DnD-style roleplay!

[Nail Strafer]

"Let's meet on the outskirts of town. That will give me time to get together things to travel with anyway."

"Okay, I'll see you there," Augustine said with a polite nod.

Geoffrey smiled and extended his hand. Augustine looked at the hand blankly. Most humans didn't want to get anywhere near beast folk, let alone have physical contact. This was a rather uncommon sight. In any case, after Augustine recovered he took Geoffrey's hand and shook. Geoffrey would wait to shake Chadin's hand before leaving as well.

"I'll be ready to go in about an hour. There's an empty field outside the village gates we can use. We'll rendezvous there."

And with that, Geoffrey swiftly left the tavern. The other humans stared at him as he left, and then back at Augustine and Chadin. However, the barkeep brought a fresh round of food and drink out for the patrons, so it was soon forgotten afterwards.

As Augustine continued to work on his own food, he looked back at Chadin.

"So, what do you think? A doctor who works on beast folk?"

[Chadin]

Chadin accepted the man's handshake and once he left, returned once more to his meal. This doctor business certainly added a new layer of complexity to the situation. While Geoffrey sounded sincere, Chadin's cautious nature just refused to allow him to accept his story at face value. If he was telling the truth, then the moral thing to do would be to help. If he was lying, then he might be leading them into some kind of setup or a trap.

Unfortunately, Chadin had just as much reason to trust him as he did to distrust him. The part about being a doctor that clandestinely treats beast-folk seemed far too convenient a way to dodge his question about their destination. On the other hand, given the chilly reception he and Augustine received since coming here legitimized the doctor's concern for secrecy. In the end, Chadin had only one option to take.

"What I think is that I need more information. Chadin answered, intently staring at his steaming hot food. He would go along with this for now and keep his guard up. If nothing came of his worries, then he will gladly write them off as paranoia brought on by this village's unwelcoming attitude. If he's right, well... He'll live to work another day.

[Nail Strafer]

"Sure, of course," Augustine said, in response to Chadin wanting more info. After he had finished his food, the hybrid quickly paid and made his way out, waiting for Chadin to follow.

---

They would find Geoffrey standing alone in a grassy, empty field outside of town. He had a travel rucksack at his feet. As Augustine entered the man's field of view, Geoffrey waved him over. Augustine looked at the area all around his potential client, but couldn't see anybody else in the vast open space. Maybe that's why he picked the field, Augustine guessed. If anyone tried to attack them here, they would be seen coming a mile away. Satisfied that he was safe, Augustine quickly made his way over.

"Thanks for coming," Geoffrey said with a smile. "I didn't think I'd find any guides this late in the travel season."

"I don't mind. My mother is an Arctic fox."

Geoffrey gave a pleasant laugh as he looked for something in his rucksack.

"Splendid! Splendid... Anyway," he clasped his hands together. "You want to know where we are going, correct?"

Augustine grinned and let out a little scoff as he rotated his shoulders.

"Hard to get where you're going if you don't know where that is."

His fuzzy tail flicked back and forth expectantly, as he waited for where they were going. Meanwhile, Geoffrey fished a scrap of paper out of his rucksack.

"Ah... Here it is," he said, pulling up the paper. "Forgive me if I'm saying this wrong. It looks like it's pronounced...uh... Provenan."

Augustine frowned, not sure what to make of that. Provenan sat deep in the woods, far away from human civilization. The canine didn't recall anything worth seeing there the last time he had passed through. It had several houses, an inn, a general store, and that was about it. Aside from being one of the oldest known beast folk towns (centuries-old, in fact), it didn't have a lot going for it.

Wait, I do remember one thing.

A large hill shrouded in evergreens overlooked the small hamlet. Hidden within the branches, one could just see a tower. Augustine heard from the locals it was the highest point of a mansion overlooking the village. The family of the man who founded the beast folk village lived there. Augustine smirked. It was obvious to him where they were headed now.

"Let me guess. The patient lives in the manor looking over Provenan, right?"

Geoffrey's eyes shot up from his paper, as he looked at Augustine in amazement.

"But... but...how did you...?"

"Well, the people who live in the manor have to be the only ones who can afford to send for a human doctor, right? I know there's not much else in Provenan."

[Chadin]

Chadin soon finished his own mean, deposited his coin on the counter and followed after Augustine.

Chadin too made a similar assertion about their meeting place, and with his excellent hearing, he couldn't pick up the sound of anything out of place in the immediate area. Nevertheless, he kept his ears swiveling on high alert. Something about all this still nagged at his mind.

