Great Haven - sup

Give them a fake name. Fach

Searching your fogged memories isn't an exact science. Terra. Perhaps your name is Terra.

Answer them: Raoul. Anyone from your old life left you for dead, so it's not like your actual/original name's any real use here.

Well... this is an interesting opportunity for you. You're likely never to see any of your old clanmates again, and your old name carries with it a certain negative stigma, thanks to all the scolding and shaming and shunning you went through. You think that you would be better off without it, so you instead give her the name of some distant, more favorable cousin you thought you had. You only really heard stories of him before. His name was Raoul, you think, and you're well satisfied with that. At least, it sounds a whole lot tougher than you probably are. Naming yourself in this way gives yourself a much better sense of self-importance. Maya, pleased to see you speaking again gives a nod of approval and acceptance. "Well then, Raoul.. I have a few things to give you."



The torill pulls from the pile of knitwork behind her your bag, and a small bandanna, lifting you up to dress you in them; it takes you a little by surprise. She even ties the bandanna on for you, saying she was working on them while you were out.



Turning over the little bag, you see that it was patched up; you recall at least one hole in the corner. Not only that, but... it seems much roomier than normal. She must have used some spacebending thread or something or other to make it hold more, maybe even objects larger than itself. That would have been incredibly useful several days ago! You can see the skill in her handiwork.

"Awwh, look who's so cute in that little bandanna!"
You remind her that you are not a child.
"Well of course you aren't, little man."

You hear a third voice coming from the door saying that the wagon will pull over for a food break.



The Rozo across the room gives an eerie sort of snicker as he continues to leer at you. "Heheh... well, Raoul, I hope you're feeling bright and chipper; you're going to need that. Have you even been to the Arioch, Raoul? Not only is it the capital of the world, but it is teeming with Hawrens."

Believe the food to be drugged with such overwhelming fervor that the placebo effect alone ensures that you are intoxicated upon consumption.

You are NOT feeling well.

Whatever that fruit was, it was definitely poison. For a while now, you've been feeling dizzy, though you did not notice it before. Of all the six races of the world, you think Hawrens have to be the most dangerous; You've heard horror stories of Hawrens that abduct Hiiri like yourself for use in their twisted experiments. Did that fruit mean to turn your legs into jelly, as they are now? To keep you from running away? Are you just another thing to sell to these people? You try to say something, anything... but no words come, and your throat is dry and parched. All you can do is stand there, stunned, as the unnamed rozo's evil grin bores right between your eyes.

>Faint.
Again.

Throw up and hide inside your own bag.

>Grab that rozo and stuff him in your bag! What a rude dude!

Calm your goddamn tits, Hiiri. Why would the torill give you useful, apparently enchanted equipment, if you were destined to be a lab rat?

I mean, you'll probably throw up or pass out anyway, though all it'll do is make Maya fret or mother you more.

> Quickly! Crawl back into something so they can't do anything to you.

Hide inside your own bag.

You aren't taking any chances; it's well time you hit the deck!



You fall to the floor with a thump, fidgeting in a panic. It's quite roomy in here... which is good, considering how being in a confined space would probably be not too good for your lowering condition. That damn fruit is making you ill. At least you can hear outside, somewhat.

"Mort, if I have to throw you under the wagon again, I'm not going to fix you this time."

Throw up.

You now have one (1) pile of yuck in your inventory.

You immediately feel better, but that probably won't last for long. Unfortunately, you needed that food in your stomach, though it's much better than having whatever poison that was most certainly in it.

Calm your goddamn tits, Hiiri. Why would the torill give you useful, apparently enchanted equipment, if you were destined to be a lab rat?

>Raoul: It's probably just indigestion from eating such rich food after being starved.

...Though, reconsidering things, your current location wouldn't even be possible if it weren't for Maya's actions. After all, you're feeling awfully energetic for someone who passed out to starvation and hypothermia; maybe she's to credit for that as well. Giving it even more thought in your rational state of mind, you were likely only having a bad reaction to the fruit you've never seen or tasted before. You're not sure if you should be eager for more or not. The group is pulling over, though, and that means it would be an excellent time to get some real sustenance.


