Chapter 3

In the end, Botan was asked to carry the body to the village. She picked it up easily and carried over her shoulders. With that settled, the group made their way to the village. They reached it late afternoon.

"Well, this is where we part. Thanks for the help," Jen said thankfully as she handed over a bag, "Here's your reward, eighty gold. Don't spend it all in one place, eh?"

"Thank you very much," the four replied with grins on their faces.

"Alright, let's get this to someone. I'm sure there is a butcher or a leatherworker in the village somewhere," stated Polka as the trader brought the horse over to the general store, "We can sell off the body and make a little extra."

This little titbit piqued Botan's interest. "Hmm, can we keep the head as a trophy?" she asked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"I don't see why not."

"Okay! Let's find someone to do this then!" the lion girl exclaimed as she proceeded to drag the fennec fox girl with her.

"Ah-ha… I guess take this time to rest and look around I suppose," stated Nene sheepishly, with Lamy nodding in sound agreement.

So, both of them relaxed their guard and wandered around the village. Meanwhile, the lion and the fox successfully found not a butcher but a hunter who knows how to butcher various animals, lions included. He was a little surprised to find a lion girl bringing an actual lion to him but he quickly got over it and bought the body from them. After an hour, Botan walked away with the head of a lion. He did inform them that because Polka's punch wrecked the skull, they had to be careful in handling the head so as to not have the bone shards cut through its skin.

"Ready?" asked the bard as everyone met up at the entrance.

"La-lion, la-lion," sang out the lion girl softly as she carefully carried the head.

"Alright… let's get back to the city," declared Nene as they began walking.

Indeed, they were eager to get back, their fighter even more so as she had a grand trophy to display. Well, they would have to find a taxidermist to stuff it, but she would be willing to pay well if it ended up good. The sun had just begun to dip into the horizon when she noticed something odd in the distance. She was about to say something when…

"Hey, what's that?" spoke up Polka as she pointed in the distance. It was a little blurry but they could see something large and wolf-like. With something green or brown on it.

"Hmm, I see it too," muttered Botan. It was then a breath of wind picked up and blew towards them. She was able to get a whiff of something odd and familiar. She blinked and her lion ears twitched in response. "I think… huh, strange… it smells of goblins and worgs."

"Is that bad?" asked Nene with curiosity in her voice.

"Well… if they are raiders, it would be..." the former started but then, the howling started.

"That doesn't sound good," stated Lamy as she dropped her pack. The other two did the same.

"Guh, not good, not good," repeated the fighter as she dropped her pack and carefully placed the lion's head next to it, "Just two… must be a scout party. Not sure if this is a new one or not, but if it finds the village, it will be under threat."

"Okay, let's get ready," muttered the bard as she and the monk got their throwing items ready.

As the cleric chanted and placed blessings upon them, the lion girl nocked an arrow to her shortbow and aimed. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Release. The arrow flew true, lodging into its chest and sent him flying off the worg. The remaining goblin started shouting in an unknown language and the worgs split off, one heading straight to their front while the other circled around them, the goblin on it content to take potshots at the group. A goblin arrow became lodged in the fighter's shoulder but she pulled it out immediately as it was only a piece of sharpened wood fletched with feathers. The moment the first worg came near, dagger and dart flew true but they clanged off the roughshod armor that was strapped to the wolf-like beast.

"Incoming," warned Nene as she ran up to serve as Botan's backup. Frost, dart, and arrow injured the charging beast but it barely slowed it down as it clamped down on her arm with its sharp teeth.

"Get him!" Botan shouted as she raised her bitten arm, exposing its underbelly.

The bard tried to help but somehow, she could barely pierce its leathery hide. Magic worked better as Lamy sent a flash of bright light that tore through its skin easily. The fighter then pushed the dead body away and in one swift move, shot goblin number two in the head. The remaining worg howled and charged down on them. It shrugged off the projectiles that pierced its skin and tried to attack the -half-snow elf. It moved too fast and she got out of the way of its furious bite.

However, this opened it to getting piled on by the entire party. Blood dripping down its side and flanks, it tried to run away, but Nene got to it in the throat before it could. She pulled out her weapon and flicked the blood off.

"Woohoo, another victory!" exclaimed Polka as she did a few cartwheels, "We're on fire!"

