Primal Dawn

The owner of the inn had looked puzzled when Peter stopped by to give his farewell. Perhaps he had been surprised that a tenant would even care to inform him they were leaving rather than vanishing silently.

Or, more than likely, it was the thought, “Do I know this person?” running through his mind. Tamers like Peter came and went all the time, their presence unremarkable and their time short.

The small impact Peter had made on the innkeeper aligned with the quantity of his personal belongings, which were now all stored in the backpack he now carried with him towards the western entrance of Wildburry.

When he had first stored all his possessions inside the backpack, he couldn't help but notice how empty it appeared. A few pairs of clothing and some basic toiletries was all that he owned.

Peter shivered. It was to warm to wear a coat and too cold to not have one. That item was a late purchase, and did a good job of filling up the remainder of the space within the backpack.

That, and of course, travel supplies. A few sandwiches lay woven in wrapping towards the surface of the bag for easy access. They should be good for at least the first few days. The remainder of the trip would have him subsist on Pemmican, a mixture of dried fruits and meats.

Peter had been surprised to hear about the latter ingredient, but was assured that nearly all regular travelers, no matter their beliefs, carried the food on any extended journeys.

The final add-on was a tent. He bought one large enough to fit three, or four if they were densely packed. It ended up draining a significant portion of his leftover funds. The merchant had recommended to Peter that he purchase the single-person tent, but he scoffed at the idea.

A tent on its own was uncomfortable. It offered you protection from the elements, yes, but bare survival was not what he was looking for. Compared to what life would be like out on the road, he had spent life in luxury at the inn. And he was not about to give 'that' up.

'That' meaning being snuggled between Kalista and Gaia, who were far superior to any cheap cloth or stuffed case of straw.

A bigger tent it is, then.

Kalista had offered to carry the bag in his place, but Peter rejected the notion. If Kalista carried their supplies then it might leave her more vulnerable were they attacked. Better Peter carried them. Besides, the merchant would hopefully allow him to place his supplies inside their wagon or whatever they were using to transport goods and resolve the issue entirely.

Just outside the entrance, two covered wagons sat waiting alongside the road. The wagon in the front was attached to a Centaur. A primal whose upper human-like half sat atop a long and thick lower body, which had four hooved legs jutting out from the bottom and a long-stranded tail at the rear.

The other was attached to a Taurus, the evolved form of a Daurus. The biggest changes were the two prominent horns now at the top of its head, and the far more muscular and larger frame. The black-and-white print clothes Peter had seen Daurus' wearing were gone, replaced with a large set of denim overalls.

The Taurus seemed to eye each passerby while the Centaur remained calm and collected while facing forwards. Behind her, Peter spotted what he presumed to be the merchant sitting at the front of the wagon, facing back towards the town. He wore a large green robe-like clothing, with a yellow hat atop his head. Although at a distance the robe seemed fancy, upon closer inspection it was worn and dirty.

Peter waved to the merchant and the merchant responded in kind. Peter noticed the man was wearing two necklaces, each with a skinny glass bauble at the end, with some mysterious black powder inside.

“Are you looking to head towards Shantee?” the merchant asked.

“Yes, I signed up for the escort quest towards there. My name's Peter.”

“Excellent. I was beginning to worry I'd be going there alone. I was told I could expect three groups, you're the first to arrive. I'm Lore, you'll be protecting me for the next week, assuming we make good time.” He eyed the two primals next to Peter. “Think they'll be enough?”

Peter laughed. “You're in good hands.”

“I hope so. You've ever been to Shantee?” Lore laughed. “Course not, otherwise you wouldn't be going back there.”

“I've heard, things... but is it really that bad?”

“Ah...” Lore rubbed his head. “Let's put it this way. I never have issues finding people to come along for the trip back here.”

Peter and Lore made idle chat for a short while before a voice interrupted them. “Is this caravan heading towards Shantee?”

Peter turned to look towards the owner of a voice, a primal whose flames covered parts of her body. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Indeed we are,” Lore replied.

The primal looked towards Peter and thought for a moment, before smiling. “Ah, if I remember right,” she suddenly pulled his shirt upwards and rubbed her hand over his core. “You must have been the cutie I spotted at the bathhouse. Hopefully we won't get interrupted this time. Why don't we...”

Before the primal could say anything else, Kalista seized her wrist and squeezed tightly.

“Hands off.”

“Ow ow ow, alright, let go!” Kalista released the primal who began to quickly rub the injured area. “You could have hurt me! I can't heal things myself.”

“Then maybe you shouldn't try things like that.”

The fiery primal growled in response.

“Is your tamer going to be arriving here soon?” Lore asked curiously.

“Huh? No, he's sending me out by myself on this quest.” Peter raised an eyebrow in response. “What? There's no rule saying that primals can't do quests on their own.”

“The merchant said it's a week to get to Shantee, assuming we make good time. You'll run the risk of going feral by then.”

“I guess I'll just have to borrow one of you two a couple of times.”

“No.” Peter instantly replied. The words left his mouth quicker than Kalista could finish reeling back her fist.

“I'm afraid I won't be doing that either. I'm a merchant, not a prostitute.”

“You wouldn't be a prostitute, that costs money. Come on, don't you want to touch me?” The primal put her hands behind her head and wiggled her body. Manipulating the flames covering her breasts, her nipples protruded slightly as fires caressed their outline.

“Sina.” Lore muttered as he raised his hand, and a Fren appeared nearby, scowling.

“Okay!” The primal said, putting her hands up in the air, her breasts jiggling slightly as she did so. Peter wondered if the exaggerated motion was on purpose. “I've already learned my lesson. Is there anyone else supposed to go on this quest?”

“There is one more, but we're about to head out soon, and I don't think...”

“Waaaait!” A man suddenly yelled, running through the gate. He stopped before the group, holding his knees while panting. “Hoh. Made it.” He said in-between deep breaths. “Just in time.”

“I take it you are the third group for the escort quest?” Lore asked.

“That's right! To Shantee, right, where they have all those rare primals?” The man asked as if he wasn't sure himself.

“To Shantee, yes.” Lore replied. “My name is Lore, and you are?”

“Bryan's the name. You better remember it, I'll be famous someday.”

“I see,” Lore courteously replied. “And may I ask, how many primals are you bringing for this?”

“Just my one. Come out, Sally!” A Goblin appeared next to Bryan. “Ain't she cute?” Bryan noticed Peter and the group of primals nearby. “Woah, are those all yours!” He asked excitedly.

“They're with me,” Peter said as he waved his hand toward Kalista and Gaia. “She, on the other hand,” Peter started as he looked towards the fiery primal.

“Famous, huh? I think you've got what it takes!” The primal said, running up to Bryan. “I'm Fira. My tamer's not here, will you help take care of me?” She asked in a seductive tone while looking up at him with a pleading expression. His Goblin looked annoyed but didn't interfere.

“Sure! I'll show you how a real tamer treats his primals!”

“Excellent,” Lore spoke. “It looks like all groups are here. If you have some gear you'd like me to hold on to you can place it in the rear of the wagon Rena here is pulling,” he gestured towards the Centaur. “I can probably fit one of you in the seat next to mine, the others will have to walk.”

Peter nodded as he went and dropped off his backpack in the back. As he turned around, he noticed the Taurus behind staring at him. She had a similar expression to the Daurus' he had seen before, and he soon realized that she was not bonded. “Interesting,” Peter remarked. As Lore walked up near him, Peter asked, “I know farmers have a lot of primals, so they're not able to, but is there any reason you haven't bonded with her?”

“She's rented, so if I did that I would be in a bit of trouble. Truth be told, this is the first time I'm going on a trip with two wagons, so I'll probably tame one soon enough. Just don't startle her or do anything to bother her, please. Don't want to aggravate her.” Lone stood in between the end of the first wagon and the Daurus. “Come on, come on,” he waved his palm towards the Daurus. As if that was her signal, Rena began to pull the first wagon began and the Daurus soon began to follow, pulling along her wagon with her.

Lore ran towards the first wagon and hopped on, his Fren, Sina, quickly joining him on the space to his left.

Everyone else began to follow closely along the left side of the wagon. Peter turned to Gaia and Kalista. “I'll unsummon both of you, you need to conserve your energy.”

Gaia shot Kalista a glance, who nodded along. “We are here to protect the merchant. Why don't we take turns walking with you? That way there will always be someone ready in case something urgent happens.” Peter opened his mouth. “The Centaur and Daurus are attached to the wagons, so it will probably be hard for them to react quickly, if at all.”

Peter's mouth hung open for a few seconds, then he closed it with a smile and nodded in agreement. “Whose first?”

“Kalista, I would like to start.”

Kalista nodded. “He is in your hands.” Her form soon vanished.

Peter turned towards Bryan, Sally, and Fira. “Do you want to take turns sitting on the wagon with Lore?”

“Can I take the first one? I had to run through town to get here.”

“Sure.”

“Awww, you're going to leave me here with him?” Fira asked as she pointed towards Peter. “But I really wanted to get to know you...” She blinked a bunch of times.

“I think Lore said he can only fit one person,” Peter said.

“You can sit first, then!” Bryan quickly exclaimed.

Peter shrugged. “We should probably have someone at the front and someone at the back always. Whoever is sitting can cover the front, so you should probably stay behind the second wagon for now.” Peter could see Bryan nod his head, who seemed otherwise distracted by Fira at the moment.

Peter began to walk faster and soon neared where Lore was. “Ah.” Peter paused as he was about to climb on, and turned to Gaia. “Do you want to sit first?”

Gaia covered her mouth with her fingers and giggled. “What a gentleman. No, I'll be fine following along.”

Peter climbed up and sat down next to Lore, who gave a short nod before returning his gaze toward the road. In a few hours, they had reached a fork in the road. The right path went towards Shantee, while the left went towards Roadsen. Once they took the right, this inspired Peter to ask Lore something that had been on his mind.

“So, if Shantee is so bad, why do you go there?”

“Haven't been in the business too long yet. Hard to get work. The contract for the route between Wildburry and Shantee was available, and I went for it. Been doing this route a couple of months now.”

“What did you do before being a merchant?”

“Tamer, like almost every other man.” Lore chuckled. “Made it to my third stamp.” He pulled out his license and showed it to Peter. He recognized the stamp of Wildburry, it seemed to be his most recent one. The first one, looked like an intersection of five roads, the odd one out jutting westward.

“That one's Roadsen, right?” Peter asked while pointing towards it.

“Correct. Do you recognize the last one?”

It was a triangle partially obscured by two trees flanking it. “No idea.”

“Ever been to Roadsen?”

Peter shakes his head. “No, not yet.”

“But you're going to Shantee! You're a weird one. That's Mount Evermore. A bit dangerous of a place, though for different reasons than Shantee.”

“How so?”

“The area is known for having a high number of flying types. For some primals, an opponent like that is almost impossible to defeat.”

“Are the challenges there like that as well?”

“Mostly. Defenders are normally tamers from the area, after all.”

“How did you beat the challenger there, then? Your primals don't strike me as being effective against flying types. At least the Fren and the Centaur”

Lore's expression darkened. “I suppose that's the case, now.”

Peter turned a shade lighter. “Oh, I'm so-”

“Primals! North-East from us!” Sina shouted, pointing towards the tree line. Four Frens emerged, running straight towards the caravan.