_____





You might have passed out for a bit. You're outside now, and you're still in your bag; as easy as it is to store yourself in it, you now know from the chill of the air that it won't do as any sort of shelter. At least the fire nearby is keeping you warm enough. Someone started boiling a pot of water; you can't see it, but you can hear it. Everyone seems to be in a practiced silence. The torill is still knitting, and at least one person is drinking from a bottle.

You should clean yourself off.

put the fire in your bag!

> knock over that cardboard cut-out that's keeping you all warm

Apologize for messing up the bag via vomit

strike up a conversation with the tricycle dog

Apologize for messing up the bag via vomit

.....Yes, you're regretting that, now. Not only is it a mess that you'll have to deal with now, but the smell is going to stick for weeks. Maya made it good as new, too. At least, it doesn't smell that bad. ...And you didn't have that much in your stomach anyways. At least you're, uh, alive, right?



Fortunately, you were always one to keep your inventory well-organized, especially when it includes yourself. You make it a point to never, ever mix the hiiri with the piles of vomit.



A new face is looking right at you when you emerge. He must have been the driver.

"Good, you're awake again. I have some tea brewed up for you here if you feel you need to calm your nerves." Maya next to you says she made sure you weren't over-nauseating yourself in there.

He's a Sparsen. You never really liked them; they're odd and unnerving in their own right. He seems to be running the show here, but you have to wonder how it managed to learn to cook organic food.

You can't really see what it is he's handling in that pot, though, and there's no way you're going to be climbing up that thing over an open pit of fire, even if it looks fake; it looks magically produced. You can smell the food at least: it's definitely a savory stew of some kind, with possibly some kind of poultry, and the sweet fruit you had earlier. To be honest, it's not the greatest smelling thing in the world. A Sparsen can cook, but it can't taste.

Wait...

strike up a conversation with the tricycle dog

>Raoul: Check out the doggernaut pulling the cart.

Oh lord, THIS thing is deserving of your whole and undivided attention. Is that seriously the thing that's been pulling you along this whole time? That's ridiculous. It's not even funny. It's time to investigate.



Oh, that's right; you're starving.

eat some soup!

Eventually, the driver decides that his meal is done being prepared, and begins doling out the portions. Since you were a bit of an unplanned arrival, he doesn't give any specifically to you; it's understood that you're 100% Maya's responsibility. She makes an odd face at the soup and decides she isn't hungry, and gives her portion to you, since you obviously need it more.

Already, the Rozo is complaining. "Hey, There's not very much here."

"Shush," the driver says. "I'll explain that in just a moment."

Funny, it looks like your own bowl could feed two torills.



The sparsen starts to give a little speech. "As I'm sure you both know, this next stop is going to be our last before I pay you for your work this season. But there's still one thing I have yet to address, and that would be our food situation. I'm always sure to pack well more than enough food on my trading routes in case of emergencies or thefts and whatnot..."



"...but the problem is this: I only had enough food tonight for this meal, and that means there will be no breakfast in the morning. My personal food supply has dwindled as well, and that's troublesome, as I should be the only one who even knows where that is."



The rozo (apparently named Mort) points his spear on you, concluding that "It must have been the rat." He slithers toward you with that semi-staggering gait that all rozo seem to have.

You back away from the tip of his spear, but Maya is quick to defend you, at least verbally. "N-nonsense. He's only been here a little while, and unconscious for most of it! He's been at my side this whole time."

"Well, it only makes sense. Hiiri are thieves! So he must be the thief. It wasn't a problem before he arrived on this wagon, but now that he's here, we're having problems. He may have been doing it over time, tagging along this whole way until he accidentally was found by you of all people, and he played possum. Wretched creature, I would have killed him on the spot."



"Nobody will be killing anybody here." Thankfully, the Sparsen decided to step in before things got too sticky. It seemed he had a better control over that weapon than its owner did. He adds, "Don't think I haven't noticed the disappearances from the start, when we left Arioch in the spring. That's far too long for this Hiir to freeload and go unnoticed. I've been waiting for either now, or for whoever it is stealing my food to start giving themselves away, but now I know you're a lot smarter than to let that happen."

What are Sparens? Are they completely made out of feldspar, or is it just a crunchy shell? Are they even living things or constructs of some kind?

