Xaltwind

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

When she saw the discolored blush appear on the undead's face, Brandy couldn't help but smile mischievously. When the undead stumbled backwards, fell over and her popped off, Brandy couldn't help but stare dumbfounded. When the juggler started using the head of her companion as a part of his routine, Brandy's eyes watered and she nearly fell over, laughing hysterically at the macabre and bizarre sight before her. The crowd seemed to be enjoying the spectacle as well, cheering and applause accompanied by laughter and impressed 'ooh's and 'aah's.

However, once the cry for aid from her friend was heard, Brandy's mood quickly changed. It was almost like a complete turn-around, with her happy and big smile being replaced by a serious and disapproving frown. It appeared that while the satyress wasn't above laughing at the misofrtune of others, she wasn't amused by her friends being in a situation where they called for actual help. Straightening herself up and rubbing the tears (of joy)f rom her face, the satyr approached the juggler.

"Hey pal. Fun's been fun, but that's enough. Hand my girlfriend's head back, yeah?" She said, with no concern for the apparent misconception her choice of word and terminology may cause.
"No way, miss! This'n be the first time I've e'er had this big-a crowd! I'm gonna rake in the big bucks for sure!" The garishly dressed and apinted merrymaker responded, contiuing his act.
"Sofers ain't no prop for you to fondle as ya want! Now hand her back, bub, or I'll like, totally take a dump on your parade!"
"Sod off, ya cow-udddered bitch. I ain't 'fraid of you." The man retorted, sticking his tongue out and making a 'thpppppt'-noisee... Which made the crowd laugh and cheer even more.

Greatly annoyed at this, Brandy wasted no time in making good on her threat. Tkaing a deep breath, steadying herself and then letting out an elongated 'Hnnnnnnnn!' she delivered a full-force [Twin-toe Kick to the crotch-region of the uncooperative entertainer. Instantly, the sassy juggler was reduced to a crumpling pile of wet cards. His face contorted and grimaced in a way that didn't seem anatomically possible for the human face. His eyes also resembled a pair of ping pong balls, trying tp pop out of their sockets. He made muffled sounds as he clutched his now indented scrotum, falling onto first one knee, then the other, and then assumed a fetal position on the street below. The crowd, having witnessed all this, let out a unified 'oof' and any present males among the onlookers quickly reached and shielded their own family jewels in a reflexive way.

At this point, the airborne bits and bobs that the now neutered man had been juggling quickly began to fall back down towards the ground. In a hasty bid to protect the skull of her friend from now going 'splay' like a ripe watermelon on impact with cobblestone ground, Brandy performed a splendid pro-baseball dive, managing to catch the falling nogging right before it would've landed on the ground. Of course, in doing this, the satyress had to throw herself forward and slide across the bumpy ground herself - which wasn't pleasant for either her stomach or her soft, oversized papayas. She made a slight grunting noise of discomfort, but didn't seem to be otherwise phased.

With Sofia's head securely in her arms though, she slowly got back onto her own two hoofs. Raising the head of the undead, she inspected in from all angles, making sure there was no damage or grime on it. She let out a sigh of relief, as the undead's brain-bucket seemed to be completely fine. With a gentle stroke, she pushed some of the undead's hair from her face.

"Thank goodness. I was 'totes gonna freak out if your head got all banged up and stuff, Sofers." She said, smiling slightly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to casue ya trouble."

That said, Brandy returned to Sofia's body and handed the head of the undead back to itself.. Which was a rather strange feeling. At this point most of the crowd that had gathered were dispersing, with a pair of young children standing over the collapsed juggler and poking at him, either with fingers or sticks, and asking if he was alright.

He wasn't.

But anyway!

"But man, Sofers. Ya really surprised me there! I didn't know ya could lose your head like that. I mean, that sorta thing could be really handy when doing the dirty, but ya might wanna like, have someone put some stitches 'round your neck or somethin'." The satyr suggested with no regard for this being a possibly sensitive matter for the undead...

Back at Gnarlton G.O.R.E's Guild Hall

The old lady merely shrugged her shoulders at Alice's answer. It didn't seem like she had much more to say, as she returned to smoking her cigarette - and nothing else.

With the quests now more properly organized, Alice could more easily determine and see what was available. Apart from the usual oddjobs and less savory requests, there were a few options that stood out - aside from the troll hunt.

