Down with the flu II - C-Tier [job/solo]

Job:

Another morning at the Gilded Cow, Salmont, the taven-keeper, was singing a song while he cooked some bacon in a skillet over a roaring fire. Diego sat at his normal spot on the far left side of the bar, with his back against the wall, and his feet crossed on the stool next to him. Trixie lay sprawed all out on her back, her right foot kicking as she slept, growling at something in her sleep. There were a few other patrons eating and drinking talking quietly amongst themselves.


Salmont placed a ceramic plate of bacon on the bar and slid it towards Diego, “Eat up, boy.” He turned around and made another plate, walked around the bar and placed it near Trixie. He ruffled the fur on her head and Trixie woke up with a scowl on her face. The scowl melted when she caught the whiff of bacon and she greedily started chewing the pieces, ripping pieces off with her paw on one end. The tavern-keeper chuckled, wiping his hands on his grease-stained apron and went around the room checking on the patrons.


Diego tore into the bacon and took a drink of milk. The bacon was thick and juicy, eliciting a moan of pleasure from the boy as he wiped grease off his chin on the back of his hand. “I swear you get your bacon from the finest pigs.” Diego complimented Salmont and raised his glass, taking another swig.


He started to wonder where Ishaq was when he heard the door open. In came the man from the forge he had helped out the week before. He had ran into the night before and Diego invited him to try some of the Gilded Crow's awesome bacon. “Good morning Ishaq.” He waved Salmont over, “Do you mind cooking some more for my friend here?”


Salmont bowed politely to Ishaq, “Of course I don't mind.” He smiled, “Any friend of Diego's is a friend to the Gilded Crow.” He pointed at a seat before turning around to fry up some more bacon.

Ishaq smiled and sat down, "Unfortunantly, I have to eat and run. I apologize Diego." He saw a dissapointed look in Diego's eye and he gave a weak smile, "The city guard filled an order, had me working late last night. Unfortunantly, I ran out of ore again. Guess who is sick still, my driver." Ishaq shook his head and accepted the plate of bacon with a nod of thanks.

Diego finished chewing on the last of his bacon and grinned, "Does that mean I can drive horses again?" He had enjoyed the peaceful journey to and from the mines.

Ishaq chuckled, "I would be honored if you would help me out. Though, I hear there are bandits around this time."

Diego shrugged, "Trixie and I can handle ourselves. We've dealt with bandits before." Diego handed his plate to Salmont as he walked by, "Thank you again for the delicious meal, my friend."

Salmont waved it off, "A growing boy has to eat, eh?" He ruffled Diego's hair before pouring drinks for customers that had just walked in.

After Ishaq had wolfed down, what he thought was some world-class bacon, they all wished Salmont well and left. They got in his horse and buggy and began the journey to the forge, where Ishaq would be dropped off. Ishaq had asked Diego to tell him a story about past adventures, since he had been the one to tell stories the last time they made the trip to the forge.

Diego smirked as he thought back to his time in Heliohapt, "Would you like to hear about the time I cleared out a hidden temple or fought a desert crocodile?"

Ishaq looked dumb-founded, "You fought a desert crocodile?" He grew a little more impressed of the young boy.

Diego chuckled heartily as Trixie gave him a playful scowl, "I can't say I fought it." When Ishaq raised an eyebrow, he began to tell him the story. "I hadn't been in Heliohapt a day when I found the job board. I saw a posting asking for someone to dispose of the desert crocodile near the Black Temple. We went and turned it in, getting a vial of poison to help slow down the beast. There was a beautiful pond, a sandy mound in the center, and the crocodile was sleeping on it. We snuck around both sides, well Trixie snuck around, I tried to lure it over to me by yelling at it." Diego started snickering as he remembered vividly what happened next. "So, the crocodile disappears into the water, I didn't think anything of it and kept walking around the pond. Suddenly, the crocodile bursts out of the water and snaps at my leg. I had a knee-jerk reaction to kick it in the mouth."

Ishaq looked at Diego with a look the made Diego feel naive, "You kicked a crocodile? You could have lost a foot."

Diego gave Ishaq a silly grin and lifted his pant leg up to show the man his scars, "I nearly did." He chuckled at the look on Ishaq's face, "After I kicked him the thing charged towards me and snapped down on my leg, but not before i threw the vial of poison in its mouth. Trixie came out of nowhere and beat the crocodile silly. The last thing I remember is passing out from the poison and pain."

Ishaq didn't seem to know how to react before bursting out in a hearty laugh, "You are crazy, Diego. Did someone take credit for the capture?"

Diego shook his head, "No, Madam Trixie carried me on her back and the crocodile in her mouth back to the Black Temple. A priest there healed me."

They had arrived at the forge and Ishaq looked approvingly at the tiger, "Sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime partner you have there. Keep her close." He scratched behind her ears before he waved them off. "See you soon."

Diego drove the horses as Trixie rested her head in his lap down the desert road to the mines. It was a peaceful journey there, the canopy of the buggy kept the sun off of them and made the desert heat a tad more bearable. They came around a bend in the path to see three bandits leering at them.

"Ah ha! What have we got here? A boy and a-" He blinked at seeing Trixie lift her head off his Diego's lap, "A tiger? Why are you traveling with a tiger?" The three bandits scurried off over a dune quickly, vanishing behind it.

Diego looked confused at Trixie, "That was weird." He shrugged and continued making his way to the mine.

They arrived and spent an hour loading the wagon with ore. The shipment was much larger than last time and the extra weight would be tough on the horses. After it was loaded he let the horses walk around and get a drink of water before they left. With a full wagon and the job half-way done, they made their way back to the forge. As they came around the same bend, the bandits were back.

One of them pointed at Diego, "Ah ha! Our clever ruse disarmed your senses! You came back this way with a wagon full of money for us! Hand over the wagon or we will dispatch your life!"

Diego raised an eyebrow, "What about the tiger?" Trixie leaped from the buggy and landed in front of the men with a growl that spooked the horses. Diego calmed them down with a reassuring tone and a firm grip on the reins.

Trixie and the bandits walked in a circle sizing each other up, keeping space between each other. A bandit moved forward brandishing his sword, swinging it wildly towards her. She caught the blade with a bat of her hand in her claws, deflecting the blow and slashed at the man's back as he was knocked off balance. She growled at the other two, daring them to attack.

With their back to Diego and the wagon, he slipped off the driver's bench and made his way behind one of the bandits. With a kick to the back of the bandit's knee and a punch to his throat, Diego knocked one down. The other spun around and thrust his blade at Diego's chest. Diego dodged just enough to make the thrust hit his side. The blade cut through the muscle around his ribs and the force broke a rib. Diego dropped to his knee as the distracted bandit gloated, before taking an angry slash to his side from Trixie.

Diego took a few moments to compose himself, the bandit had gotten a nice shot off on him. He grunted as he climbed up on the wagon and took a moment to catch his breath from the effort. The rest of the journey was peaceful and it was nightfall again when they reached the forge.

Ishaq saw the wound and led Diego inside, finding some hay for the boy to lay on while he grabbed some alcohol to clean the wound. After that was done, they spent a couple hours talking before Ishaq told Diego to catch some sleep.

[1542/1000] [200/200 stamina]