The party set up a singular tent for Dober to rest in while he waited for his meal, while Simeon and Tyrel set up a small campfire with a pot set up above it.
After about 10-20 minutes of setting up camp, Erik turned to Tyrel, Simeon, and Dober, and told them, "I'll scout ahead a little bit - see if there's anything nearby that we may need to worry about."
Tyrel gave Erik a thumbs up and replied, "Look who's being proactive! Seems you were more excited about this than I thought."
"You bet I am!" Erik exclaimed. "This cave is phenomenal thus far... I know we're here on official guild business, but this is an opportunity to see what Esteri can really be like."
"I will agree that this cave is not what I expected," Tyrel replied, looking around at their immediate surroundings. "Anyway, don't go too far, man - Simeon will be making us some of his chili for us."
"Simeon can cook?"
"Yeah!" Tyrel affirmed with a nod. "Stuff's pretty spicy, but the taste is beyond awesome. Think he might be trying something new with it though - I saw pick up some mushrooms and even some olms on our way over here. Didn't even know there was any water running through this cave..."
"Huh, that'll be an interesting stew," Erik replied. "I won't take long - be right back."
Tyrel waved at Erik as Erik made his way further into the cave, keeping an eye out for anything that could be dangerous.
As Erik took in the cave surrounding him, his eyes eventually started scanning the floor, only to see a salamander skittering across the ground, seemingly unaffected by the poison filling the cave.
Erik was slightly taken aback, and stopped in his tracks, eyes still on the salamander. After a bit more skittering, the salamander stopped as well, its gaze facing Erik.
Huh... well would you look at that, Erik thought. Guess this little critter must be immune to the poison somehow.
Erik slowly knelt down, his hand extended towards the salamander. The reptile inched its way towards Erik, eventually tapping its head against his fingertips. After a few more seconds, the salamander then crawled onto Erik's palm, then up his arm to rest on his shoulder.
"Whoa, haha... you must really like me, huh?" Erik looked at the small lizard and began to ponder aloud, "Wanna come with me? We should have room for one more in our party."
The salamander, of course, did not respond.
"I'll take that as a yes," Erik said jokingly. "You should have a name... I'll call you... Drake! You can be like our little dragon buddy."
Erik then motioned his gaze away from Drake, still perched on his shoulder, and out to the rest of the cave ahead of him.
"Hmm, I should probably head back - Tyrel and the others may be waiting for me."
Erik then turned around and headed back towards the camp, his tiny new companion in tow.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------
Erik returned to the camp to see Tyrel, Dober and Simeon all sitting around the campfire, bowls of chili in their hands.
"Wait, you guys can still eat, even with these bubbles on your heads?" Erik asked.
"Oh yes!" Dober replied. "Sorry, we had almost forgotten to tell you - Sense Protect can only be disrupted when struck with enough force. If you get hit with something hard enough, the bubble will pop, and you'll be subject to the effects of the poison."
"Oh... I see," Erik nodded. "I guess it didn't occur to me that these might get in the way of our meal."
"If it did, we wouldn't even consider it in the first place," Tyrel snickered. "You sure do just jump headlong into things, don'cha?"
Erik smirked at Tyrel. "Isn't that what adventure is all about?"
"Hey, I'm not judging - I kinda like that about ya. Shows spirit. Just try not to get too in your own way."
With that, Erik sat at the fire place, next to Dober, and across from Simeon, who had stood up to hand Erik over his bowl.
"Oh, thank you Simeon."
Simeon smiled and nodded.
"Tyrel says you're an excellent cook," Erik added.
"That he is!" Tyrel affirmed. "If you look, he even added chunks of mushroom and olm tail to the mix - that's a first for him."
"Sounds delicious!" Erik said.
"It is, very much so," Dober confirmed.
The four sat as they ate spoonfuls of Simeon chili. Erik could feel the spice Tyrel had mentioned, but was surprised it wasn't hotter.
Perhaps that's the olm tail making it cooler, Erik said to himself. Or maybe the mushrooms? Erik wasn't particularly educated on cooking, so he couldn't describe the taste as well as he would have wanted.
"Shoulda figured that ol' Sim would add mushrooms to his chili at some point," Tyrel joked.
