Private Eastern Brisshal Heroes Do More Than Kill Goblins and Drink Ale

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"The huntsmen were told to take them back to town. If you want, we can head back, touch base with everyone, grab some grub, and go to the springs eh?" He would turn to her and shoot her a grin. "At the rate things are going, we should be home free to haul ass to the springs and take a well needed soak."

There was a slightly nagging sensation scratching at the back of his head, but for the moment he would dismiss it. He didn't have the time or energy to go chasing any potential connections, two blood magicians in the same forest? The use of goblins for their dirty work, it was too much to be a coincidence. But that was a conspiracy for another day, right now he was emptying his head and stretching out his sore muscles, doing his best to loosen himself back out.

"Whattdaya say Toko? Time for a well earned reward eh?"

Sometimes, the people didn't have enough gold to pay some great reward, sometimes you had to make your own reward.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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He didn't need to ask her twice, Toko had already been sold on the idea long ago.

"Haaai!"

After checking to make sure everyone was well nothing sounded better than a good meal to restore spent energy and a long soak to repair sore muscles. The walk back didn't feel as bad with the promised rewards that awaited them, although the Lepus was completely unaware of the various conspiracy thoughts running through Brutus' mind. This had been her first encounter of a witch orc ever, not to mention such a large amount of goblins, but she had been used to fighting wolves around the woods—and even a bear once!—so she figured goblins wasn't too far of a stretch.

"Ah, look! Is that them over by the big tree?"

A hand stretched as her index finger pointed at a small group of people in the distance, the Lepus' sight easily picking them out from a distance that would've been close to impossible for normal humans.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus squinted, his vision seemingly zooming in on the group as his bestial eyes worked their magic. Between Hypersense and his own beastial gifts, he was beginning to feel a lot like Legolas. He could make out the huntsman and the two captives, along with Old man Stankins who seemed to have sallied out to meet them about halfway. His ears twitched and he heard them muttering slight hysterics to the old huntsman. Overheard grumblings from the Crone, babbles from the Goblins, recounting their time spent in captivity.

Brutus would find himself approaching the group and giving them all a grin. The men would turn to the giant, and would reflexively return his grin. He had that sort of effect with people, especially those he'd saved.

"You and Toko look like you've been through some shit," Stankins drawled.

"I've been through some shit." Brutus replied. "The woman leading the goblins is dead, some sort of Orcish witch."

"I figured," the Sherrif shrugged. "Any idea what that was all about?"

"Not the foggiest."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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She trailed besides the Felis for most of the walk, although when they began to meet up with the Huntsmen Toko fell a step or two behind. It seemed Brutus knew them well—actually it seemed he knew almost everyone in this town if the Lepus was honest. While Stankins and Brutus conversed Toko spotted Old Man Liam (or at least she assumed that was him) not too far, the rabbitfolk walking closer before speaking so as not to yell.

"Liam-ojiisan...?" She waited a moment until affirmation was received. "A-Ah, gomen... we had a bit of a fight with goblins in your house—but I'd be happy to help you fix up later!"

She felt particularly guilty of the insane flour mess that had been caused in the kitchen, not to mention quite a few pieces of broken cutlery, walls and even furniture... not to mention the damage already done prior by the storm.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

The older man would turn to the rabbit and give her a weary smile, trembling slightly from a mix of fear and old age. He would reach a shaky hand out and pat her on the head.

"No worries dearie, a little damage is worth not having my grand daughter put in danger...Stankins tells me you dealt with a trap left for her. You have my endless gratitude."

Meanwhile, Brutus and Stankins were wrapping up their debriefing. "It sounds like things are starting to get rather dangerous round these parts Brucie, we're gonna need to start doubling up on patrols and training more hunters." The Giant nodded along, rubbing his chin.

"I will get with Corsair and work on organizing more of the Starcalled hunting for anything suspicious. I have a hunch that all of this strife is coming from a singular source. Keep an ear open for anything of a similar nature, we might have a pattern."

"Rightio." Stankins replied, frowning.

"Anyways, lets all get back to town. Toko and I are beat from our fight, we're thinking about heading to the springs to recover."

"Nothin like a warm soak to relax tired bones and sore muscles." The sheriff replied. Brutus would turn back to Toko and raise an eyebrow. "You ready?"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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.

"Uhn, it's all thanks to Brutus—he was the one that suggested going over to help with any damages the storm had caused."

It was a good thing too, the Lepus would hate to think on what would've happened otherwise... not only would the goblins had also snatched up the old man's granddaughter, but by the looks of things they were about to sacrifice him and Laura's father for whatever the fuck those sick little things were plotting on doing.

"I'm just glad everyone made it back safe and sound."

