Fable - Ask Monsters In A Cage

[Harlowe]

Harlowe threw herself into one of the chairs.

"We won, though you wouldn't ever think we had," she snorted, confirming in one simple sentence the thoughts that had just been going through Matias' mind about the grateful, typical nature of those who had hired them. Her ruby gaze flickered over to where Doyle had curled up again like an oversized cat - dog? - on the rug beside the rickety cot they had found for the frost giant. She definitely preferred him in his current form.

"Doyle here saved your life."

 

[Felice]

A frown came over Felice’s face as the jotunn shoved poor Doyle aside. After he made himself comfortable in the corner he caught the redhead’s eye and she gave him a reassuring grin.

”He did,” she said in agreement with Harlowe, ”he seems to like you.” Though the reasons why remained a mystery to her.

Felice crossed her arms and craned her neck. ”We brought you something too,” was all she offered as she dropped a sack containing a sandwich and an apple. He probably required more sustenance than that but the rations were still meager after the siege.

 

[Matias Vaquero]

The food seemed to disappear almost as quickly as it had come.

One moment it was there, and the next it fell into the abyss that was the Jotunn's stomach. A sandwich an an apple were hardly enough to sustain him, and the rumble of his stomach was an answer to that very problem a second later. "It's my charm."

He said, burping slightly.

"No one can resist me." His hands clapped together. "So is there a victory feast?"

There hadn't ever been before, but maybe this time.

He really needed it.

 

[Harlowe]

"Not... for your kinda food," but there were corpses galore to be had for the rest of them. The monsters who lived of flesh were now sated and back to practically full strength. Harlowe suspected a part of the bitterness towards them from the cities survivors was because they no longer shared the same hunger. At least the city didn't need to feed them like a real army - really, they should be grateful they didn't have to share much of the meagre rations there were.

Her eyes flickered to Felice.

"Vix said once you were up we could leave. She's pulling back most of our forces and leaving only a small group to ensure we get paid," such was the Regiments way. "We should be able to get you something better on the road."

 

[Felice]

"We could roast one of the captives legs for you though," Felice offered as helpfully as she could muster. It must've been an awful feeling. To go the entire siege, battle, and then spend days in recovery only to awake to an empty stomach with nothing to gorge on. Plus, the pirates in Cerak told stories of being lost at sea. How if you got hungry enough you could cook the recently deceased.

Maybe Matias was that hungry. They said it tastes like alligator. Or maybe it was chicken?

Felice shrugged at Harlowe's words. "Yeah, I guess food on the road would be better. Maybe Doyle can fly ahead and spot you something?" The manticore's ears perked up at the sound of his name.

 

[Matias Vaquero]

"Fuck." Matias cursed, scrunching his fingers in the sheets and letting out a groan that seemed to echo in tandem with his stomach.

A hand ran over his face for a moment. "No. No thank you."

His head shook as Felice suggested that he eat human. The thought wasn't really...unappealing at the moment. Meat was meat to his hunger addled mine, but he also felt as though a single leg wasn't going to do much to sate his appetite at this point.

Best not tempt fate.

His head shook again, and then slowly he pulled himself up and out of the bed. Legs kicking over the side. "Road."

Mat echoed with a grunt.

"And yeah, the big lug can make himself useful." He agreed. "Find a boar, or three, or maybe five."

That would be a good start.

 

[Harlowe]

"D'ya hear that boy? Want to find your friend some tasty boars?" the manticore all but leapt to his paws in the process bulldozing Matias back over onto the bed. The great lummox wagged its tail and crouched like a dog might ready to catch a ball, his slitted eyes darting to and from the other three monsters waiting for the command to go. Harlowe was still trying to puzzle out how Doyle, the simpering, mess of a human, could become this in the twisted contract but she wasn't going to complain. Not when it had been clear Felice had been determined to keep him no matter what he turned into.

What if he'd been a giant slug?

Maybe Doyles transformation was a reward to the monsters for their bravery by whoever the dark figure was behind the contracts themselves.

 

[Felice]

Doyle truly was the best companion they could have hoped for after his transformation.

