Protecting the Princess [FIREHEAD]

[Kuragari]

Princess Neila nods, murmuring, "Been trying to tell myself that. D-Doesn't... d-doesn't help as much as I wish it did." Still, aside from her paleness and a bit of shakiness, she's handling it better than some would. You remember one recruit, a human from a lower noble family, who during one of the training excursions had lost their lunch after dealing with one of the bandits that had gotten the jump on the group.

Returning to the inn and paying for another night, you both enjoyed a decent meal and then started prepping for bed. (1, 3) Neila seemed more tired now, and so simply flopped into the bed and from the soft snores she was soon letting out, had passed out. You found yourself feeling just a tad tired but otherwise fine... and thankfully, your body seemed to have calmed down from its earlier neediness. Guess the Princess rewarding you so had done the job after all.

Course... that did make your brain imagine times in the future where she might reward such... your mind even conjuring an image of her on her knees before you, taking a load from you and letting out the most perverse of noises with each spurt that landed on her tongue.

[Firehead]

"It'll get better with time though I'd prefer if we didn't have to keep having to expose you to that. I've seen a lot of people do much worse with it so don't be too hard on yourself." I didn't expect much, but I paid a little extra for a nicer meal and some of the better drink available. It was worth celebrating or at least having a nicer meal to help her feel better.

Entering the room, I checked if it was the same room that I'd made a mess of this morning. I was sure it had been cleaned either way, but I kind of hoped I'd never have to meet whichever employee was tasked with cleaning up the mess we'd left in there. The Princess seemed to be exhausted flopping onto the bed and falling asleep immediately.

As my mind wandered back to this morning's activities and the possibilities for the future, I realized that there was only one bed in this room, and the Princess was in it. It also wasn't very big, so there wasn't any room to share without cuddling very tightly. I certainly couldn't do that. Not only would it be scandalous, not as bad as this morning but still, and I wasn't sure I could trust myself with how uncontrolled I'd been. I was rather used to sleeping with my back against a tree, so the corner of the room would work, but I decided to take a late-night stroll to clear my mind a little making sure to lock the room on my way out.

[Kuragari]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Stroll, 4, the stroll is relaxing and helps out a bit. Sleep 5, you sleep without issue.

The cool night air helps to calm your mind and get it away from thinking about such things... though your mind does briefly imagine you and the Princess, both naked in bed. Curiously though, the Princess in said image is snuggling you more like a life sized child's doll or teddy bear than anything more carnal than that. Once you get back, you find the Princess is still asleep without issue, and move to the corner and do your best to get some shut eye.

Its morning before you know it, as the Princess gives you a poke with her foot and heads you some fresh bread and a tankard. Though she's also pouting at you a bit as she says, "You didn't have to sleep in the corner, Ser Gurnt."

[Firehead]

I grunted my eyes quickly shooting open as if ready to assess the situation only to find it was just the Princess with breakfast. Taking the tankard first, I took a swig before grabbing for my plate. "There wasn't much room, and I was worried about disturbing your rest after yesterday." I paused only a moment before adding, "I'm used to sleeping like this. It was part of my knight training, so you don't need to worry about me getting proper rest."

I looked out the door trying to gauge how early it still was. I wanted to be ready for when the prisoner would be escorted to wherever the Count made his home. "Oh right, I meant to ask. Where exactly does your Aunt live? I figure we can see if the Count has any more lucrative jobs we can do, but I'd hate to go too far out of our way for this."

[Kuragari]

"Still... the bed is much comfier. And I wouldn't have had a problem sharing. Its not like there wasn't room." She said, but shrugged after a moment as she ate at her own breakfast. Once you both finish, you inquire for such and Princess Neila pauses in thought. This gives you a chance to gauge the time, and conclude that its early morning. They'd probably be readying the prisoner soon enough.

"I believe her lands are further to the northeast of the Capital of Creenor. Around some mountains and valleys, unless I am misremembering."