A parting squeeze was given to the old man's hand, along with a bright smile when he'd patted Toko on the head, before the voice of Brutus carried over to where the pair was. "Haaai, I'm ready!" A wave was given back to Old Man Liam and the others as Toko caught up with the Felis, already excited for this lunch and spa post-adventure date.

"Hmm hmm... na-da-meru yoona on-sen~" There was an intone to her words as the rabbitfolk hummed a little tune to herself from the excitement as they walked, before she paused as a thought crossed her mind. "Nee nee, Brutus-oniisan, do you think they have onsen tamago here...?"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Onsen wha-?" Brutus would ask her as he turned back to look at the rabbit trailing behind him. He'd forgotten she was actually Japanese for a moment, despite her outbursts of the language, only to be suddenly reminded once again.

"But if you're talking about food or something, uh...no. Last time I was there it was more of a...out in the woods private sort of place. There aren't really staff or people that live out there, it's mostly a little structure built around the springs to keep things from pestering the elementals out there." He shrugged.

"But if you want we can pack up a big ole picnic and lug it out there, have whatever the fuck we want really."

His lumbering steps cracked a twig, causing a bunch of birds to abandon branches and scatter into the sky. "Ooop, sorry bird buds." He would mutter to himself as he yawned and casually stretched.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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For a moment she was crestfallen upon hearing the news that there would be no hot spring eggs to be found at their destination... that is until a new thought popped in her head. "... that means there's no rules about what we can bring to it though, ne?" There was an impish grin that quickly spread on the Lepus' lips, her tail flickering happily at the thought.

"What's the best place around here to get the freshest eggs from...?"

Of course Esther's shop was probably a must stop point if they were going to have a full picnic out there, after all her baked goods were the best in town as far as Toko was concerned, but that still meant they had to find a few other places for additional ingredients and whatnot. The sudden snap of a twig had Toko looking over, having been distracted by her own thoughts, before she watched the giant felis apologize as the birds fluttered away in a mild panic.

"You know... you're really kind, Brutus-oniisan."

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Eh?" The giant asked, scratching his head. "I mean, I guess?" He would turn to make sure that the villagers were out of earshot before turning to Toko. "This world might be virtual, but the people are incredibly real, they have dreams and desires, family and friends. The creatures act like real creatures, the food tastes real. Therefor I will treat this world as I would my own, but..." he grimaced a bit. "I can only pretend to be a hero back home, I can pretend to swing a sword and be some brave knight, but I cannot be a dragon slayer or a gallant knight. I can only be..." he paused. "I can just be a guy with too much imagination for his own good, instead I come here where I can do great things and help people out, be the man that I cannot back home."

He shrugged. "I would not call it Kind, just doing what I think is right whenever I can."

They would approach the town, and he would begin to formulate a grocery shopping list. "Alright, so Eggs, baked goods, meat and cheese for sandwiches? Maybe something for desert...oooh we could get some booze and get drunk while soaking..." he rubbed his chin. "What do you think?"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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Yeah, he was definitely one of the kind ones.

"I know, everything here is so real... sometimes it's very easy to forget that it's meant to be just a game, mmm?" Toko certainly knew she had been struggling with that ever since the first day she decided to give TerraSphere 2 a try. "Its almost like those isekai manga and novels back home... except I don't need to be run over by a white truck every time before login in."

Faced with such realism, not to mention all the organic interactions with every Lander that Toko had the chance to meet thus far, the Lepus couldn't imagine how some Travelers still chose to treat the game as just that... and that's without the inclusion of possibly dying in the real world if you tried to bite mote than you could chew too many times during your stay in The World.

"Haaai, that's a great idea Brutus-oniisan, we definitely should get some!" Honestly she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a good beer back in the real world, probably none ever since her grandmother had passed away... it was never fun to drink by one's self after all. "Bii-ru bii-ruuu, oishi-i dess-u~"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Alright, why don't you focus on getting the eggs and the baked goods eh?" Brutus asked giving her a grin. "I'll get the lunchmeat and the booze? I know the butcher and the local bars owe me a couple of favors. Easy peasy!" He would yawn and pat her on the head, giving her hair a light ruffle as he did so.

"Catch you on the north side of town in about...thirty minutes? That sound good?"

With that, he would leave the Lepus to go begin his work. He would start by finding the butcher and getting some cold cuts packed into a cooler with plenty of ice. The man doubled as a Deli, allowing him to get some choice cheese slices as well for the perfect sandwich experience. Next he was off to the bar, hunting down a bottle of Rum, Sake, and a small keg of ale, all of which was bought on his in store credit he'd received by beating up drunks who were getting handsy with the bar maids. After about twenty minutes or so, record time, he found himself sitting at the north end of town yawning slightly as he watched several children playing ball in the street.

