Horns (Ratling quest)

[x] Skarzhal will relax and enjoy the petting. Maybe even lick the girls cheeks.
[x] They will stay in the barn
[x] They will bury them somewhere close buy.

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Slowly, Skazhal’s heartrate climbed back down from the heavens. I don't think this night can get any weirder. Skarzhal was not new to cuddling. He and his siblings had used to cuddle and sleep in big piles after all and snuggling together was certainly preferable to sleeping by his lonesome. The petting was new and he quite liked it, even if the girl was a bit boney. If I adopt this human, I must make sure she eats properly. The thought brought his mind to a halt. What do humans eat anyway, other than wheat? Ratlings eat humans, but do humans eat rats? The thought was disturbing and he imagined himself roasting on an open flame. A particularly nice stroke of his fur made him groan out loud and Skarzhal decided to shelve the subject of food for the moment. The girl rubbed the spot with more force and Skarzhal burrowed in to her lap. I could get used to this.​

They had been sitting against the pillar for some time now and the girl had stopped crying. Skarzhal turned his head to look at the girls face. She was biting her lip and staring at him. Mother had sometimes licked her little ratlings and it had felt soothing, so Skarzhal decided to pay the girl back for the back rubs. He licked the girls nose and when the human female froze, he used it to his advantage and began to lick her cheeks in earnest. The girl chortled and lifted Skarzhal from her lap, holding him at arms length. She said something again with that foreign tongue of hers, but her expression did not seem hostile, so Skarzhal counted it as a win. In any case, they had wasted enough time. Something had to be done to the bodies, because Skarzhal greatly suspected that the villagers would find the bodies and trails of blood quite suspicious. He waved his tiny legs and arms around, in an effort to communicate. The girl stared blankly at him. After more enthusiastic wiggling she lowered him to the ground and Skarzhal ran to the body that still had both arms attached to it. He made digging motions with his paws and then took the mans collar in to his teeth and tried to drag him towards the door. The body stayed stubbornly put.

The girl quickly got the idea and stood up. She joined him and together they managed to drag the body outside, behind the barn and out of view from the village. In fairly short order they managed to haul the other body behind the barn as well, mainly because it was in three parts. The girl had found a hoe inside the barn and they started digging.

When the hole seemed large and deep enough they rolled the bodies in and began to cover them. They were both on their last legs and the girl slipped, getting her mouth full of dirt. She spat dirt from her mouth and started ranting quietly.

..."Damnation"...

Skarzhal's head shot up. He knew that word. The humans in Dale spoke that tongue and so did most of the ratlings in the northeast. The girl noticed the sudden change in his demeanor and looked at him. "Damnation," she repeated, looking for a reaction. Skarzhal jumped up and down in joy. We can understand each other, at least somewhat. This will make things so much easier.

The girl let go of her hoe and sat down. "Are you telling me, that you understand Old Dalaran?" She had a funny accent and she stumbled over some of the words, but overall it was fairly easy to understand her.

Skarzhal nodded many times in quick succession, his tail wagging from side to side. Why would he not know the language?

"Well gods be damned." The girl stared at the happy ratling and snorted. "I had no idea such small and young ratlings could comprehend language. Either you are just full of surprises or my knowledge needs updating." She shook her head and spat some more to get the taste of dirt out of her mouth.

Skarzhal felt a bit self-conscious. It was not his fault there had not been much to eat up to this point in his life. Any other raling would not have fared any better, he was sure of it. Really. Am I truly that small?

”Oh, I didn’t mean it like that you silly rat, you are awesome. In my humble opinion, you are the best ratling in the world. I am sure you will grow to a frightening size indeed,” the girl said when she noticed Skarzhal’s embarrassed shuffling. ”My name is Agatha. What should I call you?”

”Squeek,” said Skarzhal.

Agatha rubbed her temples. ”Right, what was I thinking, my brain must be scrambled to hell and back.”

The pair continued their work and in no time at all the only sign left of anything untoward was a small pile of dirt. They looked at each other and decided it was good enough. The inside of the barn was another matter entirely. Large bloodstains and bone fragments are a bit hard to miss, Skarzhal thought as looked at the results of Agatha’s rage. The girl coughed and rubbed the back of her neck with an expression of discomfort on her face.

The blood had dried to the dirt floor already, so it was fairly easy to sweep it away to the corners of the barn and pile dirt on top of it. When they were finished it was already way past midnight and both girl and rat were ready to fall over. Agatha took both swords, her backpack and the hammer and carried them up to the loft where Skarzhal had set up a little nest for himself to sleep in. She had some difficulty with the load and Skarzhal saw her wincing in pain by the time she made it up the ladder. Her face was swelling up and she had two impressive black eyes. After piling some more hay together, to make the nest larger, Skarzhal and Agatha snuggled next to each other.

Skarzhal was already half asleep, when the girls voice brought him back to the waking world. ”Thank you. I am sorry I did not say it earlier, but with out your help I would have died. It…it was a close thing even with divine intervention. I don’t know if I can ever pay you back for this, but I will certainly try,” Agatha said and hugged Skarzhal. "I am a Bearer now, with all that entails. What a strange idea.” Agatha tried to continue her thought but she let out a massive yawn instead. Skarzhal burrowed closer and closed his eyes. Soon they were fast asleep.

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Now, you will be traveling tomorrow. Skarzhal wants to get the hell away from Dale for obvious reasons and Agatha shares his worries. The Bearers of the Blessings of the Nameless gods are not looked at fondly in Dale. Luckily Agatha knows where you are and what options you have available. She has also had good schooling in various subjects due to her background and that means that while she talks during the traveling to pass the time, Skarzhal can indicate subjects he is interested in even if he can't ask directly (you guessed it, its exposition time baby!).

Choose two:
[ ] Skarzhal wants know things about Agatha's past.
[ ] Skarzhal wants to know about Dale and the places that surround it.
[ ] Skarzhal wants to know more about Bearers and gods.
[ ] Skarzhal wants to know more about humans in general. For example, do they eat ratlings?
[ ] Skarzhal wants to know more about Creation and how it came to be. Why are we here? (Can only be taken together with the one about Bearers and gods, as it would not come up in conversation otherwise.)
[ ] Skarzhal wants to know more about elves.
[ ] Skarzhal wants to know more about Orcs.
[ ] Skarzhal wants to know what Agatha knows and thinks about ratlings.

[ ] write in. If you come up with a good question, I will try to fit it in as extra.
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