The "Best" RPG Ever-123

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---

Rayna had an idea of what to suggest, but it wouldn't work if she just brought it up out of the blue. Plus, if she approached the prince to talk to him right after checking for monsters ahead, he and the soldiers would assume it was about something to do with that, and she didn't want to make anyone worry. However, just as she was trying to think of some other 'meaningful' excuse to talk to him, he approached her.

"Hey, something the matter?"

"Oh, not at all," he said with a quick, reassuring head-shake. "I simply...had a small point of curiosity. Having experienced your magic for myself..you really are capable of making one temporarily stronger, or faster, or otherwise more capable?"
"Sure," she shrugged. "It has 'upkeep', though; I mean, it costs me some...energy, you could say, and concentration, to keep it going."

"Of course," he nodded, "Magic is loathe to give something for nothing. But, I am curious: If you can enhance those attributes, surely you also have some way to discern their original states? That is, some objective way of knowing one's capabilities at a glance?"

"Right. That's actually one of the easiest things for me to do."

"That was what I thought, which brings me to my actual point of curiosity.

"Please do not fret about offending me; I only want the truth. In your estimation, compared to—say—the guard you have seen in town, how do I and my escort measure up?"

Obviously, Rayna kept their voices low to everyone else for this part of the conversation. "Well—you're at least as good as one of the members of the guard, I'd say," Rayna said. "I mean—not the Captain, obviously, but one of their better members otherwise. You're pretty agile, and have obviously had some training. I think the only thing that's tripped you up recently is that you're more experienced in, uh, social fights than life or death ones, but that's nothing you couldn't adapt to with some practice."
"That does match my own expectations," he said. "And the soldiers?"

"Well...honestly, I'd more compare them to your average civilian back in town than one of the guard. Now—that doesn't mean they can't fight; your 'average civilian' out in the frontier is still a tough customer compared to, like, a farmer or merchant way inland or something. I mean—they all had to get here somehow."

He nodded. "I..might have guessed as much. Perhaps I could ask Lady Ezra to have some of her guard train them during their stay in town? If they come back noticeably more capable than when they left..."
"Another way of showing the folks back home the worth of the frontier town?"
"That, and they could earn far better positions than their current ones," he said.

"So, it'd be out of gratitude to them?"

He nodded. "Conscripted into this task or not, and regardless of ability—they have put their lives at risk for my sake."

For a moment, Peregrine glanced quietly in a particular direction, mostly forward but slightly off to the side. At a glance he appeared to just be looking at the carts to make sure they were still rolling along as intended, but Rayna could trace his gaze in a straight line through the carts to right where Zack was.
"Still curious about something else?" she said, a hint of teasing to her tone—but not enough, she thought, to be disrespectful. "You knooow, if you really want to know about our knight friend's past, you could do worse than just admitting your curiosity to her. Surely a noble would feel compelled to give some answer to a prince, right? You might even guarantee yourself the full story if you phrase it as suspicion about her trustworthiness."

"I wouldn't dare stoop to that," Peregrine said. "You all have Lady Ezra's trust, which is sufficient to have mine—and if not, then your actions so far have also more than proven worthy of it. But I will..consdier asking her, if the opportunity presents itself."

"Good luck," the fox-girl said with a friendly grin, heading back to the front to check the monster forecast again. Giving him a more extreme alternative she knew he wouldn't like made the 'nicer' option seem even more reasonable, just as she'd guessed.

---

After the bath, everyone headed back to the house. As they came up to the door, a familiar figure was standing in front, his hand on the way to his side from having just knocked on it.

"Oh—hey Loren!" Aria got his attention while she ran closer. "What's up?"
"Up?" He glanced skyward for a second.
"What brings you to our door?" she tried instead.

"Ah. Well—I was just wondering whether you were in, or off doing adventurer things."
"Not anymore! We just got back from driving off an army of wolves and a chaos-magic-infested Canis guy."
"And a bath," Mira added, lifting a bit of her hair to show it was still slightly damp. "Does 'you' mean all of us, or just her?"

