"I'm a bit torn up," admits Leo.
As Derric slammed the door to the cottage it gave a final meek groan and the whole building came crashing down, an wholesome cloud of spores and strange chemicals kicked up into the sky.
Derric just stared at the destruction he just caused.
"...........Okay if anyone asks, we didn't see it collapsed. Deal?"
Leo looks up from checking where he was bit under his armor and says, "Huh?"
Runt momentarily disappears before you see him down by the dock readying the boat for travel.
"Or we can just leave it and worry about why we're actually out here. I believe that Runt is ready to go. Shall we get on with this? I would like to sleep in a warm bed at least once this week."
Jayna heads to the dock. "Let me help with that Runt." She tries to help get the boat ready, but isn't very good at it.
"Yeah...what Daichi said. And I'll help too. I really don't to stay here any longer, especially since we brought the house down. Get it? Brought the house down? We literally caused..."
He gave a depressed look at the others before saying, "Okay....You guys are hopeless."
Derric then began muttering about how he was trying to act like a kitsune and not a kitsune who was raised by humans and didn't know how to act like a kitsune.
"Well yeah I could...and I usually do act like myself. The only thing is that sometimes I feel like a kitsune who doesn't know hardly much or anything really about his own kind. Last time I checked I was the only kitsune in Sandpoint," Derric replied.
"Well hopefully I'll meet some kitsune passing through the town one day. Or maybe Ameiko might ask me to tag along with her on some grand adventure in the future. She's felt a bit bored recently. I think she's got her itch for adventure back but I'm not sure."
As he mentions Ameiko's name, his tail wags a bit.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Daichi shrugs. "Kitsune, human, elf, what does it matter? You are you. You would continue to be you if you magically woke up tomorrow as a kobold. You don't need to act like your own kind, because that's not acting like 'you'. That's acting how people assume you're supposed to act. Relax and be you and you'll find your place in the world." Without another word, he goes over to check if the boat is ready to go.
"So!" says Leo. "Now that we've had a journey of discovery and burning things down, what's next?"
"Yeah I know what all of you mean. Still, it would be nice to meet another kitsune one day. And thank you both for the words of encouragement. I hope they will serve me well in the days to come."
Derric seems to perk up after the words of encouragement from both Daichi and Rishana.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Kiko was rather surprised by the whole conversation between Derric and Rishana and Daichi. It was hard to believe he'd never met another kitsune before, yet it had a ring of truth to it. It did explain his behaviour though.
"Who raised you, if you don't know any like you? You must have parents, who should be like you." Her curiosity was earnest. He had been as much a surprise to her as she would be to him, if he knew.
Derric was a bit surprised by Kiko's questions but decided she was just curious.
"Actually I don't know my real parents. I can barely remember their faces as I was a baby. I was raised by a human merchant couple when they found me in their caravan. I guess my birth parents left me there for some reason. Maybe they were trying to flee something and didn't want me to get hurt so they left me in the care of others. I don't know. But I was raised by humans. While they did love me like their own son since they had never had a child of their own and thought I was the answer to their prayers, it was bit difficult raising a shapeshifter like a kitsune. My adoptive parents really didn't approve of me changing shape so I stayed in my true form majority of the time. Of course that made me an easy target for bullies since I was so different from other children. I did learn that I could bite the hell out of them. But that only worked if that they didn't gang up on me which they eventually learned was the best strategy against me. That's probably the other reason why my family moved to Sandpoint to get away from the big city and relocate to a smaller community where I could be safe in addition to Dad wanting to establish trade connections with Sandpoint Glassworks."
Derric smiled as he continued, "When we got to Sandpoint my folks told me to go play wth the other children. Not really a good idea as they ran away in fear of me. Except for one little girl who actually wanted to be my friend and made it her mission to make me feel at home in Sandpoint: Ameiko. I was about 8 and she was 6 or 7. Ever since that day we have been the best of friends."
Kiko just nodded solemnly as Derric spoke, "You mention a big city, which one?" She was very curious about that. She hadn't heard of a Kitsune cub raised by humans so it couldn't have been Magnimar. The clan would have sought him out if it was.
"Korvosa. Mom and Dad tried to see if they could find any kitsune after they found me maybe to get some advice on how to raise a kitsune cub. But they never found any so they did the best they could in raising me. Dad had made a few trips to the Dragon Empires in his youth so he knew what I was. My parents never regretted taking me in as their son. And even though I was raised by humans, I don't regret it one bit. Still, it would be nice if I met another kitsune to maybe tell me things about being a kitsune," he said.
Kiko nodded and went silent for a bit. Should she help him? She couldn't expose herself, not now, not here. Not in front of all these people. Yet, he deserved a home, a family. Life as a Kitsune was hard enough here with family, alone it would be horrible.
"I..." She hesitated once more before deciding this was what she should do, "I think I can help you. I have some contacts in Magnimar who might know of some Kitsune there. If you are interested we can check once we've dealt with the 'bony men'".