"Thank goodness," muttered the lion girl as she drank her potion of healing.

"Well, let's get moving," said Lamy as she went to pick up her pack, "We better warn the guards when we get back. Maybe they could send people over to check up on the village."

They agreed as they mirrored her actions. Soon, the party was making their way back to the city once more. The sun was halfway down when they heard the sound of galloping. A centaur came into view, looking quite harried and tired.

"Help, please!" he pleaded as howls and growls followed after him, "My patrol was attacked and my two friends died. Please, I ask for your aid."

"Let's do this," shouted Botan as she set the lion head down carefully once more.

The party lined themselves in front of the injured centaur as the pack of hyena's arrived and stalked them. They were led by a larger, more brutish hyena that growled at them. They held their ground for a moment… then Polka threw a dart at one of the hyenas. The beasts charged them down, their slavering jaws biting at the first body part they saw. As they crashed against the line, the injured centaur aided them by attacking beyond the reach of the hyenas with its pike. The normal hyenas were taken out easily and they fell under the party's weapons and punches and claws.

The giant hyena took a little more time. Lamy's frost ray coupled with Botan's claws and Nene's rapier whittled it down a little. However, that kept it occupied long enough for the monk to rain blows into its side. Combined with another jab of the centaur's pike, the whittling stacked up and the fighter took the final blow. The large beast collapsed to the earth as the lion girl ripped out its throat and threw the piece of flesh down behind her.

The injured centaur let loose a breath of relief and said gratefully, "Thank you for your aid."

"No worries," replied the bard with a smile, "We were glad to help."

He nodded and continued, "Please, I wish to know the names of my rescuers that I may tell my tribe. Then, perhaps we can repay your help in the future." After getting their names, he bowed and said, "Once again, my thanks. I shall leave you now. I must see to the bodies of my friends."

"That was kind of sad though," muttered the bard as the party went to retrieve their belongings, "They are just hunters doing their job and they lost two people just like that."

"That's life," stated the lion girl as she gingerly picked up the lion head, "Things will happen outside what we expect. You just have to roll with it and adapt."

"All we can do is mitigate the harshness of life," added Lamy, "It's why we do this. To help and ease their burdens."

"Hey, enough being gloomy," chided Polka as she threw her hands up in the air, "We did some good deeds today, so cheer up a little!"

Muted chuckling rippled through the party, lightening the mood as they made their way back to the city. At the gate, they paused to notify the guards about the goblins. After getting assurances of redirected patrol, they went back to the guild house. By that time, night had fallen when they stepped into the building.

"Hello, welcome back," greeted Miyabi with a gentle smile, "You're the last ones back. How was it?"

As the others told the guild clerk what happened, Nene looked around. The counter had several candles to keep the place brightly lit. She could hear strains of musical notes coming from the side room. Thinking back to the barely decorated room, she wondered if Botan would place the lion head there.

"Hmm, this would be difficult," Miyabi stated as he looked over the head, "Most of the shops are closed right now. You will have to get someone to help preserve this until tomorrow."

"Oh? So do you know anyone?" asked Botan with concern.

"Well… tell you what. Try and find Artia in the bar," he suggested after some thought, "She attends the school and she might know someone who could magically preserve this."

Immediately, the lion girl raced out of the building. "...I didn't even tell her Artia's description yet," he whined a little.

Nene sighed and said, "We better go after her."

They hurried out the door and went after the eager fighter. At the bar, they found their lion girl talking to a white-haired, red-eyed girl sitting alone at the table.

"...I guess… I think I can direct you to someone who can," they overheard what they presumed to be Artia.

"Yes, thank you so much!" Botan exclaimed.

"Alright, you're lucky I've just finished my meal and on my way to return to my dorm," she stated as she stood up, "Follow me, then."

"Good evening, Artia. What brings you here?" asked the teacher who Artia brought the party to. She was in the class looking through student's work when they met up with her. She had pink flowing hair and bright red eyes. She also had an animated skeleton of a dog sitting at her feet. This lent to her having a necromancer's vibe to her, which unnerved the party a little.

"Umm, I'm sorry for disturbing you, Miss Rushia," apologized the wizard, "But, erm, these are… new guild members and they wish to ask for help." She then motioned Botan to make her request.

"Er, yes, umm, can you help me preserve this? At least until tomorrow, so that I can get it stuffed," asked the lion girl as she held up the lion's head.