[Firehead]

I sigh as the Princess seems unsure of the exact details. "Well have to get some confirmation. Just hope we can do so without raising suspicion of why we need to reach the Duchess so badly. We could ask around about the general information about the noble houses of these lands. I'm sure the Count will have someone in their employee that knows all of that very well if we can leverage out help into some access to his archives."

I finished up my meal. "You ready to go? Hopefully, it'll just be a boring march to the Count's estate though we can't completely discount the possibility that he's important enough to the rest of his gang that they might risk a tussle with the law to free him."

[Kuragari]

"Ready as I can be." Princess Neila says as she slings her quiver over her shoulder again and moves to follow you. The guards are finishing prepping the wagon to transport the thief who is bound and gagged. With the other guards following along, it seemed like there wouldn't be much chance of getting attacked... unless the thieves had many more numbers then you believed.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Travel 6,5

And in fact, the trip is uneventful. The guards mostly keep to themselves as you walk and ride along with them. The trek takes about a day and a half, most of which you spend walking and marching along beside them as you are more used to it. Neila does manage a good half of it on her own, but the rest she spends riding in the wagon with some of the guards. The one day of roughing it, she sleeps right in front of you, sharing your bedroll despite your own reservations about it... though her worry about the guards, some of whom you had seen shooting her looks, is a reasonable one.

Arriving at the hold for Count Olfir, You find that its a castle town situated beneath and partially in a cliff face. The place is rather defensible looking, and prosperous if the state of the farms along the river nearby are any indication. The guards stop at a barracks a bit inside the walls of the city, and you are given a room to wait while they do an interrogation. What reward, or further work, will depend on the outcome of it. (5,5) And as it turns out, that was most of the bandits, with the leader being the one to have organized it. Chances were good that with their leader dead, the handful of others would scatter and become easier to deal with. Or simply cease to be a problem.

"Come along, I'll take you to the palace." One of the city guard says, flashing a smile even as his eyes glance over to Princess Neila, who has lowered her hood and is looking about the city with interest.

[Firehead]

I'd done marches like this many times, so I was more concerned about the Princess. Not only was she not used to it, I'd caught a few of the guards giving her looks that were not appropriate, but there wasn't too much I could do, so I made sure to always be somewhere where I could hear her. We probably didn't need to worry about any guards getting up to something, but I remained cautious nonetheless. When she chose to share my bedroll, I didn't like it but keeping her safe was important even if I was concerned about the guards getting certain impressions about us. Thankfully, the soldiers kept their desires restricted to looks, and we didn't have any trouble.

Seeing the town was a bit of a relief. I wasn't sure if I was being paranoid or if the guards were whispering to one another about the two of us. It was considered to be pretty well-known that mercenaries and adventurers of the opposite sex traveling together to form sexual relationships. I'd always heard the dangers and stress of that kind of life seemed to bring that sort of thing out of people, but I wasn't really sure if it was true or just idle gossip.

Once we were in the room, I took a moment to relax. "How are you doing? You spent a lot of time on the cart." I had to stop myself from calling her Princess. We didn't know when someone might walk into the room to announce the end of the interrogation, and a loose tongue now would spell disaster if the Count had any ideas of what he could do with an errant, foreign Princess within his domain, so we needed to be extra careful compared to the small village we'd been in the other day.

I stood as soon as someone entered the room to announce that what we had taken out was the majority of the gang including the ringleader. So the Count would have us to thank for the security of that road. "Yes, of course, lead the way." I fell in line behind the guard following him to the palace. As I noticed her lowering her hood, I figured we should do something about hiding her identity better. With how eclectic adventurers tended to be, perhaps I could get her some sort of mask she could wear, so she isn't always pulling on her hood.

