The Survivor Becomes a Dungeon

Ferodias POV / Ten Years Earlier

The duo had sat together for some time; it was almost enjoyable if not for the previously heavy subject matter they had just discussed. Though despite that, they found comfort in each other's company. After a good ten minutes or so, Tori pulled away while taking a deep sigh, and gently wiping at her face despite the tears having long since dried. "Thank you, Rodi, for lending me your ear." She expressed with a small smile. "And I suppose I ought to thank you for lending me your cloak and shoulder while you were at it." She mused as she gently pulled the cloak off before holding it over to Ferodias.

Ferodias smiled kindly in response as he looked her over, even with her face all slightly puffy and messy after her tears, he couldn't help but find her beautiful as his right ear flicked. He brought his hand up before pushing the cloak back to her. "Keep it, I think it suits you." He offered as he smiled some more, feeling his heart flutter a bit as he watched her pull the cloak to her chest while catching the slightest blush on her cheeks as she averted her gaze.

"I... I see. Well, thank you, Rodi." She said quietly, still not looking at him as she pulled the cloak on and pulled the hood up. She glanced over at him from under the hood, a smile on her lips. "If you don't mind, I just need a little more time with my thoughts, if you'll excuse me." She said as she moved to stand.

Ferodias watched her for another moment before getting to his feet as well, standing with her as his tail curled close behind him. "O-oh of course, yeah, no problem." He replied with a smile as he took a step back. Tori smiled back a little more, silently nodding as she made her way off through the village on her own. Now Ferodias was all alone, and after a talk like that, he didn't really feel the urge to try and take another nap as he left the shade of the tree and went to find Regan.

It didn't take long to track his friend down, the small line of people coming out of the community hall to see him for various maladies and injuries ended up being a clear indicator of where he currently was. After the villagers watched him work his magic on the guards, they came to him for his skill as a life magic user. Ultimately, what it boiled down to was that he was now offering as much mundane medical advice as he could offer based on his studies to be Ferodias' right hand and aide, all while doing his best to meditate and actively recover the mana he spent this morning. The villagers were grateful nonetheless, especially when he used his magic to actually work on old injuries that never healed right or by strengthening the lungs of a sickly child. Ferodias didn't mind the wait, watching his friend work with vague delight as he watched Regan lightly chastise an old man for his poor working habits while also advising the man on some cheap, natural remedies to deal with their aching joints and back. It wasn't much longer until the crowd finally dispersed, offering Regan their thanks and leaving him with all sorts of gifts and goods. Regan just sighed once he had a moment to himself, looking over the small pile of goods beside him at his impromptu healer's office before turning to regard Ferodias with a tired smile. "It's like these people don't know about standard health and safety practices..."

Ferodias had to consider that as his tail curled and flicked. "It's quite possible, you're also probably the closest thing to a proper healer for miles around; I mean, aside from that cleric, though he hardly has the mana capacity you have to do the things you can do." Ferodias consider as he thoughtfully scratched his chin.

Regan also appeared thoughtful at that revelation as he ran his fingers through his own hair. "I mean, yeah that sounds right... But even then, most of the stuff I told them could have been prescribed by any competent herbalist or healer. It was mainly mundane advice and treatments, though there were a few people who were sick or had conditions that actually required treatment." He explained, grabbing fruit from a nearby bowl, and polishing the fruit skin on his robes before biting into the soft flesh and chewing.

"Oh yeah, so what's all that about?" Ferodias asked as he gestured over to the small pile of stuff and goods, walking closer as he plucked up a piece of jerky and bit down on it; his ears waggling as he savored the seasoned piece of dried venison.

Regan swallowed before sighing a bit, though he smiled as he looked things over. "Mostly gifts, as they put it. After I made it clear that I wasn't gonna take their money, they insisted on compensating me somehow, and after I denied them even that, they just unloaded this stuff on me under the idea of them being gifts." He explained, taking another bite as he shook his head before looking up at Ferodias from where he sat and swallowing again. "These village folk are all so needlessly pushy about the strangest of things, eh?" Even though he spoke like that, Ferodias could tell that Regan appreciated being appreciated by the villagers, a smile clear in the half-elf's eyes despite his exhaustion.

"Well, you are something of a hero in these parts now." Ferodias mused as he finished the piece of jerky he collected, almost going for another piece before deciding to hold off for now as he looked into Regan's eyes. "Everyone saw your display of might this morning, as well as the aftermath, you singlehandedly prevented this village from being razed and looted by those bandits." Ferodias explained, painting a clear picture for his friend, and based on Regan's expression, it was obvious that he hadn't considered that point of view. "Not only that, after you wiped out all the bandits, you turn around and bring a man back from the brink of death and mended a woman's ruined arm. It's no wonder these villagers are so 'pushy'." Ferodias enthused, a smirk growing on his face as he watched Regan start to look rather bashful at the realization of his current image to the people around him. "You should count yourself lucky they haven't started offering you their sons and daughters to get you to settle down here, said sons and daughters who would probably be more than willing to be with you as well." He mused, laying it on a little thick at this point as he chuckled.

Regan managed to go from being bashful to being annoyed at Ferodias as he blew the situation out of proportion, though the ends of his ears were still red as he swallowed another bite of fruit. "Alright, alright, that's enough out of you." He said before shaking his head a bit. "As if I have time for romance anyways." He mentioned as he shot Ferodias a look. "The same could be said for you, as we're both supposed to be busy with your trials."