You were never really sure what they were; all you were ever told was that they were "inorganic," and that meant they had needs unique from any other species. That, and you've never seen one up close. You think you've heard stories told that they were the first form of life to rise from the earth, before anything else had a chance to appear. Whatever food they do eat causes extreme hallucinations in anyone else through mere contact with it; you had to learn that one the hard way. You think there were some addicts back at the clan as well. It burns your hands.

He continued. "Both of you have worked under me before. I will be sure that whoever the culprit is will be turned over to the authorities when we arrive. I will make sure all are present when I do, as any who disappear or run away before then will have a bounty hanging over their heads."

eat some soup!

Hahahaha, that sounds like the best course of option right about now! ...It at least tastes a little better than what you're used to.

drink it very heartily!!!!


i bet tricycledog stole the food

Wow, actually, that looks like a lot of food. You probably could share it with the cute turtle, even if we're short on food.
What's in that soup, anyway?

Well, try and observe how the rest of the crew are reacting to this. Anyone seem.....SUSPICIOUS? And this means you should stick around for a bit so you don't get saddled with a bounty, darn.

>level up from slaying the food!
>chat to turtle some more she is good. Why doesn't she like soup?

Don't run away. o_o

bathe in soup

What's in that soup, anyway?

Ooh, boy, where to begin. You're not sure if the first thing you noticed was that lavishly sweet fruit that's been stewed in there, or the copious amounts of salt that's been mixed in with it. There are some other things in here, but those two are the most overpowering. If you make it beyond that, there's some sort of fennely taste, and what might be some breed of pheasant. Still, you can't complain... food is food, after all.

>level up from slaying the food!

Yes! Food is pretty great, isn't it? You've gained a defense advantage and a slight attack advantage in fighting all food enemies, including soup! It looks like you're a cut above the rest!

Wow, actually, that looks like a lot of food. You probably could share it with the cute turtle, even if we're short on food.

>chat to turtle some more she is good. Why doesn't she like soup?

Well, judging purely for yourself, you can totally see why she doesn't like it... but something isn't right. Having eaten your fill and leaving quite a bit left still, you ask her, "Don't you want to eat too?"

She hesitates to reply, and scratches the back of her head. The other two are discussing the abuse of weapons, so she speaks in a hushed tone. "Well... I'll be honest, it's... not the best, is it? I think there are better uses for perilla than stew." You figure that's what that fruit is called. She undoes one of the knots in her half-finished sweater, and continues. "That, and most meats don't really sit with me well, you know..? So I try to avoid them when I have the option. ...I'm surprised you can stand it at all, actually."

You tell her that it's better than eating straight-up garbage, which is what you were used to before you left your clan. She looks a little shocked.



Mort forfeits his position on his own conversation to jump in on yours, apparently finding it more interesting. "Is that why I haven't seen you eat for the last week, Maya? Have you been tossing out your portions so you can eat behind our backs?"

Maya grows annoyed and defensive. "What? No, I have the decency to eat what I need! ...Besides, you're the one who's always complaining about having small portions! How do we know you're not the one who's doing that? That's.. that's so rude!"

The driver chimes in again. "I'm not so concerned about the organic food as much as I am my own food. Sparsenore is a narcotic, and I'm sure everybody here knows that."

> Prove your innocent by accepting to be under severe watch under the Sparsen's room locked inside with him tonight. That way you can't possible be the culprit!

Growing agitated, you stand up and speak. "I don't want to be a part of this," you say! "I-I'll even stick around under your watch, so you'll know it wasn't me!"

The driver pauses, considering your offer. "You know," he replies, "I wasn't really concerned about your presence to begin with, but if you feel it's necessary, I see no harm in it. But be aware that it doesn't say anything about your past actions, and that I don't do 'sleep' like you do. I'll be driving until we reach our destination, since we won't need to be stopping for breakfast."

"...I need something to do," you realize. "I think I'll be awake all night since I've been out of it so long... but I feel terrible."

"If you want, I can teach you how to drive the caravan."



"How can you be so stupid? He'll steal the whole car! I don't want to see this rat anywhere near the controls for this thing!"

He's getting a bit too close for comfort.

Grab onto the Sparsen. Hug tight for safety.

ask if you can sit on tricycledog