The teacher sat there in silence, staring at them for a few seconds. It began to feel like she was going to refuse when she said, "I can… but I will require payment."

"If we are able to afford it, we can," the fighter immediately answered.

"Very well," the former stated as she got up from the table.

Moving to an empty space in the class, she took out a piece of chalk from her pocket and knelt down to draw out a magic circle. Artia motioned them to take a seat while they waited. A minute later, the circle and the related signs and runes were drawn.

"Alright, place the head in the circle and you can leave," Rushia stated and explained as she pulled out an arcane rod, "The ritual will take a while to cast, but you can retrieve it tomorrow. The head will be protected from decay and rot for ten days, even after more mundane methods are used to preserve it."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" exclaimed Botan.

"A hundred gold."

"...eh?"

"A hundred gold, if you would please pay up now?" the teacher stated with a smile as she held out her hand.

After pooling their resources, they successfully paid the teacher, who gave them a smile and deposited the bag on the table. She then bent down to take her spellbook that her familiar retrieved. She then proceeded to shoo them out, wanting to commence the ritual. The last thing they saw before they left was her placing copper pieces over the head's eyes.

"Urgh, all the gold we earned went to her," groaned Polka as they made their way back to the bar for something to eat.

"At least we still have some money with us," comforted Nene, giving the fennec fox girl a weak smile.

"Hmm, maybe we should take a more difficult request tomorrow," mused Botan, "After getting the head to someone who can turn it into a trophy, of course."

"Indeed. Maybe we might be able to get a discount by doing something for whomever is doing it," added Lamy, "Regardless, let's have dinner. We have plenty to figure out tomorrow."

The party was in agreement. As they stepped through the doors, they were greeted with a lot of clapping and cheering. Two bards were busy playing a rousing song and having everyone singing along. It was a funny one that got everyone into it. The two musicians seemed familiar… and then it hit them as they took a seat away from the boisterous crowd.

"Aren't those the two that were chasing after that girl yesterday?" asked their bard as she hummed the tune in play.

"Hmm, wonder what happened to her..." mused the fennec fox girl.

"One, that girl is actually a guy," spoke up a voice behind her, "Two, I'm right behind you."

She jerked and looked around in surprise. That same blue-haired girl… guy… was standing behind her, arms crossed over his chest, twirling a lock of his hair with his finger.

"Er, sorry?" she apologized sheepishly but he waved her off.

"It's fine," he assured her, "Everyone at the guild knows it, so no worries. Also, it's fun trying to trick newbies."

"Hn, we aren't newbies anymore," stated the lion girl, looking a little annoyed.

He grinned and replied, "Maybe… but you haven't gone all that far yet. You're still dealing in small fry. No worries. You'll have time. Then, maybe you can join me in some shenanigans."

With that, he walked off and blended in with the crowd.

"Huh, that's one of our seniors then," Nene muttered but was taken aback when she turned to her friends. All three of them seemed to be fired up by his words. "...I guess we're getting that difficult quest tomorrow then," she presumed with a smile.

"Yes!" said all three. She giggled. Truth be told, she felt the same way. A little.

The party of four vowed to get stronger and show the world what they were made of.

AN: Hello, readers. Welcome to the next chapter. Right, today we finish several fights as well as introduce someone new... No, not Rushia. The necromancer is already known. I'm talking about the student.

Artia

Ice Genasi

Order of Scribes Wizard

So, Ice Genasi is a homebrew thing I found. Add one to Con and Wis, ice/cold resistance, and a frost breath that is similar to a dragonborn's breath weapon. While Order of Scribes lets you use your spellbook as your focus as well as modify your spell's damage type. And since she is supposed to be an ice elementalist, whatever damage spells she uses will be changed to cold damage.

And after bumping into her, holo5 bumps into Kira.

Kira Yagami

Human, Variant

Rogue/Bard multiclass

Assassin/College of Glamour

Right, honestly, you can go any type of human you want, either standard or variant. What he really gets is the Charlatan background. Since he's a trap. A very good one too. He's good in PvP, so I decided on Assassin Rogue. Collage of Glamour helps reinforce his Charlatan background. Not to mention he is a pretty good singer. As for his musical instrument? In chapter 1, what did he use to prank the duo?

And that's a wrap. Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.