[Kuragari]

"I~I'm doing alright. I~I'm glad I was as active as I was even with... my sheltered life before we hit the road. Otherwise walking this much would leave me in such a state unfit to meet with a noble man like the count." You caught that she'd nearly said "even with being the Princess" but she caught herself just in time. Still, once the guard started leading you along, you found your attention being split. This town, or small city you supposed, was much busier than the village, and there were plenty of people both hawking their wares and going about their business. Plus, you had to keep an eye on the Princess and your guide.

(1,5)

It was almost too much for you to keep track of. Had there been anything more attention drawing going on, you might not have caught the sound of the Princess's squeak, nor would you have turned in time to see someone pressing something over her mouth and dragging her towards an alleyway as she began to struggle against them!

[Firehead]

I took a moment to look at the sights and sounds of the small city. It was certainly more bustling than that village we'd spent a day in, but it meant there was a lot to keep my attention on. I even glanced over the goods on sale to see if there were any decent masks. Hearing the Princess gasp sent my ears straight up and alert as I turned just in time to see her dragged away to only the gods know what. "Hey!" I shouted at the top of my lungs giving the guard's shoulder a tug to get his attention in the short time before I dove into the alleyway with my sword drawn.

I was desperate not to lose the trail at any cost. In a town like this finding a solitary missing person would be difficult, maybe even impossible, and who knows what would be happening while she's in whomever's clutches.

[Kuragari]

(3,2)

Unfortunately as you and the guard gave chase, you found that the alley the man had taken her down was rather crowded. Worse, you couldn't hear her either now, even with your keen ears. Tracking her by scent was also going to be difficult, because as you sniffed at the air, you picked up far too many to easily differentiate at the moment.

"Did you get a good look at who grabbed her?" The guard asked as he peered about with you. (2) Sadly, you hadn't, your attention focused more on the sight of the Princess being grabbed than anything else. You could see a bit further down the alleyway that there were two other smaller, darker looking alleys to check down, but they could have also pulled her into one of the buildings nearby.

[Firehead]

"No," I growled in frustration. It all happened so fast, and his arms were already around her by the time I saw anything. They were gagging her too." There were too many options for where they could have taken her, and I didn't have the slightest bit of lead. I almost considered asking the crowd, but it would be worthless. They wouldn't have dragged her down here if there was anyone that might rat her out. Worst case, I might talk to someone in cahoots with them that might give me a bum lead and send me searching the wrong way. I punched the nearest wall in frustration as I tried to think.

I hated it, but I needed to figure out where they could take her even if that means leaving her in their clutches for now. "Let's go to the palace. There's gotta be something useful the Count can tell me about the seedier places around here."

[Kuragari]

"Might have been a member of a gang we've been having trouble with." The guard said, nodding as he resumed leading you along. Though now your attention was focused entirely on the problem of the Princess having been snatched away from you. Who knew what whoever had captured her would do with her! And considering how beautiful she was... it was entirely possible they could...

No. you needed to not think about that. Both because it'd only make you worry more. And well... because your mind briefly found itself imagining the princess being used by a bunch of thugs as little more than a plaything to sate their lusts. Which made your own member twitch just a bit.

[Firehead]

"I can only hope we can find her soon. I promised her father I'd look after her." It wasn't entirely true, but it was for the most part. Still, the rest of the walk left me much time to think about her possible fates as much as I fought such thoughts. Ideas of a gang using her, or putting her to work in some kind of sex trade to make them money, or even just selling her to the highest bidder.

I tried to cast those thoughts away. The last thing I needed was the guard noticing something had me aroused when I was clearly agitated by my missing partner. I just had to hope the Count had more on this group than the guard was letting on.

[Kuragari]

The count's castle was nowhere near as grandiose as the Royal Palace back in the capital, but it was still a place clearly meant to be above all the others. As you were lead in, you heard some of the servants speaking amongst themselves. Unlike the village, here it seemed word had reached them of what had happened in your country, and there was rumors awhirl about what it could mean for Creenor.

