shrugged. "I'm not a huge planner or anything. I just wanna make a name for myself, and live on a mountain, and sleep on a pile of gold."

"And I mean, acts of kindness are better than acts of cruelty right? I could just fly around burning everything in sight, but that would just bring trouble down on me. Besides, I was raised better than that..."

[ladyhawkca]

"Wouldn't that get rather lonely? The living on a mountain part?" Ferya asked. "I mean I know you are a dragon and all, but you don't look like the classic fairy tale storybook dragon, and you seem, I dunno, really quite sociable," she pointed out.

[Max!!]

"Maybe, but who knows. Maybe there'll be a village nearby that I can watch over or something. I think it'd be nice and quiet either way. It's not like I'm super great with people. And that's what dragons do anyway,"he was twirling his fork in his fingers and looking thoughtful.

"You could always just come visit if it bugs you that much."