"Err—just Aria, really." He crossed his arms. "I've been making preparations for the teleport crystal's arrival since this morning, and figured it was about time to call it a day. So, you want to go somewhere? Have dinner?"
"Are you asking me out on a daaate~?" she teased, grinning viciously.

"N-no!" He flushed; it probably didn't help that the witch had just put the image of all of them undressed and bathing into his head. "I'm just bored, is all."
"Huh. Well, I was sorta planning to check in on you anyway, sooo, I can come along, sure!"

While the two of them headed off together, the rest of the group went inside, Lupa following close behind Nora on the way to the living room. The weaver shifted to fox-form as she went to find a place to sit and read, but when she turned around to actually sit down, she found the wolf-girl looking up at her expectantly. "Yyes?"

"Um, Nora!" Using someone's actual name meant she was serious. "What's a 'daaate'?" she asked, imitating Aria's drawn-out way of saying the word.

"A date?" Nora repeated back. "It's just—when two people are attracted to each other, and go somewhere together. With each other, but...otherwise alone."
"Attracted...uhhm...'interested'? Like Mira said Red Bird is?"

"Right. As in, romantically?" Lupa got an especially sharp head-tilt from that word, and the elf sighed.

She finally sat down on the couch, patting the opposite end so Lupa would sit there. Why wasn't Zack here to have to deal with this? Then again, he might be reluctant to talk about it. At least Mira could be called in to help if her own efforts to explain didn't work out so well.

"Look, you're an adult...mostly. I mean, you were an adult wolf, at least. So, you know how..puppies are made, basically, right?"

"Mating? Yes," she nodded.

"It's—people don't just come up to each other and st-start..doing that. At least, not..normally. It's usually, a matter of two people who are..interested, possibly, in that, getting to know each other. Preferably over a number of meetings, over a fairly long period of time. Because...for people...getting together like that is, a big deal. A commitment to stay together."

"Oh. That's nothing strange," Lupa said. "Only mate with one who is worthy."

"R-right. Annnd, the idea of 'worthy' among people includes...it being someone you can get along with. Hence, going on dates with someone you think you're interested in, to figure out if you're right for each other."

"Soooo. Is Aria dating Glasses Man?"

"Not..according to them. Although, I thi—I mean...it, really isn't any of my business," she said, cutting herself off from speculating. However, this also confused Lupa.

"Not..business?"

"It's—look, there are some personal boundaries that it's rude to cross without permission. It isn't right to guess at others' relationships when they aren't comfortable sharing. Even if..some people have a habit of being nosy."
"'Nosy'?" she repeated, confused at that term too.

"Err—too curious about other people's private matters. The idea of the term is..sticking your nose somewhere it doesn't belong?" Lupa seemed to only sort of understand this part, raising her hand to place her palm on her own nose.

Putting her hand down again, she said, "But, Lynn is dating, right? Black-fur...uhhmm, Rast? Or, is that business?"

"Well—yes, she is. They've openly admitted to it, so it's okay to say they are."

"And! Rose and Glasses Fox?"

"I..you'd have to ask them, but it certainly...seems like it," she admitted.
"Is Master dating?"
"Uh, n-no. I..don't think Zack has any desire to be interested in anyone 'that way'."

---

A while after sunset, the prince called the caravan to a stop and they made camp. Once everything was set up, he called everyone (except Katherine, who was already busy making supper) together to briefly speak. "Good work, everyone. We have made excellent time today, and quite safely at that—thanks in no small part to the contribution of you courageous and capable ladies," he said, with a small arm gesture/bow in the four adventurers' general direction. The soldiers briefly clapped and cheered in agreement with him about this. "Because of that, we should only be two days' journey off from town now, at the most. There is no need for us to dangerously rush, but I believe we could easily do as well tomorrow. Get a good rest tonight, and remain alert and ready until we finally arrive."