The count was an older looking human, balding, with a well trimmed goatee. He stood up and reached a hand out however, taking yours as he said, "Ah, you are the one I was told had dealt with those bandits. Well done! Every time I sent my men through to deal with them, they simply disappeared from sight. Its a delight to know they won't be a bother anymore."

He then gives you a more sympathetic look. "My guard explained that your traveling companion was snatched up on the way here. You have my deepest condolences. I shall do whatever I can to help you find her, for credit for dealing with the bandits goes to her as well and it does not suit a man of my caliber to let subjects or visitors get kidnapped willy nilly."

He motions to a chair, and says, "Now, please, do try and think hard. Do you remember anything about them?"

(4)

It takes a moment, but recall that the person who grabbed her had been wearing a dark crimson robe of some sort. They'd had a mask on as well as a hood up, to help conceal their face.

[Firehead]

I wasn't in much of a mood to admire the Count's palace as my failure kept running through my mind. I had to save her, but could I save her before anything really bad happened to her? The thought of the Princess being raped by criminals was not something that could be recovered from, so I was agitated and ready to get her back as quickly as possible. My mind continued racing through what I'd seen in the brief moment before she'd been pulled into the alleyway.

I let out a sigh of relief at Count Olfir's words. I'd encountered nobles who were more interested in enjoying the luxury of their life than discharging their duties, so it was good to hear he wasn't one of them. "Thank you, I want to find her as quickly as possible lest they do something unforgivable to her." I thought for another moment finally recalling something of possible use. "Unfortunately, they were wearing a mask and hood, so I can't give any facial features or even hair color. However, his robe was a very distinct shade of dark crimson." I didn't like how the color seemed a little too close to blood for my liking. Perhaps being violated wasn't the worst that could happen to her before I got there. "My escort told me there was gang you've been having trouble with. What can you tell me about them in case they are involved?"

[Kuragari]

"Ah, I'm afraid it's a bit worse than that then." The Count said, a sad look crossing his features even as the as the ghost of a friendly smile remained. "The last few months, I've gotten reports a strange cult of some sort has taken to infesting some parts of the city. We've been calling them a gang, to keep the public from getting too worried about them." He explains that from what they knew, the cult in question follows some sort of demon, and has been connected to many a kidnapping of late.

The most worrisome part is that the only thing all of the kidnappings have had in common is that the victims have been virgins. Even the small handful of males taken fit the same description.

[Firehead]

I had mixed feelings on the new information. On the one hand, it being a cult meant they would probably leave her be until they could prepare a ritual for whatever they were working for, but that also meant they might also summon some kind of disgusting avatar of their god to take her virginity or even sacrifice her life.

"I see, then we don't have much time to recover her. Where altogether have the kidnapping been occuring? Have any of the victims...or their remains been recovered?" There had to be some clue about where this was all going on. I just had to find it before it was too late.

[Kuragari]

The Count is more then willing to share what he can, seeing as you seem to be someone who can get things done. Most of the kidnappings have occurred in the poorer districts, but a few have begun to occur within the merchants district as well. They believe that the Cult is based out of the old catacombs beneath the city, which are connected via the sewers. Attempts to root them out there have proven difficult, since the sewers and catacombs both can prove dangerous at times to those not familiar with them.

"If you are able to find their base of operations while searching for your companion, I and the city would be in your debt." The count adds once he finishes sharing such information.

[Firehead]

I nod at his information. It wasn't much to go on, but it would have to do. "Is there anyone that might be willing to act as a guide through or at least into these catacombs? If not, I'll need directions to one of the entry points. Probably the one nearest the first victim." It was a long shot, but maybe they had been so excited for their first capture that they used an entry way near their center of operations to get into the city. I thanked the Count for whatever help he could give me and took my leave.

Unlike last time, I didn't think I would make very good bait. I was indeed a virgin, but from what I understood from the count, it seemed like they were more after people of a more feminine persuasion. At the same time, I couldn't stomach the thought of getting someone else to come down with me to act as bait even to save the Princess. I'd just have to hope my luck was starting to turn around.