There was a request for someone to investigate an old cemetery just north of the town, as apparently something strange has been going on there. There was also a request to clear out an abundance of slimes in the town sewers, as they were in danger of clogging up the system and causing a litteral flood of sewage to the town. Another was to hunt down and capture a local thief who had been burglarizing some of the wealthy citizens. Then there was a job for collecting a rare plant from a cave some ways east of the town, in Frogfolk territory. Other than these though, Alice might find different options if she kept sorting and rifling through the various offers.

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

"... Really? You mean it?" Brandy asked, pouting all the while, when ALice informed her of the decision to stay behind and rummage through the bulletin board. Of course, Brandy being Brandy, she didn't exactly wait for confirmation or denial, but instead glomped onto the werewolf, squished her cheek against the other girl's and gave her a good squeeze. "You're like 'totes the best, Al! C'mon, Sofelicious! Let's check on all the stuff!"

As quickly as she had pounced and forcefully smush-hugged Alice, Brandy leapt off, nabbed the undead huntress by her forearm and pulled her out of the likely roach-infested guild hall. There was a comedic 'vroooooom!'-like noise and everything. Or maybe it was just Brandy making the noise, with her mouth... Which wouldn't make any sense, since there weren't any motor vehicles in this world... Clairvoyance? No matter! What did matter was that the satyress was hurriedly rushing southwards from the northern slums and back down into Gnarlton proper.

The excitable little satyress wasted no time. She gawked at the streer performers they passed, she pressed her face against the windows of shops they went window-shopping past and she sniffed the scents of the various foods from the varying stalls around the streets. In short, she was having a great old time. All the while she was holding greedily onto Sofia's arm, pulling the other girl along whether she wanted to or not... Despite her size, the little farm-lass was surprisingly strong. Or maybe she was just willful?

"Oh my gosh, Sofers! I can't even! This place is like sooooo big and lively, nothin' like the little fart-in-the-fields I'm from. You said you used to live here, right?Oooh, show me your house! I wanna see where you geew up." Brandy stated and requested and demanded, all at the same time.

While she was asking this, she was facing Sofia, and being very close. Like, close enough that when she bobbed up and down on her hooves, certain toros-mounted accessories were being squished against certain torso-mounted accessories on the undead girl. But hey, at least passing on-lookers seemed to enjoy the show... Well, at least the male passer-bys...

Meanwhile, back at the Guild Hall...

"Pffffff... Hey, honey. Ya girls ain't realy looking for a job around these parts are ya? This ain't Litroot y'know? Things ain't all turnip-picking and wood chopping here." The old smoking receptionist asked, obviously having doubts and questioning the capability of Alice and her allies.

Perhaps it was her own way of showing concern and urging - what she presuambly saw as inept little girls - to return back to their rural village? Or perhaps she was just being a dick 'cuz she was old and cranky and fugly and didn't like seeing young, perky and pretty girls show up and overshadow her.

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

Though usually in good spirits, Brandy was not amused when her travelling companions decided to nab and pull her away from all the glitter and sparkles. Like an obstinate child, she protested quite verbally against the grave injustice that was being done to someone who had spent all their lives on a farmstead and had nothing exciting ever happen... Except that one time a travelling peddler came by and tried to hawk some useless rubbish off onto her family... Her father had promptly declined the offers, by chaisng said peddler away with his pitch fork.

Regardless!

The part of town taht the guild hall was now located in was very different from when Sofia had been alive. Back then, it'd been seated in the western part of the town, but due to an unfortunate fire - and political machinations involving re-zoning and property rights - the guild had been forced to relocate to a more seedy and ill reputed part of town. Although the hall itself was a fairly impressive building, being three storeys tall and much more impressive than the one back in Litroot, it also had a much shabbier exterior and looked as if it hadn't seen a fresh coat of paint or renovating in over two decades... Needless to say, it looked just as shabby as the other buildings in the slummy parts of Gnarlton, just bigger.

Once inside, and Alice having announced their arriva and purpose, she would find that the guild hall was remarkably vacant. Except for an elderly human woman in her late 50's, with grayed hair, far too much make-up on and reeking of a mix of smoke and perfume, there was nobody else to be seen. This receptionist, who was sitting at her reception desk, was busying herself with smoking one cigarette after the other, and there were more full ashtrays on the table-surface than there were papers or documents, or pens or other office supplies.

Hearing the voice of the werewolf, the elderly madame turned her head and gave the wolf-girl a once-over with an apathetic face, blowing a long stream of whit evapor out of her mouth after having taken a deep drag from her lit cancer-stick.

"Special delivery, huh? OF what? We ain't ordered nothing, sweetums." The voice of the old lady matched her perfectly. Namely in that it sounded like a heavy chain-smoking old lady straight out of one of those stereotypical night-establishments, what with the slight accent and everything.

Brandy, still sulking about having been pulled away from her fun, was standing in the doorway, ears drooping and pouting in a cute fashion. Then the smell from inside was let outside, and it wafted past her nostrils. As on reflex, the satyress gagged and began to cough inelegantly, making quite the fuss before finally managing to colelct herself. With composure somehwat regained, she peered inside the dank and dismal locale, her eyes growing wide in horror and he rnose wrinkling itself in discontent protest.

"The heck is this dump?! Al, you sure we're in the right place? This looks nothin' like tanuki-glasses or lil' miss witchum's place." Brandy stated, rather casually and loudly. The old lady at the desk seemed to overhear, as she gave the top-heavy girl a none too keen glance.
"This is the local Gnarlton guild hall for the Guild o' Renta-Experts, honey. You girls sure you're in the right place?" She questioned the trio's presence.
"Oh, it is? I thought it was some kinda dank dive." Brandy said, completely without intent to sound rude but nontheless doing so splendidly. Especially since she said it with a straight face. "Well, we came here from Litroot to hand over a letter or something." Brandy continued.
"Litroot...? Ah, that little hamlet in the southern woods. Well, don't keep me waiting, honey. Give the it here." The old bat said, stretching out the arm and hand which wasn't busy fiddling with her cigarette.

After said letter had been handed over and the grey-haired woman had vien it a quick glance, she sighed and opened a drawer, depositintg the mail inside and slamming it shut. Next, she oepened a small cupboard under her desk and fiddled around with something that was clinking, before producing a few coins and laying them on the grimey, ash-covered desk.

"Thanks for the delivery, kittens. Here's yer pay. Now if there's nothing else, I've got some work to do."

She said that, but it didn't seem like there was much for her to do... Other then light and start smoking yet another cigarette... Which she did, by the way.

The board for available jobs here was cluttered to the point of everything not even fitting. Some requests had been stuck to the side, or even nailed to the wall NEXT to the board itself. It was a jumbled mess of varying shapes and shades of paper, with requests ranging ffrom things like 'Find my runaway cat!' to 'Go find my engagement ring I dropped in the sewers!' to 'Beat up the loanshark I owe money o!' to ' Please clean the communal bathrooms! They're filthy!'. There were undoubtedly more work in Gnarlton than in Litroot, but most of it seemed to involve the slummy part of town, and most of it seemed to be of... Lower-end labor, rather than proper 'adventures'... But maybe if you looked reallly hard and dug through the layers of junk, you might jsut find something. Or, the girls could high-tail it out of this rickety den of neglect and do something else.

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

Gnarlton was a sight to see, at least for a country-bumpkin like Brandy, no doubt! The stone walls that surrounded the city weren't the tallest or the thickest, the gate into the town wasn't the grandest or most elaborate, and the town itself wasn't the largest or most populated - but to Brandy, this was a city! Never before had she seen so many people or heard so many voices or been treated to so many smells and sounds all at once. So many buildings of varying shapes and sizes, colors and styles. So many people of differing social standing and race! It was almost overwhelming to the point that the little satyress could barely contain her excitement for it all.

In truth, Gnarlton was a fairly average town, with some 12,000~13,000 permanent residents. Most buildings were made out of stone or bricjk, as opposed to wood like they had been in the past. Streets were laid with cobblestone and there were even street lamps along the larger and wider roads. Buildings stood between one to three storeys tall with various roofings, from tiles to simple lumber logs or planks. The archietecutre was a hodge-pode of different styles and cultures, as the town was a trading hub and was home to a multitude of different species. The heart of the town was a large marketplace, with stalls and peddlers and vendors trying to pawn their goods. The west and east ditricts were mostly residential, with the south district - the one where our girls were now at - being the commercial district. The north part of Gnarlton was, however, home to less reputable sorts, such as the red light district and the slummier parts... Unfortunately, this was also where the Guild had their local hall in this town.

But none of that currently mattered, as a certain bouncing satyr made a beeline over to watch a silly man in silly make-up juggle a bunch of bowling-pin shaped ... Pins? of carious colors, all while speaking in a ludicrous fashion and making cringeworthy jokes and observations. Juggling clowns... In Gnarlton. Yup. Truly a place of high culture and refined tastes. After the man eventually stopped his act and bowed, and had a few on-lookers toss a pitiful pittance of coins into his up-side-down-hat-on-theground, Brandy was off! To the next strip performer! This time a lady in scandlous clothes... No... You couldn't actually call that clothes... More like, strips and pieces of fabric, maybe? Which was also dangerously translucent ... This one was swinging her long strands of fabric on her arms and legs around like shawls, weaving and doing motions to get them to flutter ever so vividly... And show off hger rather attractive figure in the process.

Not that she could hold a candle to Brandy, but then again, who really could?

"Woooooooow! Look at her go! Like, I've never seen anyone dancin' like that before. The dances mama and papa taught me were all so stiff and boring... Traditional stuff realy ain't my speed, y'know?" Brandy stated, to nobody in particular, except maybe herself? "And that outfit... It's so cool! I wonder if I can get a similar one somewhere? MHmm, but I think a black or red one would be better... Pink isn't really my color, maa-haa-haa~!" Again, talking aloud to probably herself.

There was much more around than the performers though. The southern district were full of shops and stores, from those of a gneral nature to things like apothecaries, antique shoppes, weapons and armor stores, magic trinket boutiques and so much more! If Alice and Sofia didn't desire to be dragged into every single establishment with a colorful sign and window-display, they might want to reel-in their hyper-active friend and drag her along to their actual destination... That being if they themselves knew where it was... But maybe some friendly local could share that tidbit with them, if they asked politely.

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

As they talked and munched on their impromptu picnicky lunch, the satyress listened intently to the responses of her allies. She made a crass comment about Alice really liking big meat, but other than that she remained fairly docile and well-mannered. She showed obvious signs of disappointment at hearing that there were no booty-ticks or strip performers, signalled by droopy ears and a slouching tail, but both of these features perked right on back up after Sofia started regaling her knowledge of Gnarlton.

... Which was horribly out of date and full of inaccurate information where the modern-day town was concerned...

Still, the talk had gotten a certain Brandy all fired up and even more excited about their eventual arrival to the town... Which was unfortunately still a day and half's walk away, at least. Still! That didn't discourage the little bouncy satyr from gobbling up her food, collecting her pack, strapping it to her back and energetically encouraging her comrades to finish their meals and get moving. After all, she was going to an actual large town! A place with more people than she'd ever seen or imagined before! The thought was exhilirating to the social butterfly that was Brandy.

The day had gotten a bit past noon, and the weather had changed a little as well. More clouds had deigned to dot the sky and a slight breeze had pickedu up. It was still sunny and pleasnt, of course, so there wasn't any need for alarm. The aroad ahead was still just mostly a dirt path though, and there didn't seem to be many travellers going between Gnarlton and Litroot. Well, not as far as the three girls could see at least. The rmaining day would be spent walking and talking.

However, as the sun began to sink lower and lower and the curtain of night began to creep ever further over the horizon, Brandy suddenly stopped and looked around.

"So, uh... Chubby-tail-Karin said it'd take two days to walk to Gnarlton, right? But, like, we gonna just keep walking there night and day? 'Cuz, y'know, I don't wanna be a wet-blanket or nothin', but I kinda like getting my beatuy-sleep. Keeps my skin nice and fresh!" She asid, smiliing and giving the other two girls a playful wink. "But-but-butts, anyway! You gals wanna keep stomping on for a bit, or should we try and find somewhere to set up a cozy lil' love-nest for the night? I dun really know what's best on a long trip like this, 'cuz mama-err, Mom always told me to stay at an inn when on the road, buuuuuuuut..." She looked around again. "... I ain't seeing none of those about, myeh?"

And Brandy was right. There was a distinct lack of inns, roadside taverns or any other buildings for that matter. In fact, there was a disparingly large amount of none-civilization present in general. But hey, at least there was plenty of grass! Yup. Lots and lots of grass... Knee-high grass... Wild and untrimmed... Probably full of creepy crawlies and sneaking-in-under-your-garments-unnoticed-until-its-too-late bugs... Oh, and a few smatterings of lonely, sparsed-out trees. And a big boulder. And a few shrubs and bushes. And a grazing stag.

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

After having set things up - as properly as one could expect from a certain satyr - the three girls finally got off their feet after the action-packed conclusion to their little encounter. Didn't take long for both Alice and Sofia to whip out their prefered foodstuffs and start chowing down either. Brandy observed the two for a bit, then rummaged through her pack and retrieved a small red wrapped bundle. Unfurling it, she produced a set of three large, juicy-looking carrots, which she proceeded to bite into with gusto. The crunchy snapping of root vegetables could be heard as she happily chewed away at her impromptu meal.

Her eyes thenn glanced over to Sofia, who was now happily eating yogurt. A coy smirk came to Brandy's face and one of her eyebrows lifted. Her expression could only be described as 'up-to-no-good'-face.

"Hmmmmm~? So you're into gulping down white goopy stuff eh, Sofers~?" Her voice was very playful and insinuating. Forget undertones or implications, all forms of subtlety were out the window where this satyress was concerned. Then she laughed her usualy hearty laugh. "Well anyway, it's too bad I didn't bring any broccoli or cheese... It's like super-yummy to top some fresh boiled broc with a bit of melted cheese and sprinkle it with salt." She had now switched from talking about questionable topics right over to basic-ass cooking recipes. Apparently siwtching gears wasn't hard when your brain was the size of a walnut.

"By the by's, what're you girls favorite foods? We usually just ate vegetables and fruits back home on the farm, so I wanna know what types of things ya'll eat. Oh! I guess we did have bread'n stuff too, but mama's-- err, I mean, mom's bread was always so tough! It was like, chewin' on an old shoe or somethin', y'know?" Brandy questioned and regaled the two others. Having grown up where she had, expensive and varied dishes weren't exactly readily available.

"Ah, right, I almost forgot. What's this Garlton like? Are there lots of those fancy booty-cheeks and stripp performers?" She probably meant boutiques and street performers, but being Brandy one could expect no more. Then she crunched down on her second carrot and proceeded to gnaw it as a hamser would. It was rather adorable actually.

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

"Owie~!" The satyress let out an overly cutesy plaintive remark when she had her head bonked by the revenant. Putting both hands atop her noggin, as if to both shield her empty skull from further assault as well as comfort the inevitable bump that was going to rise, the tanned girl gave Sofia a pouty face in response. "You meanie! How could you hurt such a delicate lil' waif such as me?" Brandy sad, complete with trembling lower lip and wet, glistening puppy-dog eyes.

Then Alice stirred.

Then Alice spoke.

Then Brandy glomped Alice, and smushed her cheek against the werewolf girl's, rubbing the two cheeks affectionately against one another, all while having her big, goofy smile on her face - as if the previous outrage and sadness was nothing more than a very distant memory. Or an act. Prboably the latter, since it was Brandy.

"Al! Al! You're alright! Maa-haa-haa~! I thought that big boom done did get ya good! And we'd like, have to 'totes carry you around and feed you with a spoon and change your drawers for ya and stuff!" Brandy was very happy and relieved to see her friend hadn't been turned into a complete vegetable.

After some more forceful cuddling and cheek-smushing, Brandy eventually got off Alice and back onto her feet... Well, hooves. She looked around, only now noticing the devestation and gruesome state of the now-not-so-living-feral-trolll, who was lying in meaty chunks and singed splattterings all around the once rather tranquil and pleasant meadowy area. She raised an eyebrow and approached one of the meat-bits that was close by, crouching down and poking it with a finger a few times inquistively, as if expecting it to move or juggle or bite back or something.

"Wooooow.... I had no idea yer boom-bombs could do somethin' like this, Al... That's amazing! You're like, a full-fledged Troll Slayer, maybe! Oh, and Sofers. You're amazin' at shooting that bow of yours. I bet you could shoot down a bird in flgiht with your skills!" Brandy praised her companions, very impressed with them both. Which was admittedly fully warranted - as compared to them, Brandy's own skills thus far included having a pleasant singing voice and ... Not so much more... In fact, she probably contributed the least to the group over all... Except for her sunny and optimistic disposition, which was unmatched!

"So, uh... Uhm... Now that big smelly's gone, you guys feel like eatin'? I'm feeeling a bit hungry."

The satyr'scomplete lack of urgency and seemingly apathy towards eating a meal in anb area covered by the remains of a blasterized troll, was rather remarkable. Then again, she came from a farm, where the scent and smell of manure and compost was ever-prevalent, so maybe she was just used to foul smells. She plotted about a for a bit, looking for a place to sit, and eventually came upon an area that was not covered redecorated by troll-giblets. Smiling and with ears twitching, she scampered back to where she'd dropped her backpack, and then promptly ran back to the site that she'd picked out. Once there, she waved for her two friends to come join her.

"C'mon! C'mon! Let's have lunch!" Brandy called, before plopping her plump butt down on the soft grass and uncorking her waterskin, taking a big ol' clunk from it and letting out an elongated and refreshed 'Aaaaaaaaaaaah!'.

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

Brandy was hurriedly running her little hooves off, while the thumping footsteps of the huge, hungry and horrible troll kept drawing ever closer. Looking over her shoulder once in a while, she stuck her tongue out and made 'thhhppppttttt!'-noise, along with grimaces and faces that would put Mr. Bean to shame... Who knew satyr-faces were so expressive... Or elastic...?

However, as the tanned little bombshell ran around, a noise suddenly caught her attention. And it also caught the attention of the troll chasing her. Looking back, the girl saw Alice, clanking on a pot that had been hung up to make some sort of makeshift bell. At first, Brandy did nothing more than stare at it. But as the troll roared and began charging towards it - and the one bonking at it - the hairs on Brandy's neck.... And legs... And tail... And ears... All stood on end and she howled out:

"AL! THAT'S NOT HOW YOU MAKE FIRE!!"

Running after the big, savage brute who had now changed his mind about what he wanted to eat, the little satyress cursed under her breath as she was falling behind. Then she heard a noise.

Twang!

As she looked forward, she saw a certain, oddly shaped object come sailing through the air, with a whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-like sound. At the sight of the object, and the sight of the one who had launched it, a pair of cogs began to turn inside the little lady's head... For once in her life, she had seemed to put two and two together.

Coming to a comedic, skidding stop, complete witht he sound of rubber tyres screeching across asphalt as they tried to stop the forward momentum of a large vehicle, Brandy performd a impromptu-somersault, before turning about-face and starting to runb like a madwoman in the opposite direction of the troll.

Gulp!

A mouthy, swallowing noise was heard shortly thereafter, followed by a confused groan... Or maybe an inquisitive grunt? It was hard to tell, and even harder to really care. Brandy remembered the noisy thing Alice had thrown at the horned rabbit back at the farm... And at the troll earlier when this whole mess started... So she could only imagine that this was something much, much, much worse.

And it was.

BTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

A strange fiery but also splattery noise errupted from behind the fleeing satyress. ALong with a horribly loud and unpleasant boom. The force of the blast, even though she was a fair bit away, was enough to knock the goat-girl off her legs and send her tumbling forward. She eventually stopped, once she slammed into the side of a tree, lying on her back with her legs over her head... It looked like one of those scenes in an erotic game, where the monster-girl was presenting herself to the wandering hero, and exciting snu-snu would soon come to follow.

Luckily, there was neither any travelling hero nearby, nor other individuals willing to take advantage of the situation. Instead, after a minute or two of lying on her back, bent over herself and staring at the clear sjy above, Brandy eventually blinked a few times and began to slowly move. She groaned and whined and complained... But she couldn't actually hear herself do so. As she stood up, she realized that the only thing she could hear was... Well... This really annoying ringing sound... She looked around, trying to figure out what was making it, but to no avail. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and anywhere, all at the same time.
*
Of course, once her red eyes landed on the sight of Sofia standing over a collapsed Alice, all other things and stuff stopped mattering. With a burst of speed, the beautiful but graceless satyr shot off towards her companions. As she got close enough, she almost leapt onto Sofia, using the undead as a sort of chshion or airbag to stop herself... Not to mention that Brandy's own airbags sorta squished up against Sofia's back, but that wasn't important.

"SOFERS! IS ALICE OKAY!?" Brandy shouted.

Of course, she couldn't hear herself shouting. ANd when she saw Sofia's lips moving, but no sound came out of them, she raised an eyebrow, twitched her ears, cupped her hands behind said ears, leaned forward - like, really close - to the revenant and called out the one thing anyone would've shouted in that situation.

"WHAT!?"

Moments became seconds, and seconds became a minute, or maybe two. Eventually though, the ringing began to fade, and the sound of the forest began to slowly come back. Brandy looked around, sharply turning her head from side to side, trying to uncovered what had caused her to lose her hearing for so long. Still, once it was back - to some extent at least - she proceeded to fuss.

"Al! Al! Wake up, you dummy! This is so 'totes not funny!" She accidentally rhymed, as she gently but firmly grabbed onto Alice's clothes and gave her small baby-shakes. The satyr looked up from her collapsed werewolf-friend and to their newest ally, eyes all moist and sad and stuff. "Sofers! What should we do? Did... Did the big guy smack Al or something? Why's she not waking up? C'mon, you! Wake. Up. Alice. Or. I'll. Do. Something. Naughty!" Brandy asked, pleaeded and threatened.

It seemed she had completely missed the chunks and bits of troll that were laying all around... Or the large, singed and scorched patch of terrtain which was now located where the troll had previously been standing. Instead, all her focus was fixed on the beastwoman infront of her knees. Then, a proverbial candle lit up above her head, and a sinister and mischievous smirk crawled its way across her face.

"Hm-hmm~ I know what this is..." She said, voice oddly sweet and dripping with black honey. "It's that 'Prince smooches the Princes to wake her up'-deal, yeah? Weeeeeell... If you're not gonna wake up on your oooooown~" Brandy's logic was infallible!

A-SLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP!

Having leaned down and forward, over ALice, a wet, sloppy sound was suddenly heard. This was the result of Brandy's tongue giving a rather long and exagerated lick of Alice's face. More precisely, from the base of her chin, up across her cheek and ending at the werewolf-girl's temple. Either the satyr thought that this constituted a kiss, or she was banking on her breath perhaps being bad enough to cause the unconscious alchemist to wake up... Though, considering Brandy took excellent care of her personal hygiene, including her teeth, the chances of the latter were rather slim. Regardless! She had a playful and coy, if a bit coquettish, smirk on her face... And then she looked up at Sofers, raising both eyebrows and with slightly flushed cheeks, said in an equally mischievous voice:

"Oh, hey... You want one too, Sofers~?"

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

"Wha-- Al! Wait! Don't pull me like that, you're gonna make me pop my top!" Brandy protested, as she was forcefully snagged out of her backpack and pulled along by her werewolf-friend. At the mention of their sudden immediate need for fire though, Brandy merely looked like a blank slate. "Whu? Why? We can't cook while that big fella's chasing us around, Al."

The feral troll, who had first been hit by one of Sofia's dark arrows, and then had his foot crushed by his own implement of bludgeoning, was in a far more vile mood now than he'd been in when first appearing. Snarling and sputtering with gooey saliva flying from his sharp-toothed mouth, the cretin seemed to just be getting angrier and more ferocious than anything else. While Sofia's arrow did seem to have a momentary effect on the foul creautre, it wasn't strong enough to leave any lasting harm, nor frightening or painful enough to deter the hungry brute from chasing the girls.

"GRAAAAAH! YOU GET IN BELLY!!"

In a fit of mindless rage, the troll gave his log-club a hefty swing, releasing it from his grip. Like a dangerously spinning oversized twig that had been flung by an angry child, the weapon now came zooming towards Alice and Brandy as they ran. The troll itself didn't seem too interested in Sofia, and is it closed the distance with her, it ignored any and all arrows or taunts the revenant might throw at it, instead giving her a dismissive backhand slap with its gigantic hand, which would promptly send the still-regular-human-sized-undead girl flying a good few feet sideways.

"Sofers!" Brandy exclaimed in horror and/or concern at the sight of her new ally being ragdolled to the side like unwanted rotten fruit. "Al! I hafta help her!" The satyress exclaimed, finally managing to pull her hand free from her friend.