After his speech, everyone scattered to various parts of the camp to wait for supper to be ready. The prince waited a moment for them to do so before starting to make some rounds to check in on everyone—the soldiers first, then Katherine (though he exchanged no more than a brief greeting with her, not wanting to disturb her work), Rayna and Lynn (briefly joining their conversation on what to do for entertainment later that night), Clera (who was sitting down cross-legged and eyes closed, so he didn't disturb her either), and finally...coming to Zack.

The knight had positioned himself on a far edge of the camp, looking outward. Of course Rayna would 'sense' trouble before he did, but he was too well-trained a soldier to feel at ease in the wilderness like this without someone actively watching for threats. Not that he didn't notice what Peregrine was doing.

"May I join you for a moment?" he asked gently, coming up next to Zack.

"Suit yourself." He sat a polite distance to the side, and was quiet for a moment. This was mostly just annoying—he was obviously here to say or ask something, so why not just get it over with?

Seeming to sense the knight's negative mood, he said, "I..hope I don't irritate you too much by asking this. And—you shouldn't feel as if you must answer, but I wanted to at least admit to some significant curiosity."
"About?"
"Your..background, mostly. By my own observation, I believe that you have a noble's upbringing, and a great deal of training and experience as a knight, so I see no reason to suspect that you are not what you claim to be. Yet—how is it that a knight of your caliber is alone, in the frontier, without any order to answer to?"

Zack began to growl, but quickly stifled it. "You really want to know? Fine." He whispered, to guarantee the soldiers wouldn't hear: "I'm out here, because I am a failure. My order was more of a family to me than those I was born to. We lived and fought together for most of my life, and all trusted each other. But in the end, I couldn't protect any of them—many died right in front of me. I alone survived, and there was no point going back to a family or a country full of people who didn't know me. So I exiled myself.

"It disgusts me to hear someone like you compliment my bravery or strength, to talk about me like I'm some kind of hero, because I know that I'm not. I'm just a coward, afraid of losing everything again. I'd rather die myself first, so I put myself at risk even when I don't need to. Even when I shouldn't.

"...Is that enough for your curiosity?" The last sentence came out in kind of a hiss, decidedly more hostile and sarcastic than he'd initially meant it to. Most members of royalty would never tolerate a tone like that, but he had a feeling he didn't need to apologize—and was better off not doing so in the long run.

Peregrine was briefly taken aback, possibly even not by his rudeness but the entire explanation. And, indeed, when he recovered, he apologized. "That..I can hardly imagine such an experience. I am terribly sorry to have brought up such painful memories for you. It was not my intention."
Zack sighed. "Yeah, of course it wasn't. Anyway, I'm mostly over it these days.

"...Rayna put you up to this, didn't she? I'm gonna pull her ears off."

"Er—"
"Not literally," Zack said quickly, seeing his shocked expression.

"Oh! Right, of course," he nodded. But his reaction had basically confirmed Zack's suspicion.

"However, I..do not entirely agree."
"With what?"
"I think, to call yourself a 'failure' or a 'coward' is far too cruel," he explained. "From your own description of events, I believe you must have put forth all of your effort and will to save the other members your order. It cannot possibly be your fault if it wasn't enough—the enemy must simply have been too strong. That would rather be a failure on the part of whoever sent you without sufficient reinforcements."
"You could argue that, I guess, but..it doesn't change how I feel about it."

"And surely you would have avoided forming attachments with others altogether if avoiding the pain of losing loved ones were all that drove you."
"That's..the reason we go to know each other is..complicated. I can't explain it to you."
"But even if you must work together with them, you surely could have remained more emotionally distant," he insisted. "Instead, it seems to me that you chose to move on and forge new friendships—which appear to my eyes to have grown quite deep. I would even be so bold as to say you have a new 'family' now. Not that it could replace the old one, but..."