"Thanks for coming," Geoffrey said with a smile. "I didn't think I'd find any guides this late in the travel season."

"I don't mind. My mother is an Arctic fox."

"The cold has never really bothered me. Comes with spending the vast majority of my days out in the wilderness, often in less than ideal conditions." Chadin replied with an air of experience and wisdom. It might sound like bragging, but, much like Geoffrey and his greying hair, to a deer, an rack of antlers as large and impressive as Chadin's was a sign of strong, healthy and well-seasoned buck.

Chadin listened intently to Geoffrey explain their destination. The name of the village rang a bell, but only barely. He'd only ever been there once and that was years ago. Not many merchants even knew it existed, and those that did did not travel there often.

"Let me guess. The patient lives in the manor looking over Provenan, right?"

Geoffrey's eyes shot up from his paper, as he looked at Augustine in amazement.

"But... but...how did you...?"

"Well, the people who live in the manor have to be the only ones who can afford to send for a human doctor, right? I know there's not much else in Provenan."

"If I may, Geoffrey, I can't help but find it odd that a beast-folk would call upon a human doctor. Granted, I realize we don't know all there is about medicine, but we do tend to be more adept in herbal medicine. Surely there must be at least one herbalist in the village that could tend to any illness or injuries there, so why send for you?"

[Nail Strafer]

"If I may, Geoffrey, I can't help but find it odd that a beast-folk would call upon a human doctor. Granted, I realize we don't know all there is about medicine, but we do tend to be more adept in herbal medicine. Surely there must be at least one herbalist in the village that could tend to any illness or injuries there, so why send for you?"

Geoffrey gave a little sigh and shrugged.

"It must be something very serious if they sent for me, that herbal medicine alone can't handle. Human medical knowledge is growing at a steady rate. Did you know we have universities now dedicated to the medical sciences? There's still a great deal we don't understand though, like why an illness will jump from person to person. Does the sick person project it onto other people by looking at them for too long? Is it God weeding the unworthy out of his population? We just don't know right now. Anyway, I don't know too much about the patient yet, because this is the first time he has contacted me. All I've got is his letter."

"Could we see it?" Augustine asked reflexively.

The human shook his head, frowning. Immediately, Augustine regretted saying that. He felt like he'd just said something very impolite.

"I'm sorry, but that's between me and my patient. People generally don't want to hire doctors that share their medical history with complete strangers."

Augustine's ears folded back at that statement, as he briefly looked down at the ground. All of a sudden he felt like just standing off to the side and being quiet.

"My apologies. I guess I just never thought of it that way."

Geoffrey smiled, as he tried to brighten Augustine's mood back up again.

"It's all right. You're not a doctor, so you don't know things about my profession, just like I don't know everything about yours," Geoffrey spoke patiently, as if he were a teacher talking to an attentive student. "Anyway, for me to do my job effectively, my patient needs to believe he can share everything with me, without fear of ridicule, reprisal, or shunning. That doesn't work unless I take an oath of confidentiality."

It made sense to Augustine, now that he thought about it. Would you want your doctor telling everyone you had leprosy or something like that?

Nonetheless... The canine's curiousity wasn't satisfied. Everything Geoffrey said made sense but it also felt like a convenient way of dodging Chadin's question. He felt bad for thinking it after everything the human said, but Augustine still wanted to see that letter...

[Chadin]

In a sense, the fact that Geoffrey didn't already personally know the patient calling for his aid only raised further questions. Doctors and medicine men are not generally known for making frequent, far-ranging house calls. Even less so since unless you already knew your client. Reputation spread purely by word of mouth, so unless Geoffrey once passed through the town and left some sort of last impression upon them, it made no sense why someone in that remote a village would call for outside aid.

Either way, it made little difference to Chadin right now. All he did know is that IF this really is a medical emergency, then they needed to make all speed to Provenan. Perhaps there really is more going on, but right now, Chadin possessed only speculation and gut instincts; hardly proof enough to act upon. For now, all he could do in good conscience is agree to held and keep his guard up. He didn't exactly like having to work under such conditions, too often such uneasy feeling went unjustified later on.

Chadin rubbed his chin thoughtfully, coming to his decision. "Very well, I for one will agree to guide you. I'm not sure if you wish to hire both of us, seeing as we both know the way, but an extra blade always does come in handy should we encounter thieves or bandits on the road." Of course, what Chadin chose not to add is that having an extra body on board that you can trust adds an extra layer of security in the event all those uneasy suspicions are proven correct.

