Adventure Time pt 4

Arc listened to Krosik's song and swayed his head side to side as he found it a nice little ditty. He stayed alert for any possible attacks as they pressed on. Oddly enough the only creatures he noticed were insects, birds and small rodents as they continued their journey. At first Arc was concerned about the direction they were headed till he noticed Krosik taking notes on a map. It was reassuring to know their destination was being documented. However on the bright side he found it comforting that Krosik would help him not having to take off his helmet in public.

Parvil laughed to himself as Krosik sang. But unheard by the others the locket around his neck as screaming, the music like nails on a chalk board for the unseen entity.

The journey was long and the only thing that filled the boredom of silence was the occasional small creature and Krosik's songs of smithing and dwarves. Granted poor Krosik was a proud dwarven blacksmith, but he was not going to make a living as a bard. Even with a lot of booze to set a better mood, it would an up hill battle for him to build a large fan base outside his kin. Arc on the other hand was easily entertained and enjoyed a good bardic even if one didn't have any talent. By following the river they were sure to have access to fresh water and a higher chance of food along the way. Plus since they were in a forest Arc made it a point to collect some decent firewood into his pouch of holding. He was glad he still had it since it was a big life saver.

Not doing much walking with the others Krosik did his best to keep the pace of the others. Krosik Rock Ferret Dusty on the other hand was very alert and watchful as they went there would be some chatter from Dusty. Krosik just motioned like waving her off she jumped off the back of Iron ran into the underbrush and met them somewhere up the trail. waiting dusty would have something like a rabbit in her mouth. Krosik would reach down as they walked and prepare it and stick it away. and anything smaller than a rabbit Dusty knew was hers and she would eat it like squirrels.

Krosik was not oblivious to what was going on around him. Just seemed like he did not care much. relaxed and drinking ale now and then sharing it with the others if they want some.

Parvil watched Arc putting stuff in his pack and noticed quickly that it was a 'Bag of Holding', "I got something like that." Parvil said. "Both better and worse than yours." he said, then chuckled. "Might have to unfold mine to use it but at least I don't have to worry about "The Bagman." Parvil joke, hooking his fingers to mimic a gnarled clawed hand and grabbed Krosik's shoulder "Snatch you in night. Drag you by your feet into the bag. No sir."

Arc cocked his armored head to the side as he looked at Parvil and replied, "Huh?" Arc was clearly confused by that last comment. He scratched his helmet like it was his head and then asked, "What's a Bagman? It sound like the kid who puts your produce in a bag at the market. Is that a real thing or are ya just messin wit me? If it is a real thing.....I would appreciate it if ya kindly fill me in on the details since I am in tha dark on such matters." Arc was hoping it was a bad joke but still concerned that it could be a real thing.

"Story goes that a long long time ago a group of adventures was attacked in the night and one of those adventures to protect themselves as a last resort crawled into a bag of holding. Didn't have the good luck to die in there though, magics preserved him like anything you've put inside but the magic also changed him. Limbs stretched out, body withered. Legend goes at night he crawls out of a random bag and if he's not home he'll drag someone he finds into the bag and leaves behind something from his cast hoard of junk from the bag's dimension." Parvil explained. "Creepy emaciated long haired thing. Probably just stories though but with my bad luck I'll stick to a 'portable hole'." He added.

Arc rubbed the jaw section of his helmet as he pondered this new information. He replied, "Very interesting. It would make sense if this was a cursed item, but I am confused on how such a creature could move from one bag to another. The only possibility would be that all the bags are connected to the same space. However if that was true then it would mean we could access items from someone else's bag. I can see the mage scholars in a heated debate over such a topic." Arc rubbed his chin again and then replied, "Perhaps as a precaution I could secure a belt around my bag to help secure it."

It was Parvil's turn to be confused. "You didn't know the bags are connected?" He asked. "Yeah in theory you could probably pull something from another bag if it was nearby, and you'd need to be very familiar with it."

Arc was very shocked by this information. He never heard of this before. Perhaps he either lost the memory or was deprived of this in his past. He looked at his bag and then at Parvil a few times before he replied, "Oh dear. That is very concerning. Any suggestions on how to prevent such a creature from coming out? Maybe securing the bag closed at night time?"

Parvil shrugged "I don't know. Stories don't really tell how to prevent it. It's more of a cautionary tale. Even the most useful things can be dangerous... or something like that." He shrugged again. "It's probably just a scary story to spook people who have a bag of holding. There's no air inside you'd die before you had a chance for magic to warp you."