"Yeah, I guess I just can't help myself."

"I simply believe that you are a better person than you think you are," the prince insisted.

"You're not the first person to say something like that to me."
"Then..perhaps you ought to try to believe it."

With that, he finally stood up and walked away. Zack breathed a sigh of relief, but it was slightly insincere. He felt...less tense and irritated about that conversation in retrospect than he expected to. Or maybe it was just less than he wanted to.

---

Mira stopped just inside the door, looking over at Rose. "Headed back?"
"Um, yeah, why?"
"Aren't you..possibly forgetting something?"
"Wha—oh! The tree! Yeah, I'll go take care of that." The dragon-girl skittered quickly back out the door, and then the witch headed upstairs. If Nora needed her help with Lupa, she'd holler.

Genuinely eager to get back to tending her own garden, Rose took about as quick a pace as she felt wouldn't make other people in the town her feel threatened. A small part of her thought why don't I just fly there, but she resisted the temptation—and she reached the tree before too long anyway.

"Hello there~." She leaned forward, placing a hand on the trunk to feed it some more magic. While she worked, she whispered, "Sorry, I really almost forgot about you today...glad Mira's less of a scatterbrain than me."

After a moment, Rose tilted herself back upright again, lightly clapping her hands against each other. "Phew, all done!"
"Oi, flower girl!" The dragon-girl turned toward the source of this call to find Randall splayed back on a bench, raising his hand to wave at her in greeting.

"Oh..you're here again. Hi," she said, coming closer—but stopping a fair distance away, as the alcohol on his breath was already starting to overwhelm her.

"Awwh, don't gi' me that. Who saysIev..ever even left?"
"Since yesterday? You wouldn't be anywhere near that drunk still."
"Hah! Go' me there.

"Shhsssay, where's your fox friend?"
Rose headtilted. "Vae? At home, working, I guess. What, you want her to mix you a hangover potion?"

"Hey now." He sat up to point emphatically at her. "I don' get hangovers. Anyway, that's no' who I meant," he slurred.

"I guess you mean Rayna, then? She's out of town, helping escort a prince or something."

"Any idea when she'll be back?"
"Uhhmm..a couple more days, I guess? They were teleported pretty far away."
"Egchk." The incoherent sound he replied with seemed to convey annoyance, especially since he fell back against the bench with his head tilted skyward. "Gods, I am boooorrreeed!"

Rose had a thought. It probably wasn't a good idea to bring it up, but then again—he was apparently super bored...

"Say, would you be able to find, like...fault lines? Or volcanos, or other stuff like that?"
His reaction was to sit upright, sort of acting mock-insulted: "Would I be able—would I be able to find...! Wha' sort of novice earth mage you think I am, anyway?"

"I'd guess the drunk kind."
"Hhhaahah, sure! Anyway—what, are you worried about a quake bringing harm t'your forest?"
"Well, I am now. A little. But that's, uh. I was actually considering looking for a place some hot springs could be dug up or something. Maayybe not in my forest, but like, somewhere nearby? Or near the others' house?"

"And you thou' I might be able to sniff out if there's somewhere worth digging, eh?"
"I mean—if you're really that bored," she said, putting up her arms, "then it's something to do at least?"
"Ehh..sshure. It ought to kill an hour or so for me." He used his hands to lever himself up off of the back of the bench and forward to his feet, stumbling briefly forward before his tail seemingly caught him from falling over entirely, letting him recover to a fully upright stance. "Lead on!"

---

Rayna watched up until the prince got up and walked away from Zack, then quickly turned her head Lynn's way again. You see that? Progress!

Yeah, they've had a real, if brief, conversation, Lynn agreed. Though—he didn't get nearly as angry as I expected. Rather, I think he's in a slightly better mood than before. Tail's even wagging!

Looking again, the fox-girl replied, I dunno if that counts as a wag. I mean...it's in motion, but very slowly.

Well, I'm still taking it as a good sign.