[Nail Strafer]

Geoffrey breathed a sigh of relief, as his face relaxed into a smile.

"Good," he said to Chadin. "And you Augustine?"

"I'll do it too. Chadin is right about needing an extra guard. But it's not just because of bandits."

As he spoke, Nail slipped the blue cloak off of his back and into his bag. He started to withdraw a dirtier, olive-green cloak from the sack.

"We're going very deep into beast folk territory. Have you ever been there before?"
Geoffrey slightly shook his head.

"Not this far before, but I have been to a few beast folk towns. The treatment I got was...fine, I suppose. Beast folk seem to have the same respect for doctors that humans do. I'm sure it would be a lot worse if I didn't tell them my profession."

Augustine nodded in understanding.

"Right...so you know what it feels like when we go to human towns. But it might be worse than what you've had before. Provenan is one of the oldest, if not THE oldest beast folk town. We'll need to stay on our guard more and more as we get closer to it."
A faint fear crossed Geoffrey's face, but only for a few moments.

"I understand, Augustine. I'm prepared for the risks. The client is paying extremely well for this, and that's why I don't mind having both of you come along."

The doctor reached into a pocket on the side of his rucksack, and withdrew several glittering golden coins. He split them into two equal amounts, and then held them out in his hand to both Augustine and Chadin.

"Look...I'll even pay you half right now to show I mean business. You'll get the second half once I'm safely back out of beast folk territory."

Augustine's mouth hung open slightly in amazement. Most of his clients hired him only grudgingly and a handful nearly "forgot" to pay him after he got them where they were going. What Geoffrey held had to be one of the largest sums he'd ever seen before, and this was only HALF of it! Well, Augustine thought, if he's this serious, then who am I to say no?

"All right," Augustine said, more calmly than he actually felt as he took the money. "If that's what you want to do, then let's get ready to leave."

Augustine quickly stuffed the coins in a hidden pocket deep inside his bag, before he slung it over his shoulders.

[Chadin]

Chadin too couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at how much coin Geoffrey was paying out. Calling the amount generous was almost an understatement, and only served to raise his suspicions more. He didn't know much about Provenan, but he certainly didn't think that anyone in the town was wealthy enough to pay so much for a doctor to come so far. Still, money is money and he'd already agreed to guide him. The fact he was offering half his pay in good faith at least bought Geoffrey the benefit of doubt for now at least.

"A very generous offer, Geoffrey. Thank you. If you're all set, I suggest we depart now. It will be dark before long and it would be best to put some ground behind us quickly if we are to reach your patient swiftly. Chadin said, accepting the coins and stuffing them into his own traveling pack.

[Nail Strafer]

[Time skip]

The three travelers trudged down a pathway through the forest. Trees, bare without their leaves, reached their limbs overhead. They looked like the long fingers of hands ready to close down on the trio. However, Augustine made journeys through the forest as a guide all the time, so it didn't bother him too much.

The effect became more prominent as they descended into a valley. The trees stretched out above them on the hillsides on either side of the path. Chadin was too right about the darkness quickly approaching. Because Geoffrey hadn't asked for a guide until later in the day, the sun was already going down just a couple of hours after they set out on the road. With them in a valley, it would get dark even sooner. The silhouettes cast by the sun on the bare limbs made them look very sinister indeed. A small look of concern crossed Geoffrey's face.

"We're definitely not going to make the next town," Augustine said nonchalantly. "We'll need to find a place to set up for the night."

He started to scan the roadside for a place where they could settle down, make a fire, and relax a bit before nodding off to sleep.

"Chadin...you see anywhere that looks good?"

[Sorry for slow post. It's been a busy week at work. I'm applying for a higher position at the same time too and writing out why I'm good for it.]

[Chadin]

Chadin had been noticing the rapidly diminishing daylight as well.

"What about those spruce trees over there?" Chadin suggested, pointing to a place a little ways off the trail. There, a large spruce tree grew up from the forest floor, surrounded by a bed of fallen nettles. The branches near the base of the tree had long since withered and broken off in time, as is common for spruce, but in doing so, the higher still green branches created a sort of natural canopy overhead. The area directly beneath it would be surprisingly dry. Sure, the nettles might be sharp in their own right, but that's what the bedroll is for. Besides which, all things considered, it beat having to set up tents and there would be an abundance of kindling available right at the base of the tree.