Arc thought about it for a moment. He realized the logic behind Parvil's words, however he then remembered he was now a skeleton. This meant strange things could indeed happen in this world. He decided to use a few leather belts to bind his bag of holding at night as a precaution. He was not afraid of the Bagman but he didn't want to tempt fate since he believed he was already cursed. He replied, "I thank you for your wise words Mr. Parvil. I will heed your wisdom and secure my bag at night time. Too bad there are no useful curses like a ghost bring us cookies and ale." Arc chuckled a bit as he continued to walk.

"Just Parvil." He said not Mr." Parvil added, "I'm not a fancy guy."

Arc scratched the top of his helmet like it was his head while chuckling. He replied, "Ahhh my bad. Parvil it is then. I find it better to show respect and get corrected after than neglect it and deal with an angry person. So besides being a mage are you also a scholar Parvil?"

"Of sorts I suppose." He replied, "Though calling me a mage might be causing that word to do a lot of heavy lifting." He said running a hand through his hair. "Mage..." he said again, mulling over the word.

Listening carefully Krosik let out a chuckle "A children's story?" Krosik commented shaking his head. "I would be more feart o' a rock ferret than a children's story. Bit then we have stories lik' that too. So maybe there could be some truth tae it." said Krosik with a grin.

Parvil shrugged "Sure that's easy to say now. Not so easy when you're ripping your nails off trying to get free from 'The Bag Man', Rock Ferrets might be tough buggers but yah can kill them. Can't kill 'The Bag Man'. Curses are... let's call them tricky."

Arc seemed concern by this as Krosik blew it off as a mere child's story and Parvil seemed to take it more seriously. He then asked, "Parvil ya seem very serious on this Bagman. Have ya any experience or evidence on the validity of this story?"

"Not the Bag Man specifically." Parvil said, "But I've dealt with a lot of weird stuff so I refuse to write it off as a tall tale, but also not willing to test it. Not that I have a Bag of Holding to test it but I crazy not suicidal." He laughed. "But I've read stories of people trying to survive inside for easy travel but stories also said it ends badly."

Arc nodded as he understood what Parvil was saying. He replied, "I see. Well granted it does sound farfetched, but my situation falls under the same guidelines so thanks fer tha warning. So how familiar are ya with curses?" Arc was testing the waters to see id Parvil might be able to shed some light on his situation but was not ready to flat out trust him yet.

"Yae is right, fur us Dwarves. Stories normally involve rock trolls, cave trolls, whatever yae want to ca' them," started Krosik. "With our story same thing but someone pat a wee Rock Troll or Cave Troll 'n' a bag it was like a dark and safe place so it did not want to leave. They open it 'n' it. When it came to its full size after being taken out it grabbed the dwarves aroond it 'n' stuffed thaim intae th' bag. then it went back in and ate th' dwarves when it got hungry. So Dwarves would find the bag pick it up open it and get dragged in. Ah think that is how th' story goes. So mibbie thare is some truth tae th' story." Told Krosik wondering about the whole thing.

Arc scratched the top of his helmet as if scratching his own head. He was curious about the different version of the same story that Krosik mentioned. Was it possible this fable was based on a real event and the story got distorted later on or was the story real and simply told differently over time from different clans and cultures? This was a big conundrum for Arc who was literally a stranger in a strange land and even a stranger to himself in his reflection. Being paranoid at this point would be a rational state of mind all things considered. Arc wondered if he would ever find his sanity in this insane world. For crying out loud he was now a talking skeleton with memory loss in a world he knew nothing about and now he had worry about a zombie coming out of his bag and dragging him into the same magical bag. If he ever wakes up from this living nightmare he was going to need to spend some time in therapy or an asylum. His only response was, "Oh ... how nice. Looks like I will be on guard duty tonight since I doubt I will be able to sleep tonight."

Parvil shrugged. "You'll have to sleep eventually. Lucky for me I don't need that much sleep." Parvil then grinned. "And that's when it'll get ya. Or the Night Walker, Stalkers, Slithering Horrors, Shamblers, or even rogue necromancers looking for 'cheap' produce." Parvil said teasingly. Casting a spell to make a sickly green light float under his chin, "Or even maybe I'm a danger." the glow made his creepy eyes even creepier, as he let his face go slightly slack.