Jayna listens quietly to the conversation between the others. She helps Runt as best she can to get the boat ready. It really isn't much help. Between her not knowing exactly how a boat works, and Runts goblin smell she's less that effective.
"Oh yes the bony men. We sure they are skeletons?"
"Not entirely, but that's the most likely option. If they turn out to be something else, we'll likely have to improvise once we find them."
Derric was speechless for a bit at Kiko's words.
"I....I don't know what to say, Kiko. But thank you very much! I've always wanted to meet fellow kitsunes before. My parents tried their best to find other kitsunes but they never found any. So this is...this is great news. I can't thank you enough for this. I guess once we have finished with these bony men we can see about contacting them. I can't wait to let my parents know!"
He smiled at Kiko and bowing to her in gratitude for her help.
Eventually, the boat is made ready. The vessel is smaller than is comfortable, with Runt and Senga having to ride in Kiko and Rishana's laps for everyone to fit. Once everyone is situated Runt begins guiding you down the waterways of the swamp.
Derric had to put his tail in his lap to keep anyone from sitting on it in the crowded boat. He still kept his katana ready just in case.
Leo lets out a heavy sigh as he tries to get into a position where he won't tip over the boat, crush anyone with his armor, or wind up pulling his own back muscles with contortions. This proves marginally successful.
"Do you think we will learn anything useful from the bony men? Or should we head straight for... wherever... and see what we find?"
Daichi looks a little bit uncomfortable on the boat. He shifts around and tries to settle in to a vaguely meditative position while they're crossing the water, but the tight fit makes it difficult. "Can this thing go any faster?" he mutters to himself. His gaze pops up at Leo's thought. "If they're out here rather than wherever they come from, it might be wise to defeat them here rather than letting them come from behind later. We're capable of handling ourselves though, so it may not matter."
"I agree. We should make sure they we run into any ambushes while out here. So stay sharp everyone," Derric said.
The kitsune watched the banks for trouble.
Runt guides you to Sog's Bay before circling to another small inlet of the Soggy River slightly more to the west. As the trees of the swamp slide by you see a strange tangle of branches begin to take shape before you, after a few moments you recognize the mass is actually the ribs of a wrecked and decayed ship. The ship lies on its side, split down the middle and half sunken into the mud and murky water.
"Bony men came from wreck like this. Other one gone, fire. This only other big boat Runt know about, track from here."
Daichi is more than happy to get out of the boat. "Lovely," he mutters, looking at the wreck. "Yes, this looks exactly like the kind of place where undead would come from." He moves to inspect the wreck, staying low and quiet just in case there's anything hostile about.
"Hrm." Leo struggles slightly to get out of the cramped boat and onto shore without falling into the water or tipping everything over. Then he cautiously unlimbers his warhammer and starts checking the wreckage.
"It may have flooded at some point during a storm," suggests Leo.
Jayna sat in her seat on the boat as still as possible. She kept giving glances at the water. I don't want to end up in that water. It looks cold.
When the group arrives at the wreck she is more than happy to climb out of the boat and start searching.
Derric aids the others in the search, his katana at the ready.
"Kaijitsu... this ship belonged to Miss Ameiko's family." He moves forward carefully, picking his way around the wreck to see if there's a relatively stable way inside to search for any clues. If he finds one, he looks inside to see what remains on the interior of the ship.
Leo's brow furrows. "Wait... but the Kaijitsu family isn't in the ship trade. They don't even have a boat at the docks. Just the glassworks and the restaurant and some land... why would a ship of this size be here? How could it be related to them?"
He seems to think hard, then snaps his fingers (as much as one can while wearing gauntlets) and says, "This ship is old! It's been here for a long time. Maybe years. Does... does anyone know when the Kaijitsu family first arrived in Sandpoint?"
Jayna shakes her head. "I haven't been in the area long so I don't know the history of the Kaijitsu family."
Daichi considers what he knows the the Kaijitsu family. Surely there's something he's learned over the years that might explain the origins of this ship.
"This ship belongs to my family? How? This hardly seems like a shipping lane." Kiko appeared to be both confused and highly interested. She knew next to nothing about her father's side of the family so anything on it was good.
She then looked at the wreck again, "If the undead come from this ship, does that mean they are lost parts of the family? Or servants or soldiers? Why so many?
Derric looked at the ship's nameplate and began to wonder. So deep in thought, he doesn't even hear Kiko's statement.
"Hm...This ship is old. Well, Ameiko's family is a merchant family so it's possible that they owned a ship or two. I think..."
He rattles his brain trying to see if he can recall anything that he might have heard growing up in Sandpoint.
From the small boat came frantic yelling. Standing up and almost tipping the vessel Runt yelled in near incomprehensible goblin, his arms waving frantically and pointed around the ruined ship.
From beneath the still waters arose a half dozen humanoid skeletons, eyes burning with unholy light and hands clutching rusted blades.
Surging forward from the waters, the skeletons advanced into reach with their blades.
Leo grimaces and says, "Bony men as promised!" He hefts his warhammer and swings it heavily at the advancing skeleton.