"Are those your favorite food, Simeon?" Erik asked the mage sitting across from him, on the other side of the campfire. Simeon simply nodded in response, as he usually did.
"Yup, dude loves the stuff - gives him a real case of the--"
BBBBbbrrraaaaaaa...
Tyrel was interrupted by a blast coming from Simeon's direction. He had erupted a large fart.
Tyrel and Dober simply laughed, while Erik was left surprised.
"Yeah, that's what I was gonna say! Simeon loves mushrooms, but it's clear that mushrooms don't get along with his stomach!"
Oh yeah, Erik recalled. I had almost forgotten that Simeon was so flatulent - come to think of it, that's the first time I've actually heard him pass gas.
Erik winced slightly. That can't be how gassy he normally is... right?
Bbbb-Brrrrppt!
As if in response to Erik's thoughts, Simeon let out another fart, though not quite as large as the previous one.
Dober and Tyrel didn't seem to mind - understandable enough, according to what he had been told, that was not too uncommon not just with Simeon, but many living in Esteri. Erik's curiosity was piqued.
"So, Simeon, I hope you don't find this too forward of me, but... well, do you always break wind like that?"
Simeon replied by laying his hand flat in the air and swaying it side to side slightly.
"It honestly depends," Dober added, "at least in Simeon's case - he has pretty good control over it, seeing as how he'll use it for some of his spells. Better for him to hold as much of it as he can for when he needs it."
"He can do that?" Erik asked with a raised eyebrow. "I've... never heard of such a feat."
"Yeah, it's pretty common here in Esteri, actually," Tyrel chimed in. "After all, you think those Bumms just so happen to be gassy enough to be able to knock you out in the first place? Nah, they keep a cork in it for as long as they need to to let it build up in their systems. Only ones who don't have much control over their farts here in Esteri are the types who are literally too gassy for their own good - couldn't control it if they tried. It's pretty rare, but it happens."
Erik paused for a moment.
"Well, if I may... why is it that such a large part of Esteri citizens have this... urm, quirk?"
"Depends on who you ask," Dober said.
"Yeah," Tyrel interjected. "Scholars speculate that it's just a common mutation - the more religious types claim it's either some foul curse or some blessing from Sylph, the Wind Goddess. Everybody else thinks it's something in the water or the soil where we grow our crops." Tyel shrugged. "If you ask me," he added," I say it's just a funny coincidence."
Brrrrrrrppp...
Simeon had sat quietly, as he only did, only to make sound whenever he had passed gas.
"Pffft, and as for Simeon here," Tyrel continued," his rear speaks up more than he does!"
Tyrel and Dober were laughing amongst themselves, and as Erik looked to see Simeon's expression, he was slightly surprised to see that he was smiling. It seemed Tyrel's comment was of no offense to him.
Perhaps you have to be shameless if you do it so much it's part of your magic... Erik thought. Then a thought occurred to him.
"Well then, what's your case you, Simeon? You use your flatulence as a part of your magic. Is the source of your flatulence magic as well?"
Simeon was about to gesture an answer, only to be disrupted by a loud booming noise.
BBBRRRRRROOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!
The sound had come from deeper within the cave, and was so massive that it had managed to make the ground rumble beneath the four adventurers, even if ever-so-slightly. It had sounded like an explosion, and was followed up by the sound of a dozen bats flying away from the source of the sound in unison. Whatever was the cause of that noise had disrupted the cave.
The shock of the blast caused a stir in the party - Dober fell backwards, as did Tyrel. Simeon remain unmoved, and Erik had sprung to his feet, instinctively drawing his sword from the holster on his back. Drake, still on Erik's shoulder, curled up like a coil.
"What was that?!" Erik shouted.
"N-No idea..." Tyrel groaned. "Whatever it was... it's DEFINITELY no Shii..."
"I'm gonna go see what it is!" Erik exclaimed.
"Wait, what?" Tyrel said. "No, wait for us to--"
Erik didn't hesitate, and started charging ahead, leaving the others behind.
Tyrel just had a wry smile on his face, as if to say, "There he goes again..."
As Erik charged ahead, his mind raced. Whatever made that sound has got to be close! If I just continue onward, I should run into it!
Within moments of having thought that, Erik ran into--
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