Tristan - The Fugitive Princess

[Lore Master Landen]

Soon after Tristan rescued a farmer's boy from a well, he was travelling again but this time with a companion. It was this mysterious sheep that he found while searching for the boy. He was originally left to believe it was the farmer's sheep but it wasn't at all. The other weird thing about the sheep is that it seems to understand very well what people say to it as if it understood the human language. So as they traveled along, they made their way to the town of Smallcreek. The Crier of the town approached the two and told them the current news.

"The Princess Elenoire of Ruca, a neighboring kingdom, has disappeared after the successful Coup that occurred about a week ago. She was being held captive along with the royalty by the people of the land. However she managed to escape a few days ago and hasn't been seen since. The people of the land have offered a huge bounty of 10,000 hats for her capture."

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan was surprised. He had barely in town long enough to know that said town existed, and he was already being given information on the job of a lifetime. The reward was large enough to feed him for that long, at least. Him and the sheep, both. He would be a fool to turn down this quest. After all, missing persons quests were starting to seem like his specialty.

This reminded him of his last quest. Where had the sheep come from? He wondered for a moment before deciding it could wait. Food for life took priority. Tristan turned to the crier. "Where can I get the details of this quest, good sir?" he asked politely. He wanted to know, and angering the crier would only hinder that.

He waited for directions then started heading to the place. On the way, he realized that he had never given the sheep a name. One immediately came to mind: the name of that princess. Elenoire. "So, sheep," he said casually. "I'm going to start calling you Elenoire. After all, you need a name."

[Lore Master Landen]

Bahhhhh!

Elenoire The Sheep nudged at Tristan in a different direction trying to avoid heading towards the quest. Tristan on the other hand pushed the sheep along. She kept trying, tugging on his hand and even bit him. They eventually made it to the Ruca Palace. It was destroyed with a bunch of townsmen in high spirits and laughing at it. There was a wanted poster with a picture of the princess on it. Tristan gazed at the princess. The Princess is wanted for execution and she escaped with a rare artifact, The Shifters Ring, known for giving the user the ability to change once and they're stuck in that form until a full moon night, which they revert back to their original form until the nights over. The ring can be removed but only at that time.

His only words were wow...

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan looked at his hand. Elenoire the sheep had bit him hard enough to draw blood, and Tristan hoped it was only a minor wound. Still, it surprised him that she did that. She hadn't done anything intentionally violent since she kicked him down the well, and he had come to understand that it was meant to help. Tristan wondered if that was the guiding principle here, too, but he quickly dismissed it. How would keeping him away from living expenses help in any way?

Tristan turned and looked at the townsmen. They were a disorganized lot: the only reason the coup went through was probably their sheer numbers. He didn't care about this, though. "Why is the reward so high?" he asked the group. "Is she dangerous, or is it just because of that ring and it being so hard to find her?" He looked back at the poster and sighed. "Also, what do you plan on doing with her once she's brought back? Exile alongside her family? Or are you going to kill her?"

Tristan could see that these weren't moral men and that the second choice was probably true. He still wanted to know before he accepted it, though.

[Lore Master Landen]

They explained for running that she will be executed. They think she would end up coming back with help to over throw their coup and restore her family to the throne. She's known to make rash decisions because she always does what she thinks right off the bat without considering any consequences at all. Elenoire stood there with her mouth open a little motionless.

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan looked on, making sure to keep his face impassive. He considered it for a minute before agreeing to take on the quest. Elenoire the sheep started to bleat madly, but Tristan gave her a look that stopped her cold. The adventurer thanked the men for their time before leaving the destroyed palace.

Once outside, Tristan looked at Elenoire. "Tonight's the full moon, you know," he said to the sheep. "Tonight would be the only time to find her." The boy sighed and checked to make sure none of the townspeople followed them. "We have to help this princess get as far away as possible. If it was just exile, I would help them, but... Execution is too harsh for just being alive."

He looked at the sky. It would only be a few hours before night descended. "Guess we should start looking for any suspicious animals, huh?" He didn't speak of the nagging suspicion in the back of his mind. That would be unlikely at its best odds, so why bring it up?

[Lore Master Landen]

Time passed on by as they went around searching for animals that might have been Elenoire. Hours passed by and before you know it the full moon rose into the air. By the time the full moon came, The Sheep began to glow. The light could be seen from queit a distance away, shining brightly through the night. Tristan just gazed at the spectacle as it happened.

[Lore Master Landen]

"Hello there" Elenoire said looking at Tristan while stretching.

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan looked at the girl, dumbstruck. So, the sheep... Actually was the princess? he thought to himself, not believing it. This isn't real, I'm dreaming. That has to be it. The only logical explanation. He thought this, but he knew it wasn't true. This was really happening. This, of course, only served to make it more unreal.

"Hi, princess," Tristan finally stammered. "Good to see you're all right. How are you doing?" The hell am I saying? he asked himself. She was just a sheep and she has a huge bounty on her head and I'm just sitting here, making small talk? There was nothing else he could say, though.

Nothing else fit the unreal encounter as well as the few words he said.

[Julius Cabell]

"Whats with that look on your face? You really couldn't tell it was me?" She said gazing into his eyes while brushing some of the dirt off her hands. "Or maybe you have something else on your mind. Maybe its the reward those ingrates have out for me. Is that what's on your mind? I can tell you one thing and that if you plan on bringing me to them, your sadly mistaken. I won't go back."

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan looked at Princess Elenoire. He didn't expect for her to actually be the sheep. That's just... far too coincidental. There is no way this is real. Tristan tried telling himself he just fell asleep while looking for the princess, and his dreams were simply grasping at straws. He didn't believe that, though. He knew he was seriously talking to a princess who was just a sheep a moment ago.

As Tristan took in the current circumstances, something came to his mind. "Hey, wait a second! You were honestly the sheep, I can come to grips with that before long. But you kicked me down a well! You jumped down the well on top of me! Hell, you even bit me! That's what's on my mind! You knew what you were doing and still did that crap! What the hell?"

He stopped himself. He wanted an explanation, but he was still talking to royalty. Besides, she had helped him with saving the kid. "I'm sorry. It's just... Jeez! You could have let me know somehow!" He thought about that for a second. "Okay, maybe not that last part. Not until recently. But you got to know me! You could have told me not to go to that castle in way that wasn't biting me!"