Now it was Ferodias' turn to look sheepish as his ears waggled, deciding now was a good time to take another strip of jerky to occupy his mouth with as he averted his gaze. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Ferodias deflected before taking a bite of the dried meat.

"Uh-huh, so you weren't getting all intimate with Lady Historietta just now, sitting shoulder to shoulder and cuddling under the shade of a tree?" He asked knowingly, leaning back in his seat as he stared down the nervous feline.

Ferodias chewed on both the meat and his response, mulling over what to say as he gave Regan his back for more than a few moments, his tail swishing and swaying back and forth until he swallowed and glanced back at Regan, clearing his throat. "Well, about that..."

Regan merely quirked a brow and tilted his head. "Yeah? Well go on, let's hear what you have to say." He pressed before taking another bite of fruit to emphasize his point.

"We... I... Well, we err..." He stammered a bit more, really not sure how to exactly explain what went down, he could feel his cheeks starting to warm up as he reflected on what just happened with Tori, and how intimate it actually became. "How do you even know what happened, you've been here the whole time, haven't you?" He decided to try to deflect to buy himself more time.

Regan rolled his eyes at his best friend, knowing exactly what he was doing, but entertaining the question as he leaned back against his chair. "We're in a village, everyone knows everyone and interesting stories or rumors spread faster than most diseases. I just happened to hear about a pair of 'star-crossed lovers' sharing a moment alone. A Count's daughter with a 'mere adventurer' is the hottest gossip this place has seen in decades." Regan explained before finishing off the last bite of the fruit he had been working on. "With the way things are going, I'm almost positive the rumor will spread into the city once we escort these people there." He mentioned with a sigh as he shook his head. "Who knows how this will affect the Lady's reputation, especially since you can't just out and say who you are. All I know is that people outside of this village will be talking about you and you will be the center of attention for a good little while, bringing you under scrutiny from any suitors who are interested in the lady among other things."

Ferodias shrugged a little at that. "We probably won't have much trouble with that, Tori said that she earned her independence from her father and can do as she wished." He decided to say, though he immediately regretted that comment as Regan narrowed his gaze.

"Tori?! You're calling her Tori now?? By the gods' man, here I thought I was just yanking your tail, you really were getting all close and intimate now?" He asked, whisper shouting as he stood and stepped closer to Ferodias, glancing at the doorway to the community hall, making sure they were still alone he then stared back up into Ferodias' eyes, looking clearly displeased by the development.

Ferodias' ears went low, not exactly sure how to navigate the situation he found himself in. "That's not the only thing..." He said as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

Regan sighed, hitting levels of true exhaustion as his emotional endurance was starting to reach the same level as his mental stamina. He looked over at Ferodias, moving back to his chair and crossing his arms as he watched the prince try to produce more of an explanation as to their current circumstances. "What else happened?" He asked simply.

After another moment, he spoke up as he found the words he wanted to say. "Tor-..." He started to say, clearing his throat before correcting himself for Regan. "Lady Historietta was the sole target for the original kidnapping and subsequent bandit raid. Most likely they're enemies of her father, attempting to use her against him. However, if she were to be taken and used for these things, she'd likely die or worse, as her father does not care about anything beyond what is useful or not, even his own children fall in that spectrum." He explained with a sigh, his tail lashing with frustration at her circumstances. "She'll most likely be attacked again in the next three days, if not soon after that." He explained, doing his best to relay an effective summary of what he learned from Tori.

To say Regan was not pleased was an understatement, the poor half-elf sighing as he massaged his brow, doing his best to unravel his nerves in the midst of both mana exhaustion and mental stress. "I think... I need a nap." He simply said before shaking his head. "So, just to clarify... We've got people who are angry enough at a certain noble to try and threaten them with their family's health and safety, said angry people having enough influence to field a bunch of criminals and mages to kidnap said family, as well as access to magic tools that allow the users to teleport away from danger." He listed out as he leaned back against his chair. "On top of all that, they're likely to try again 'soon' with either greater numbers or greater precision, and we can't ignore any of this because... " He started to say as he sighed once more. "Because you're in love with the lady... And because we're good people." He admitted with a nod as he crossed his arms, tilting his head from side to side.

This earned a sheepish smile from Ferodias as he curled his tail behind him, though before he could say anything, his ears twitched as he heard someone opening the door to the community hall. Ferodias turned to see the village head entering, the older rabbitkin man smiling as he looked between the two young adventurers. "The carts are all loaded and ready to go when you are." He said simply before turning to leave as he left the door open.

Ferodias nodded intently at the village head's words when he looked back at Regan who was packing up all the gifts and other things the villagers had given him. Though he still appeared thoughtful, and when he finished packing, he stood tall and looked over at Ferodias. Squinting for a moment, he sighed and spoke up. "I'll grant you this... If we're able to earn Count Blackstone's favor as adventurers, we could perhaps request a favor from him and call upon him as your backer once your trials come to a close. With his support, you'll certainly have a much stronger foundation to support your selection as the next king." He considered as they began making their way outside, the stress fading from his face as he finally found a truly good benefit out of all of this. Though as the duo made their way outside, he spotted Lady Historietta by the carts and wagons, chatting and saying her goodbyes to the village girls, and just sighed deeply. "She's wearing your cloak... Isn't she?" He asked rhetorically before pinching his brow and speaking softly under his breath as he shot Ferodias a glance. "/You're going to give me gray hairs before I reach my twenties, aren't you./"