Letting out a hardy laugh Krosik looks at the two "Someone tellt me sleep is a crutch ye get plenty o' it whin ye'r deid. Ser Arc I can let Dusty sleep next tea ye. A'm sure she won't let th' bag man get you." Krosik said jokingly but still laughing.

Arc chuckled as he realized he was getting his "bones" rattled by Parvil. He replied, "Ahh ya got me there. Well lets just take this with a grain of salt. So any idea how long before we get to tha next village, town or city?"

Krosik gave a cheeky smile "Sir Arc ye not going to start th' whole ur we thare yet? Every five minutes are ye?" asked Krosik sarcastically.

Arc chuckled at Krosik's question and shook his head no. Then he replied, "Oh course not Krosik. I was just curious if we would need ta hunt and gather for our next meal since we ate tha last of my boar this morning. I was kinda getten worried since we haven't seen any big game as of late. If we are gonna eat squirril we may need ta hunt a lot of 'em."

Giving a look to the sky for a moment squinting at the sun and watching a bird fly by. Krosik bent down and moved the dirt at his feet. Standing and dusting off his hands. "two days," answered Krosik.

Arc looked at Krosik as he seemed to be using the sun as a reference for the distance they needed to travel. Arc replied, "Thanks. I wonder what kind of food they will have at our next generation? Granted I do love grilled meat, but it would be nice to eat something different for a change." Arc continued to move forward as they were heading towards their destination.

Parvil shrugged at the comment of food. "As long as it's not charred to ash, and doesn't have raisins in it I'm sure I'll find something to eat." But after a moments pause he spoke again. "Or squid or octopus. Not that I expect somewhere so cold and inland to have that, but if they do, count me out." Parvil added.

Letting loud a laugh. One thing his travel partners would notest about Krosik He is not a very quiet dwarf while he travels. Also, Ale is everything. "You tow with food sound like the little folk always worrying about the next meal. I have enough for everyone. One thing the little folk taught me was always having enough food for guests. Never know when they will show up!" Krosik informed Sir Arc and Parvil.

Arc chuckled at Krosik's comment and replied, "That makes sense but it looks like Parvil and myself have only been here a short time so getting plenty of supplies in a short time would be a big challenge."

"Supplies?" Parvil questioned Arc. "I have supplies. Just need a big flat surface." he scratched his head, "That can be eaiser said than done. But I've got at least enough for a few days. Would be longer with just myself but I don't mind sharing if your willing to help restock it after the fact." he added, munching on a handful of trail mix devoid of raisins, that he'd dropped on the road as they walked, crunching through a mouthful. "Don't have any meat though."

"Hmm.... meat?" he gives a whistle and Dusty pops her head up. "Dusty, I think we need more bunnies," said Krosik with a smile the Rock ferret slid down the side of the bag on the Mule and onto the ground and ran into the brush. "I guess three rabbits that she got from earlier are not enough?" asked Krosik.

Parvil shrugged. "I just mean I don't have ways of keeping it fresh. My pantery only can hold so much and don't want bad meat ruining everything else." Parvil explained. "I'd show you but i need a bigger space then the road." he told Krosik as he looked around.

Arc replied, "He makes a good point Krosik. If we want to store meat for a long time we will need to smoke it or store it in salt and that does take a bit of time to do. For now we should just hunt what we need foe the moment and use our preserved foods for emergencies."

"If you're gonna make jerky you might as well buy it in town." Parvil said, "I don't know about the culture here but where I come from a lot of butchers will trade fresh meat for jerky they've got. Sort of a cycle in and out kind of thing." he said, over hand tossing a handful of raisins into the underbrush. "But I've got spices and stuff we can cook fresh meat with, that is if we can find a big open space or a cliff wall." he said,

Giving a chuckle and taking a drink of ale " Lad, ye're right about that. I normally just eat whit I get on the trail." commented Krosik. "sometimes trade when I get into a town. "Thit wiy I git freesh meat. Only eat rations when there's naethin' to hunt." added Krosik.

Arc was about to speak up but realized it was a bad idea to make his comment since it would involve revealing his secret. He didn't stock up on supplies because he needed to get out of town quick due to the nosy nobles he rescued. He feared their reaction if they insisted on having a formal meeting and him having to remove his helmet. Trusting strangers was rather hard for poor Arc since his appearance would freak out most people. So to play it save he replied, "Good point. I'll restock up on my supplies when we reach town. Till then I'll just have ta make due." Arc was glad no one could see his face since he was feeling nervous while on this topic.

(copost jaxx and redsword)