On the way to Jade Spire City from Golden Bamboo village, a Tusked Panda, a Khalkotauroi and a Holstiger were traveling in a makeshift caravan. This caravan was a bit unusual, because it was composed of three very different riders.
The Tusked Panda was lugging a caged wagon with three prisoners inside it, while his master rode on his back. The master was dressed in a mix of leather and metal armor, a spear by his side.
The Khalkotauroi cow was barebacked, while a young man in leather and cloth armor with a club on his back, did his best to hang onto her neck. Riding atop the khalkotauroi's head was a baby minotaur, held in place by a mix of cloth and rope. He looked to be having fun and was secure, it didn't stop the rider from fretting a bit.
Lastly, the Holstiger was pulling a cloth covered merchant wagon. The owner of this particular combo was a young woman dressed in stained voluminous work robes. The faint scent of cheese, citrus and milk could be detected from her wagon.
While on the road, the riders were having an exchange that the Khalkotauroi rider was rather sick of having.
"Let me get this straight. In the span of two days, you somehow managed to rescue a baby minotaur from a pack of Green Wolves, fell off a cliff and lived, got swept up by a raging river and made a contract with a Khalkotauroi that you nursed back to health?," Marianne asked Jordie in disbelief.
"Yeah, why is it so unbelievable?," asked in exasperation. He had told this story twice over by now and even though he knew it was a lie, the sheer disbelief in the tone of others was kinda driving him nuts. The comments from George's "guests" didn't help much either.
"Because you're scrawny."
"You look short."
"Not exactly brave looking!"
"Shove it, peanut gallery!," George shouted back at the cage of prisoners as he whacked at it with this spear, "Another peep out of y'all and I'm cutting your rations in half for dinner!"
"But we're bored!"
"Don't care!"
"Boo~"
"Anyways, I think it's cause the only times people stumble on something as rare as a baby minotaur, it's usually cause only nobles and military types got them," George explained, "Hell, even a Khalkotauroi is something only the middle tier clans and guilds can get their hands on reliably."
"Seriously?," Jordie asked with a funky look on his face. He didn't realize that the baby he adopted nor the bronze cow he picked up would be considered hot ticket items. Hopefully people would be more intimidated by the sight instead of...opportunistic.
"Yeah," Marianne agreed, "only time I've ever seen contracted Khalkotauroi, they're usually bulls in the service of the Dobos Clan or in the hands of ace students in the academies. It'd probably be wise to pretend to be like those types then, for protection."
That being said, I still think you're a noble in disguise or someone powerful, Marianne thought to herself.
As the three riders had their conversation on the nature of their khalkotauroi riding companion, a completely different trio were having a similar yet quieter conversation.
"Ya hear that boss? Sounds like this guy is some lucky schmuck."
"Yeah Jacobs...he sounds too lucky," Dorado said while scratching his chin in thought, "think he's lying?"
"Probably, maybe he's actual related to some big clan?," Sarah asked.
"Don't think so. They tend to watch their young disciples like hawks," Jacobs replied, "maybe he's a military brat?"
"No, too undisciplined and his equipment looks too fresh," Dorado postulated.
This back and forth lasted about half an hour before the imprisoned trio threw up their hands and just went with the possibility of Jordie being the luckiest schmuck on the planet...which also meant that they could totally just kidnap or kill him with little to no reprecusion to their persons. Granted this was under the massive assumption they could get their habitat disks and monsters back from guardsman's Tusked Panda.
"Moooo!"
"Eh? What's up Minos?"
"Moo!," Minos cried again while pointing excitedly ahead of the caravan.
George got up from his seated position and squinted his eyes towards the direction that Minos was pointing. Right ahead of the caravan was a stump and sitting on the stump was a shiny metallic object.
"Huh...looks like...a baby rattle?," George guessed.
"A baby rattle? Out here?," Jordie asked incredulously.
Marianne also squinted her vision ahead. "Yeah, looks like it."
As the caravan got closer to the stump, there was indeed a baby rattle sitting on it.
The baby rattle was in the standard shape of being a ball on a stick, but the unusual part was that it appeared to be made completely out of silver or at least a silver-like metal. On the ball portion was an various elaborate design of forest creatures frolicking in the woods that made it look more like a work of art than a simple baby toy.
Regardless, Minos looked very excited at the prospect of playing with the shiny object.
"Moooo!," Minos cried while reaching out for the rattle. Thankfully he was locked in place, otherwise he would've fallen off of Bessies' head.
"You want the rattle little guy?," Jordie asked in a bemused tone. He looked up and down the road to see if there was another wagon or a traveller who could've dropped it, but saw no one.
"Well then...finders keepers."
Jordie managed to slip off of Bessie without stopping the caravan, and quickly grabbed the rattle off the stump. As he made his way back onto Bessies' back, Marianne and George couldn't help but comment on his actions.
"You do realize that probably belongs to someone, right?," George pointed out.
"Then they're probably on the same route as us," Jordie retorted while climbing onto Bessies' back, "and will be glad that I brought it with us."
"You're spoiling that kid rotten I hope you know that," Marianne chided.
"No I'm not!," Jordie said in mock offense. Evidently, Minos trying to grab the rattle from Jordie's grasp didn't help his case.
Unbeknownst to the trio however, the rattle released a small hissing laugh.
"Hehehehe"