Helping Out Ishaq, One More Time! [job/solo]

Job Details:

Lexiara wandered over to Ishaq’s forge, wanting to check in on the man and his driver. She had a canister of soup under her arm and Leo was trailing along calmly beside her. Ishaq saw her and Leo approaching and sat down his tools, wiping his hands off before giving her a bear hug, making her squeak slightly though she smiled. He touched her nose with a not fully cleaned finger, leaving a smudge on the pale skin to mix with her jaguar markings before jogging into the building. He re-emerged a moment letter with a small hunk of meat and tossed it to Leo with a grin.

“What brings you by today, Miss Lexi?”

Lexi laughed as Leo tore into the meat joyously, giving Ishaq a bright grin and holding out the canister of soup. It was still warm from roasting over her camp fire all morning. “I brought some soup for your driver, though I do hope he is feeling better today.”

Ishaq laughed at her and took the canister gratefully before shaking his head. “That poor man, still trading out which end things are coming from, I am sad to say. I do not suppose that you would want to take his place again? It is a massive order and I can’t afford to leave it there. There are bandits in the area, they have been stealing the orders almost as fast as they can be filled, the filth. Do they not realize we are all just trying to make a living here?”

Lexi frowned at the mention of bandits, but set a consoling hand on Ishaq’s arm. “It will be okay, Ishaq! Leo and I can go grab it for you. And if anyone tries to give me any lip, I have a vicious tiger now!”

Ishaq gave the petite girl a worried look, then glanced to Leo and the worried look vanished. He had seen the tiger enough to know he was fiercely protective of his adoptive mother. Ishaq gave a hum and haw before finally nodding, knowing he could not afford to leave the ore there another day. It had already been sitting overnight and the bandits were not likely to leave it untouched for another night.

“You promise me you will be careful, now!” He turned to Leo with a stern look. “You protect your mama, you hear me? Or no more meat for you!” He laughed when Leo gave a giant yawn, revealing razor sharp teeth. Just to show off, the tiger then gave a huge stretch, both of his front paws flexing as he dug his claws into the dirt and leaving small tears in the earth, as if to show the blacksmith that he was more than capable of taking care of the young woman.

Lexi laughed with the man at the large tiger’s actions and rolled her eyes as Leo promptly sat his head on his paws and closed his eyes to catch a nap. While Leo napped, Lexi helped Ishaq prepared the horse and cart. The mine was a fair distance away and she wanted to get started as soon as possible. Once the horse was ready, she gave a sharp whistle, waking the slumbering tiger who rose with another yawn and stretch before padding over to his adoptive mother. The horse whinnied nervously but settled down when it detected the tiger was no thread and Leo hopped up into the front of the cart to settle down on the seat. Lexi climbed into the other side of the front, scooting the large tiger over with difficulty to make room for herself. She stowed her bag in the back but kept her arrow handy. With a wave to Ishaq, she flicked the reins and the horse moved forward, tugging the cart effortlessly and she was off to the mine.

It did not take long to make it to the main road to the mine and when she knew the horse had an idea of where it was going, she loosened the reins and let the horse move at a comfortable pace. As the cart moved along, she pet and scratched behind Leo’s ears, listening to the massive purr rumbling in his throat. The terrain was rocky and the road was carved out through the middle but the horse knew the road and the road itself was worn down enough to be smooth. When the cart went over one of the rougher spots in the road, Leo grumbled with discontent before settling back down. Not too much longer later, she pulled up to the mine, waving at the foreman with a smile as she drove the horse to the correct mine. Several workers were standing there and immediately offered their assistance in loading the cart, which she accepted gladly. She gave Leo a stern look to stay in place as she climbed down to help the men load up the numerous crates of ore. Ishaq was right to be worried, with the amount of ore he had purchased. Once all of the crates were loaded up, she thanked each of the workers with a small amount of money and climbed back into the front of the cart. The horse struggled to get the cart moving initially but it was soon moving smoothly back the way they had come and she nudged him along a bit faster. She was hoping to make it back to town before dark fell and she was still wary of the chance of bandits along the road.

Less than an hour down the road, her cautious worry was affirmed when, with a yell from above, a bandit yelled and jumped into the back of the cart. Leo did not waste a second, pouncing forward and slashing at the bandit with his claws, knocking the man from the cart with a growl before following him down. As Leo dug into the bandit with his other massive paw, Lexi drew her bow up. She trusted Leo to be able to handle himself as he took another slash at the bandit and she began searching the ledge above the cart. The horse reared to a stop with a loud whinny as two men stepped in front of it and it stamped its hooves. Lexi swiftly grabbed a handful of arrows from her quiver, holding the bow horizontally as she lined the arrows up carefully. When one of the men grabbed the reins of the horse, she stood so she had a height advantage and released her Multi-Shot at the men, two arrows lodging in one man’s shoulder and three striking the other man. One of the men cursed and released the horse as she pulled another arrow free, the laced arrow head flying forward and striking the man in the gut with her Poison Arrow. As she pulled another arrow free, she heard Leo slashing and biting again at the first bandit. She leveled her next arrow at the final bandit, who was attempted to avoid the stamping feet of the panicked horse. She waited for the cart to stop jostling before releasing her Paralyzing Shot, striking the man in the neck, causing his whole body to crumple as the nerves refused to respond and keep him upright.

She turned a concerned look back to check on Leo, the large white tiger now sitting on top of the first bandit who was valiantly attempting to scoot away from the tiger, his body scored with vicious scratches from Leo’s lethal claws. She chuckled when Leo yawned, hopping down from the cart to check the tiger for wounds after kicking the bandit’s sword away. When she was assured the tiger was unharmed, she approached the horse, using soft tones and soothing noises to calm the panicked creatures. It took several minutes for the mad look to clear the horse’s eyes and she left it long enough to dig in her bag and pull out a carrot. The treat seemed to do the trick and the horse cautiously took the vegetable from her, finally allowing her to pet him. She carefully checked the horse for injury as well before tugging the wounded bodies of the two bandits out from in front of the horse, knowing the smell of blood would do nothing to keep the horse calm. Once the road was clear, she whistled at Leo, the tiger obediently jumping up into the cart and making room for her as she climbed up as well.

It was a quiet trip for the remainder of the main road and Lexi was glad to see Ishaq’s shop come into view. The horse was completely calmed by the time they pulled up to the back of the shop and allowed her to pull the equipment from its back so that it could go back to grazing in its corral. Lexi waved at Ishaq when he walked over, relief clear on his face at her safe return as he ordered two of the shop hands to unload the ore into the shop. She told Ishaq about the events of the trip, glazing over the details to keep him from worrying too much and when she was done, he gathered her into another bear hug. When she gave a small squeak of discomfort, he finally released her, giving her the payment for the job and making her promise to behave. With a smile and a wave, she and Leo headed back to their camp, happy to be able to settle down for the night.

[Magoi 110/200]
[1588/1500]

Abilties Used: