Sylvia smiled happily. The fact that he can speak to them while scouting ahead is definitely going to put some worries to rest. Soon enough, Pylia was up and Shortfang returned. She couldn't help but chuckle at Pylia's reaction, while she served the bacon and eggs, "That's Syfr. He's Shortfang's new friend! He learned some new tricks as well," She wanted to mention that she learned some new tricks as well, but she also wants to keep the new abilities a surprise just to see their faces when they see them for the first time.

“Eat time!” Shortfang cheered as he came back to camp to eat. “Syfr huh? He doesn’t look like any owl I’ve ever seen but... But if he’s a friend to Shortfang, I suppose he’s a friend to us as well!” It wasn’t long before others around the camp started waking up as well. Ferric and Mica joined the breakfast and Brewed some tea, though Ferric helped himself to some morning beer. Andras and his children also woke up, Andrews in particular was quick to check on Buddy, who remained motionless.

“Good to see everyone bright and early. We’ve got a long ways to go, and it will rain tonight so we should be extra careful. There’s a shack near the middle of the mountain pass we can rest at and wait the rain out until morning. Hopefully there’ll be enough room for our horses up there too.”

Sylvia couldn't help but feel somewhat concerned when Ferric had beer in the morning. It was generally a bad idea to drink before driving a vehicle back home. Was Ferric going to be okay? She looked to Ferric as he spoke to everyone. At the mention of rain, Sylvia looked to Buddy. She commented out loud, "We're probably gonna need to get Buddy a tarp," She wasn't sure if Buddy's mechanical body was waterproof or not. She was going to err on the side of caution and say that he probably wasn't.

Oh! That reminded her, they still needed to get Buddy a journal, and something to write with.

She didn't really say anything in response to Ferric's words. She was kind of lost in thought.

“Ah yes, that does remind me.” After finishing his beer Ferric left and shortly returned with Buddy’s axe. It was cleaned and polished, an intimidating looking steel axe with a sharp spear-point at the bottom. “Ain’t she a beauty. A real work of art, much like yourself. Cheers Buddy!” It was only now that he was receiving his axe that Buddy moved, taking his axe and sliding it into place on his back. He had a strange sort of backpack, with some clamps to hold the shaft of Buddy’s axe.

“If you want a cloak for him, I can easily toss one in free of charge. We use it for our horses but it’ll be quick and easy to make one for him. Is there anything else you’d like for him?” Ferric asked as everyone was finishing breakfast and getting ready to leave. Pylia was taking down the tent, Shortfang was making some more crossbow bolts, and Andras’ family were getting their cart ready. Andras himself was fiddling with a crossbow, nervously practicing loading with it. Elena and Andrews has a dagger on their belt now too.

Sylvia blinked, snapping out of her own thoughts, as Ferric remembered something, and handed Buddy his axe. She had to admit, it looked like Ferric did a great job fixing up the axe. When he offered the cloak, she answered him, "That would be great! Thank you, Ferric. I'm not sure if Buddy is waterproof or not..." She then added, "Can you also throw in one of the journals and something to write with? Buddy's able to communicate, he just can't talk,"

“A journal? Should be simple enough, though I only have a thin book with about twenty pages. I sometimes sell them to adventurers who need to keep notes.” Ferric went to get the cloak and the book. Meanwhile Buddy walked over to you and tapped you on the shoulder. As everyone was distracted cleaning up, he gave you a thumbs up, and then got into a familiar stance. You recognized this stance from your dream, Satyr Style. It seemed as if Buddy had a vague memory of it as well, though he wasn’t able to hold the stance very long. His body was not designed to be using that sort of thing it seemed. Still it was clear that he remember last night and possibly more from his life.

Sylvia nodded thoughtfully and answered "That should be enough for now. Thank you, Ferric," They can always get another journal in Gransys if Buddy fills up the pages by the end of this journey. She then felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked to him and she asked "What's up, Buddy?" Then he got into the familiar stance. The Satyr Style...Her mouth gaped open before she closed it and she was smiling.

She commented in revelation, "So last night actually happened! And you remember learning the Satyr Style! ...At least vaguely remember, but still! That's something!"

She then blinked and she asked out of curiosity, "Do you remember if you actually chose the Satyr style? Honestly, when I was there, it felt like I made the choice..."

Buddy shrugged at your question. He took a moment to ponder before picking up a stick and writing in the dirt. ”Rembr being there.” he tried to get into the stance again but you can tell his bulkier robot body lacked the finesse needed to properly hold the stance. Perhaps he had used a different style, or more importantly a different body. Either way Buddy simply beckoned you to follow him to a clear area. He wrote another message on the ground. ”U try.”

Sylvia nodded and commented thoughtfully after seeing the written message on the ground, "I see..."
She then looked confusedly as she followed Buddy to a clear area. When they got there, and he wrote the message, she answered "OK. I might as well try it out and see how it works," She then took in a deep breath, like she was going to meditate, and as she exhaled she slowly moved into the stance just as she had done so when the Satyr first showed her. She recalled that the stance seemed to effect her movement, she decided to move about the area, and see what the stance allows her to do.

It was a strange feeling at first. That is to say, no feeling at all; you were just in a strange combat stance. But as you practiced with Buddy you found a strange power while within this stance. Whenever Buddy tried to use his considerable strength and bulk to knock you over, you were easily able to stand your ground despite the massive weight disadvantage. When the battle moved over to some muddy terrain, you were able to easily skip and walk whereas Buddy’s feet sunk into the ground, slowing his movements down to a slog. And finally when it seemed like Buddy finally had you cornered, you were able to run up a tree to avoid him. Not climb, but literally run up the tree in your boots, no hands at all, like some sort of ninja. Buddy could only watch you from down below. It seemed that this stance had granted you some amazing mobility. Or perhaps this was simply another ability you’ve awakened. It was hard to say.

Soon the others were ready to go. Pylia called you and Buddy’s over saying it was time to move. The sun was starting to come up now and they wanted to try and reach the rest stop by noon. Buddy didn’t seem to have the Satyr style working for him as well as you, but he seemed to understand what you were doing and helped you get a better grasp of it. His final words before joining up with the others were ”Keep practice”, written in the mud.

At first, the stance seemed to have done nothing, but when Buddy tried to knock her over, she was able to keep her balance! Her excitement and joy grew as she managed to move across the mud while Buddy sunk in the terrain. Her joy reached its peak when she found that she actually, honest to god, ran up a tree like a ninja. She let out an elated "Oh my god! I just did that! I'm a freakin' ninja!!!"

She wasn't sure if it was the stance, or another power within her, but either way, this was so cool!

She jumped down from the tree when she heard Pylia's voice. When he wrote his final words, she nodded and answered "I will. Thanks, Buddy! Now, let's get back to the others," She then led the way back and met up with everyone. She just can't keep the smile off of her face. She could now do things that she only dreamed of be able to do back home!

Meeting back up with the others, they were all ready to head out. Buddy would pull Andras’ cart, easily able to do so thanks to his strength and robot body. Pylia handed out Goodberries again, one for Andras and his children, two for herself, Shortfang, and you, and finally one for Ferric. Finally Pylia managed to make some herb balm, which she kept on her person.

Once the group was ready they set off into the mountains. The path was muddy and treacherous due to the recent rain. Shortfang volunteered to go up ahead with Syfr, keeping eyes on any danger. The journey to the top would take most of the day due to the difficult terrain. It was a good thing Ferric had brought mules; they had good footing despite pulling a much larger wagon. Speaking of, thanks to having a wagon Ferric could comfortably fit up to six people, including cargo. Granted with Shortfang on foot and Buddy pulling a cart the extra space just meant more leg room.

Things were quiet so far. Very quiet.

Sylvia accepted the goodberries from Pylia, and started the journey with the group. She was in the wagon with everyone else, while Shortfang scouted ahead and Buddy pulled the cart. She kind of wanted to try out the new stance here, but in the end, she decided to ride in the wagon and save her energy for any fights that may occur.

However, during the trip, she noticed that everything seemed quiet. Too quiet.

She decided to look around and make sure that there wasn't anything off, or if there were any indicators of danger nearby.

You don't notice anything in particular beyond the silence. It was eerie, but hardly indicative of anything. However soon you receive a psychic message from Shortfang. "Found a dead goblin. Looks like he was attacked by wolves, all torn up. But they didn't finish eating the body for some reason. Stay watchful." He warned. The little guy continued to keep a look out as the party was moving forward. It seemed like you were the only person to receive Shortfang's message. "Something wrong Sylvia?" Pylia spoke. She had her armor on, however her shield and club were put away, figuring she didn't need it at the moment.

Sylvia blinked at the message and listened to Shortfang's message. After she heard it, she responded quietly, "Got it. I'll let the others know. Stay on your toes, Shortfang,"

Pylia seemed to have heard her as she asked her question. She answered her, "Just got a message from Shortfang. He found a dead goblin ahead. It looked like was torn up by wolves, but it looked like they weren't done eating the body. Let's keep our eyes peeled,"
She grabbed her quarterstaff as she spoke, just in case something was going to attack them.

Pylia nods, strapping her shield onto her arm. Nothing came, however they did come across the goblin's body. It was a grisly sight; a small, almost child-sized body, ripped apart by animals. If you hadn't fought them before you might've even mistaken it as an odd red child, however their more inhuman features were notable on sight, such as their pointed ears, strange body proportions, and digitigrade legs. His armor was rend apart, and even his sword was shattered. Or perhaps it was already like that; the goblins didn't seem too capable of taking care of their own equipment.

A few more minutes would pass before you receive another message. It was short, very short, but even as a telepathic thought you can hear the caution in the tone. "Stop. Harpies ahead. I see four of them. They're on a tree watching the road." You remember seeing what you believe were harpies in your dream. They were terrifying for how uncanny they looked; they had the head and body of a woman, but their necks were far too long, and the rest of their body looked like that of a vulture or other large bird of prey. Worse still was that their faces were actually conventionally attractive as far as human features go, but combined with their very must monstrous bodies, they were a frightful foe indeed.

Sylvia responded to the message quietly, "OK. Thanks Shortfang. Pylia, Buddy, and I will be there soon!" As she recalled what they looked like from her dream, she shuddered. Would these harpies be in league with the dragon?

As soon as Sylvia responded to the message, she told Ferric and Buddy, "Guys, stop! There are harpies ahead. Four of them are in a tree watching the road," She looked to Pylia and Buddy as she said, "Pylia, Buddy, let's go help Shortfang. ...And leave the cart here Buddy,"

Buddy nodded, pulling the cart closer to the wagon but leaving it behind as he took his axe out. Pylia got out of the wagon and took her warclub out. "How are you talking to Shortfang? Did you learn some magic or something?" Pylia asked curiously. No one had informed her of Shortfang's new trick. Regardless the party moved forward and would soon meet with Shortfang, who motioned them to lower their heads. Sure enough at the bottom of a hill was a big of a clearing with a large tree, and on that tree were four bird-like figures. If you didn't look too carefully they looked like normal birds such as vultures or eagles, but for those aware they could make out the human faces on these monstrous birds. "Shortfang no find other way. Gotta go through there. Rush or sneak?" You can tell that while Shortfang and Pyila seem adapt at sneaking about, Buddy was far too heavy and loud to sneak without being spotted. He could stay behind, but that would mean it'll take him more time to get into the thick of battle. Pylia charged her club with magic and looked to you. "I'll follow your lead, Sylvia."

When Pylia asked about how she was communicating, Sylvia at first looked confused before she realized no one told her about Shortfang's new trick yet. She answered in realization, "Oh that's right! I didn't get to tell you yet!" She then told her, "Shortfang picked up some new tricks as well as a new friend. One of them is sending telepathic messages! So he could talk to me while he was scouting ahead,"

Soon enough they reached Shortfang is and they ducked down so they could see the harpies without immediately rushing in without a plan. After Shortfang and Pylia looked to her for a plan, she thought about their options. She wasn't a fan of just rushing in, but there was no way to sneak Buddy into the fray and it would take too long for him to reach them.

Then she had an idea. If she gave her Cassari harpoon to Buddy, then all four of them would have means of attacking from a distance. She asked her friends quietly as she "Think we can fire ranged attacks at them from here?" It didn't seem like they saw the four of them up here, so it would be a surprise attack and Buddy would still be able to join in.

She took a better look at the distance, and in trying to figure out what to do. It looks she herself might have to sneak in closer, but Shortfang, Buddy, and Pylia could probably fire from here. She whispered to her friends, "It looks like they're too far away for me. I'll sneak in. Shortfang, Pylia, if your distance attacks can't reach them from here, you guys should sneak in a little more as well,"

She then looked to Buddy, and she handed him her Cassari Harpoon and she told him, "I think you can use this to hit those guys from here, Buddy,"

Buddy took the harpoon, looking at it and than the harpies in the distance. It was hard to tell what he was thinking but he readied the harpoon as if he was about to throw it, just waiting for the signal to attack. Pylia nodded, knowing a spell that could hit them if she got closer. Shortfang had to switch from his handcrossbow to a light crossbow, one he took from the bandits, but with it he could snipe the harpies from here. "Okay. We wait for you. When you attack, we attack!" Shortfang said with a quiet cheer. Syfr was sitting on the cliff watching everyone below, hidden by some rocks so the harpies don't see him either. It was time to execute the plan.