He was somehow even more adorable since he took on the contract. Although Felice was fairly certain that Harlowe didn't think the old Doyle was adorable at all and she was equally sure that Matias still hated him. That was ok though, after Doyle found the frost giant lunch she was pretty sure he'd grow on the jotunn. And at least her vampiric friend had finally come around and embraced the manticore.

"Let's go then boy," in a start the creature was bounding out of the doorway and down the hall, already spreading his wings in anticipation. Felice stopped at the threshold and turned back, "you can walk ok, right?"

She was pretty sure the promise of a meal was as good of a motivator as any to get the bedridden monster moving.

 

[Matias Vaquero]

"Maybe I'll come to like the big lug after all." Matias said in consideration as the Manticore went practically belting out of the room. If he was going to be this useful, even the Frost Giant couldn't fault him.

Not that he'd ever say as much to Felice.

That would be paramount to heresy.

Slowly Matias steadied himself, fighting the hunger that clawed at his belly and taking a deep breath as he glanced towards the two women. His hand shifted for a moment against the frame of the bed, holding himself steady as he tried to summon whatever strength remained within him.

A nod dipped his head as Felice turned back. "I'm fine."

He grunted in bravado.

"Legs just asleep." The Frost Giant claimed, punching his own thigh before slowly following after his friends.

 

[Harlowe]

Harlowe went from lounging on the chair to by the Jotunn's side in the blink of an eye offering a supporting arm.

"You've been out for a few days, just take it easy. We don't have to go just yet," now they had completed their mission their lives were their own once more until the next contract. The rest of the Regiment would be leaving in drips and drabs too as they recovered enough to move on. She gave Felice a concerned look then wiped it from her face before looking back to Matias.

"I can always carry you."

 

[Felice]

Felice grinned at Matias' initial comment. She knew that no one could hate such an adorable little creature forever. Before long she'd likely catch Doyle cuddled up to the frost giant on a sunny day. Likely being the one thing that would warm his frozen heart.

The redhead returned the silver-haired woman's concerned look as he shambled forward. He really did look weak.

Hoping to sell the idea that Harlowe carried him, or at least aided his walk, she added, "I'd consider her offer." A chin gestured down the hall towards where the rambunctious manticore had just run off to.

"He really is fond of you," her gaze now focused back on Matias, eyes narrowing, "if he thinks you can't walk he'll carry you himself."

 

[Matias Vaquero]

"Don't touch me." Matias said, raising a hand in warning towards the Vampire.

"Your bloods already cold." His finger pulled away, and then he stood a little bit taller. As if some spurt of energy had run through his spine. "Freezes faster."

The threat wasn't a serious one of course, but Matias wasn't about to be carried.

Raising that wall of ice and cutting the enemies forces in half had taken quite a chunk of his energy. A part of that was still missing even now, and likely would be until he managed to reach that fucking feast. Still, even given that, he'd be fucked if he let either Harlowe or the Manticore carry him.

"I'll be fucked if I'm the reason we have to stay in this cesspit." He told the two of them, stepping forward as though he was just fine. "Let's get Vix and get the fuck out of here with the others."

He told them before quickly adding. "Doyle is supposed to be hunting, not carrying."

 

[Harlowe]

Harlowe rolled her ruby eyes.

"Vix isn't here, she's already gone," the vampire filled him in as she sashayed her way back over to Felice instead. She didn't hear either of them complaining when they had to get out of a tricky situation quickly. If he died of hunger on his feet then he only had himself to blame. She sniffed. "Come on then, we can be a few miles away from here at your pace if you hurry up." She wasn't entirely sure where Doyle would begin stacking up those boars but she thought the manticore would make it pretty obvious.

Without waiting for anymore of an answer she slipped from the room and started the journey out of said cesspit.

 

[Felice]

Even after death and rebirth the stubbornness of men appeared to be an ever present fact. Matias served as the most obvious evidence for such a fact.

Felice crossed her arms and twirled in tandem with Harlowe, red hairs dancing in her wake.