The Huntsmen were busy at work finishing up the last of the storm repairs, leaving most of the streets and yards free of debris. Large repairs were underway, but would not be complete for at least another day. On one hand, he felt guilty in not helping further, on the other he was fairly certain he would collapse on his way home if he exerted himself any further. He would opt for a guilt free spa trip, thank you very much.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Uhn! Ookeei~"

A wide grin spread on the Lepus' features even as Brutus patted her head and ruffled her hair a bit, giving two thumbs up in return to the man before the rabbitfolk was bounding off down the road in the general direction of Esther's bakery. Upon telling the woman of her plans the baker had been happy to help Toko pick out the best options of bread in the shop for the trip—even loaning a very nicely woven wicker picnic basket and blanket to the fighter, who promised many times to bring it back after they were done.

Afterwards Toko had found herself at an unexpected turn of events, it seemed that Old Man Liam's daughter actually owned an extensive amount of chickens which they used as their main source of income. Thankfully most of the coops had been mostly spared by the storm, aside from a little bit of damages that had not impacted the chickens negatively, and they currently had quite a nice batch of fresh eggs available.

Although the woman had insisted the Lepus took them for free Toko had refused, and eventually she had sighed in defeat as she accepted the payment from the beastfolk. After all this was their main source of income, and Toko hadn't gone and save Old Man Liam to get a reward, she was more than happy to pay for the goods and continue to give the family additional business though the woman's granddaughter did found a way to sneak a few more eggs into the picnic basket when Toko wasn't looking.

"Oooiii, Brutus-niisaaan~!"

As the familiarly large figure came into view the rabbitfolk called out while coming up the road, a large grin on her face as she held up the rather large and very stuffed picnic basket when she caught up with her friend.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

The cry of the bunny alerted Brutus from his trance, his eyes shooting to her, as he grinned. "Yo Toko!" He would grunt, waving his hand slightly. "Get everything you need?" He would rise to his feet, towering over the village once again as the giant stretched, yawning. He was in desperate need of a nap after fighting off that curse, but honestly a spa trip would probably feel WAY better. She seemed to have all of her goodies stacked in a comically large basket, whereas he'd banished all of his goodies to the UI realm for the moment. Bottles of booze were neatly stacked in his gridded inventory, nestled nicely between two max stacks of apples.

You could never have enough apples.

Once she'd declared she was ready, he turned to the road and motioned for her to follow. "Well then, times a wastin. Lets get on the road and to the spa as soon as we can eh? If we hurry we might be able to catch the sunset there!"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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Plenty of additional bread had also been stored away in the UI, after Esther had been made aware this picnic involved Brutus she had seemed to know exactly how much the man would need to be happy—though how exactly had Esther come across than information the Lepus would never know, since the woman refused to share. It had seemed like an insanely high amount of bread, even for Toko, but she trusted the baker enough to know Esther wasn't just trying to pull a fast one on her and oversell.

"Yuuup~ Esther lent us this basket and blankets too, and I also got a lot the bread! Like, all the breeeaaad~"

There were a few baked treats in too, but those had been in a more limited quantity since they took longer to make and Toko hadn't wanted to clean out the whole stock at the place... after all the repairs and whatnot she was sure plenty of Landers would want something sweet to rest and recover too.

"I can't believe this town has a hot spring...! Ah, waku waku suruuu!"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"It's in the woods, so I wouldn't say its part of the town really." Brutus explained. "And I will let you know that the water bits are rather small, its mostly a mudspring, you know, hot soupy mud to sink in and stew in." He'd spent some time in it with Ilya a while back after killing some rather massive plant creatures, but hadn't been back since.

Setting out, the two began to travel down the forest road with a decent amount of relative speed. Equal parts excitement and anticipation propelling them forward. After about an hour or so of walking, Brutus found himself once again standing under the large archway that announced the start of the mudsprings. Either side of the trail up the hill was filled in with new mulch, carved from the plant monsters he'd felled with his friend earlier. The stairs upwards were recently slept, and he began the ascent upwards.

"There's gonna be like, three large mud pools, and three smaller hot water springs. A pool for each gender, and then a mixed bath for each."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Hmm, I see..."

That somewhat explained why Toko hadn't heard of the mud springs until now, the Lepus quietly thinking to herself for a moment. If it was multiple of small water bits close together then... hmm, she'd have to do a little bit of online research once she was out of the game before trying it—but maybe, just maybe, Toko thought she could expand it into a proper hot spring with the use of her Geomancy... eventually, one day.