A brief thought flickered at the reference of San Siveia as a cesspit. Had it always been such a place? Some of the architecture suggest that it had, at one point or another, been a city on the rise. A growing power that might've even been beautiful prior to the siege. Prior to the arrival of the regiment. There had to at least be some sort of economy in place, the regiment had been hired after all.

"Doyle has already started hunting! His nose is very cute," she had meant to say 'acute,' which was a fanciful word that Harlowe had explained to her once upon a time. Felice also wasn't even sure if it was true but she wasn't about to let the miserable frost giant bemoan their furry friend.

 

[Matias Vaquero]

He raised an eyebrow at both the women, but then fell into step behind them without another word of complaint. "His nose can be as cute as it wants as long as he finds food."

There wasn't much else for him to talk about, at least not for him. He had to mostly focus on the fact that his legs still felt like jelly. Muscles strained and ached, but he knew that he had to keep going if he was going to make it to...food.

Really that was his only motivation now.

The feast that he imagined they would have once they reached wherever Doyle was dropping off the boar he surely must have been finding.

He walked with the two women for some time, adding one or two words to the conversation but beyond that simply trudging forward. By the time they reached the main road he could already feel his leggings growing tired, but by now there was absolutely no stopping. "So where did you say we were going next?"

 

[Harlowe]

Harlowe covered her mouth to hide her smile at Felice's use of the word cute and Matias' confused response. The young vampire hadn't come from much further up the ladder than Felice had but she had had a basic education, which the hair demon apparently hadn't. She'd been trying to teach her a few things she knew and the lessons were going considerably well. At least, in most cases.

"We didn't," she said to Matias' question. "I don't actually know if there is a next mission already. Vix said to head back to Home."

The regiment hadn't ever had a home per see but recently, over the last year, the demon that had made her and Felice both had begun to collect properties. One of those was the daunting Castle Mehjjet. It was large enough to house most of the regiment and had become a sort of sanctuary for them all. A place to rest.

"Have you heard anything Felice?"

 

[Felice]

"Well, if there's anything to eat around here he'll find it for you," Felice reassured their grouchy companion. Doyle had gone hunting already and had came back quickly, so she knew he could find prey easily. The only downside was that afterwards she'd had to spend several minutes cleaning off his mouth and the front of his mane of fur. He was a very messy eater.

There was a slight hesitation as an indistinct syllable escaped her lips when she was asked of what she knew.

Vix didn't seem to like anyone all that much but of the three Vix really didn't like Felice. She often tried to play it off as Vix not wanting to waste time. She and Felice were on the same wavelength so once she communicated orders to the vampire or the jotunn it was likely that Felice already knew what those orders would be. Especially after one of her friends relayed them.

"Honestly?" she finally said with a shrug, "I just kind of assumed Vix wanted us to take a nice little vacation somewhere. We've earned it." Perhaps she should've lied and insisted that the insectoid dream-demon had told Felice that she wanted them to go on a vacation. Either way, there'd be plenty of time to get back to Castle Mehjjet afterwards. "Somewhere with a vibrant nightlife," for Harlowe, "and a grand buffet," for Matias.

 

[Matias Vaquero]

Edric glanced at Felice with a raised eyebrow.

If there was one thing in this world that Edric was sure of it was the fact that Vix did not want them to go one vacation. The Dream-Eater was about as forgiving as a punch to the face. He was pretty sure she probably didn't even know what a vacation was.

Still...the idea wasn't an offensive one. "Buffet, eh?"

The Jotunn mused.

Had he not been so hungry Matias might have had a bit more of a mind to argue against such nonsense. Yet in his current headspace he couldn't help but see the appeal in what Felice was saying. He didn't care much for nightlife, but food?

"That doesn't sound too bad, really." He admitted. "And it's a long walk back to Mehjjet."

Matias pointed out.

 

[Harlowe]

Harlowe got the sense both of her friends were waiting for her to agree. Vix was not going to be happy but technically if they didn't have a mission everyone was free to do what they wanted. They could even leave if they really wanted to and start their own lives somewhere else. There was just a tug that meant most people only dabbled in the idea for a few years at most.