The walk to the place passed in a breeze, the excitement of food and a good soak in the spring enough to fuel Toko's tired and aching muscles to keep a steady pace. "Uwaaah, this is a really cool path... was it recently made?" She looked around as they went up the steps, the scent of the mulch giving a comforting feeling as the rabbitfolk smiled in contentment.

"Is the mix bath the biggest pool?"

If so the rabbitfolk totally knew where she was going to be cannonballing into.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Uh, I think it is yeah." Brutus replied, looking over the trial. "And the path was recently renovated. That mulch is actually from some monsters me and a friend smashed up because they'd invaded the place." He shrugged. He trudged up the trail towards the one singular building at the top. The pools were separated into essentially three sections. The upper level was several pools of water that flowed into eachother before flowing down into the mud pits. The mixed section was in the middle, with the womens baths partitioned off by a fence to the left, and the mens pools to the right. The building held three changing rooms, mens, womens, and mixed. Each one had a series of showers for those who had chosen to soak into the mud to clean themselves off with, but it was also posted that it was polite to shower before entering the hot springs as well.

It was at this moment that Brutus realized he was most likely going to end up in the same pool at Toko, and part of him began to panic slightly. He'd only ever been naked with a woman before once, and that was when he lost his virginity, and that had been a while ago.

"I'm assuming you want to do the big pool then?" he asked, not letting his own nervousness escape into his voice. He wasn't Olivier right now, he was Brutus Dahlgren, champion of the people, goblin slayer, gigachad.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Uwaaah... it must have been a pretty big monster then, 'cause that's a lot of mulch."

Eventually the building came into view along with the simple, but efficient, facilities. "Sugoooi, it's better than I thought it would be!" Already the Lepus was bounding ahead, excited at the prospect of a nice soaking and completely unaware of the mental conflict her friend was currently facing.

"Haaai! No way anyone would pick a smaller pool when the big one as there... and ooooh, Brutus-niisan look! It seems like it's empty too, yattaaah~!"

The glee on the beastfolk was absolutely undeniable and also palpable, quickly disappearing into the mixed bath section. She reached the edge of the pool first after crossing the bathroom, the picnic basket set down to claim a spot (not that it was really necessary) and also to make sure it didn't get splashed on while they prepared for the mud spring.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus would casually stride into the changing room and watching Toko bound off to claim their spot. He would, without her looking, take a quick couple swigs of rum straight from the bottle and then shuffled off to the showers. He would shrug off his jacket casually, tossing it aside onto a bench casually. Next came his shirt, which he pulled over his head and soon tossed it into the growing pool of his clothes revealing his large bulging muscles covered in a scars and a slight layer of hair. A slightly dusty mirror hung on the wall, and Brutus found his gaze glued to it as he checked himself out. He hadn't seen this body in this way in a while, not since he'd created it in character creation, but looking into a mirror and seeing...himself like this, it...put his nervous heart at ease. He would reach down and begin undoing his boots calling out to Toko.

"Toko! You're probably gonna need to shower off your sweat before you hop in, don't go get carrying away!"

Kicking off his boots, he would rise to his feet and lumber over to the shower on the right side, which was luckily an enclosed stall with a stack of strangely clean white towels. "I'll take this side and you take the showers on the other?" He would ask, turning over to look toward the Lepus.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Haaai, shitte imass!"

A part of her couldn't help but chortle just a bit at the fact that Brutus was actually trying to remind Toko of proper hot spring etiquette, the Lepus walking back into the bathroom section just as the taller Brutus guided her towards the showers to the left, though the rabbitfolk didn't think much of it—figuring instead he just wanted to maximize the space available to himself.

Her attire was simple, Toko still wearing the adventurer clothes the game had given her upon starting... eventually she knew it would be time to upgrade her equipment, but for the time being it worked. The only addition had been some leather bracers that had been custom made for the bridge of her feet, a nice padding and extra protection for when she decided to kick things.

The vest was easily discarded into a nearby basket, followed soon enough by her shirt, pants and finally undergarments in practiced movements that came from a life of visiting mixed baths in her rural home town. Soon after Toko took the chance to stretch her muscles freely, arms held high in the air before tilting them in one direction and then the other. "Hmmmh... kimochiiii~" It felt good to finally be able to relax, that fight had been more strenuous than anything Toko had expected to do for the day, and they had also hauled quite a good amount of broken branches and lumber before that too!

After a few moments of fiddling with her UI she produced some handmade floral soaps that she had purchased not long after first login into TS2 for the first time, the heavy scent of lavender and vanilla a personal favorite for the rabbitfolk.

"Niisan, you good on soap? If not I have some I can share, but they're the floral kind..."

@Brutus Dahlgren