The vampire sighed.

"I suppose there's quite a few places along the way that fit that... In fact I heard about this crazy carnival nearer the swamps that goes on for two weeks. People dress up like monsters to ward off evil spirits for the year," she grinned, revealing sharp fangs.

"We'd not be noticed."

 

[Felice]

This settled it. From now on, Felice was going to be the brains behind their little family. Vacation detour was easily the best idea that had ever come up.

"They dress up like monsters?" that sounded like something she would've enjoyed even before her turning. "Maybe I can shape my hair to look like a demon." That'd be a fun look to try out. "Oh! Maybe they'll have cinnamon rolls too," Felice said with enthusiasm. Human food tended to make her incredibly sick but, from time-to-time, she'd indulge anyway just to remember the taste of such things.

A huge grin overtook much of the redhead's face as she walked out of the room, down the hall towards Doyle, bouncing from the heels of her feet in excitement.

 

[Matias Vaquero]

Carnival? "Well, do we have any money?"

The Regiment didn't generally take financial compensation for the contracts that they took. Sometimes, sure, but in his short experience it was usually a means to an end rather than the need for a large cash pay out of some sort.

Almost always they got something in return of course. A piece of land, an artifact, once or twice it had even been a person. Coin though?

That was rare.

"If we go to a carnival we're going to need money." His shoulders rolled. "Though I guess we could just...take it."

There was, after all, an entire battlefield of dead men. Though Matias didn't really enjoy the thought of spending an afternoon picking through corpses.

 

[Harlowe]

"I have a bit."

Robbing humans as you were killing them was a lot easier. Not only in regards to she was already by the becoming-corpse so she might as well rob it, but morally she was able to tie up the robbery and the killing into one parcel if she did it at the same time and bury it somewhere deep in her mind where it would no doubt one day come back to bite her. If she lived that long she supposed.

"It would be enough to start us off anyway, maybe we can get some more when we're there," Felice and her would have to eat again by that point most certainly. "There's poker games, dice, we could easily double what we have now."

 

[Felice]

"Oh! Card games! Dice!" A scheme was forming in her mind. There was finally something that Felice could have some expertise with. Harlowe and Matias might've been soldiers who understood how armies worked but Felice had grown up in Cerak. There was alcohol, women, slaves, and tons of gambling! "I'm a great gambler!"

She was not.

In fact, most of these were games of luck. There wasn't even a way to be good at them. "I think I'm best at the guessing ones, with the colors and the dice!" The game she was referring to was roulette, or at least, a version of it from back in Cerak.

Felice's smile couldn't have been wider now. "By the end of this trip we'll make so much money that Matias will be dining on prime rib for weeks."

 

[Matias Vaquero]

Matias had a guess that Felice was in fact; not a good gambler.

Perhaps it was her enthusiam, or the fact that he had known her for longer than a few days. Slowly he looked over towards Harlowe. "We're gonna cheat."

He declared.

Back in Cortos, there was no such thing as honor among gamblers. Anyone and everyone could cheat, should cheat, as long as they had the gumption of doing so. There were a dozen strategies, a dozen different ways to go about winning.

It'd be even easier with magic. "That way I'll definitely be eating Prime rib for week."

He paused.

"And I guess we can find a rich fat man for both of you." Matias figured that was where the good meat came from. It was generally true for cows and the like. The more fat, the better. As long as it was marbled anyway.

 

[Harlowe]

Harlowe couldn't help laughing at the conversation. Especially Matias' decision to cheat after Felice's assurances she was great at gambling. She patted Felice's arm affectionately.

"We can play for fun too," cheating was hard work from what little she'd seen of it around soldiers messes when she was alive. Counting cards or trying to play and win not so often you had your teeth knocked in. Fixed dice was always hardest to blag and people tended to be wary straight away when a player wanted to use their own set.

"I don't know how much this will transfer to over there," she sounded doubtful as she fetched out a sack from inside her coat bursting with coins. It was a very good haul from the battlefield. "But hopefully it'll be enough."