Sliding to a stop on the grassy ground, Brandy leant forward - giving the camera-angle a perfect view of her cleavage - as she took up a pre-sprint-like pose facing towards the troll. At the same time, the giant club-log came crashing down a few feet infront of Alice, having fortunately missed both girls, but sending dirt and grass and bits of wooden splinters flying in all directions around it.

"Al! I'm gonna keep this big boy fixed on me, 'kay? You get that fire or whatever ya neeed, and go help Sofers, right?" Brandy explained the extent of her plan, of which there was not much.

Being a country-bumpkin who'd grown up on a farm, Brandy hardly knew the first thing about trolls, much less on how to fight them. After all, the worst things she had to deal with back home were pesky critters trying to eat their crops or bandits who were taught a caluable lesson by her mountain-of-an-adoptive-father when he proceeded to send them flying with his boulder-sized muscles. So, to Brandy, this was probably the first ever time she'd ever seen, and heard of, any troll.

"Alright, bring it on, tall, gross and ugly! This babe's gonna make you cry! for hurting her friends!" The satyress called out, to which the torll completely ignored her words and just kept thundering towards her position with arms outstretched like a loving father running to embrace his long-lost daughter... Though, in this case, said father would likely shove said long-lost daughter into his mouth and eat her, after having snapped her back with his embrace...

[color=darkgreen]"TASTY GOAT! EAT YOU! MRRRAAAGH! " The eloquent troll roared as it drew near.
"Bite me, Rot-breath!" Brandy taunted, as she took off with a sudden burst!

The little satyr was like a pro runner, having used her pose and the force from her legs to push off and gain a sudden forward acceleration. The torll, not having been prepared for someone to come running at him, and then past his side, skidded to a slow, stumbled over his own legs, fell face-first onto the ground with a loud 'ooof!?', then pushed himself back up, shook his head like a dog-out-of-water, turned to look over his shoulder at the running satyr and then, as troll do, roared in anger. Maybe it was the humiliating tumble, or maybe he just had a preference for demi-goat meats, but the large oaf got back up and started up his own running around, chasing after Brandy like a starving predator... In both senses of the word.

Of course, it wasn't just that Brandy had managed to surprise him which had been the cause of the little trip-up. Some part of it was alaso thanks to Sofia's passive, nearby influence.

Come get me, come get me! You'll never catch me~ Maa-haa-haa! Maa-haa-haa~!" Brandy shouted as she ran from the large feral dum-dum. And with the troll focusing on her shapely butt for now, Alice was freed from running and would have time to concoct some sort of plan or something... At least, that's what Brandy was hoping would happen... Just as long as she didn't do anything to draw the troll's aggro onto herself before she had something.

Guild of Renta-Experts [[CANCELLED]]

Brandy was all too happy to have someone to talk fashion, clothes and accessories with. The satyr would excitedly review and comment on the various designs of her new, undead friend - as well as make suggestion or make proposals for alternative or brand new designs of her own. Needless to say, she was having a great time with Sofia, almost completely forgetting about Alice.

However, once the two other girls unifiedly agreed that her singing was pretty, Brandy's cheeks flushed red. But, unlike most people who would get shy or uncomfortable, Brandy's smile just got broader and her singing got louder. She puffed out her chest and started skipping as she walked, clearly very pleased that the other two appreciated her talent... Which might've been the only she ahd, to be fair...

Alice's running back and forth, gathering herbs and zipping to and fro while they walked caught the eye of the young satyress though. As she watched the overgrown puppy chase after flowers, grasses and plants, she let out a snicker and gave Sofia a playful nudge in the side with her elbow.

"Look, look. Al's like a frolicking lil' puppy! Maa-haa-haa~!" She stated, obviously amused by the alchemist's antics.

As it neared noon and the time to stop for a bit and make camp, as lunch-time was on the near horizon, the group would stop in a generally pleasant little meadow along the side of the road. To the east was a woodedland area and to the west some hilly, grass-covered hills. The smell of wildflowers covered the area and the sun's warmth was being nicely supplemented by a gentle breeze. It was a very pitroesque and serene scene indeed. Brandy began to unload her big ol' backpack from her... Well, back, and started rummaging through it try and find something, or somethings.

As she was head-first deep inside her pack, with her butt rhythmically wagging form side to side as she dug around inside, she wasn't privvy to the following events.

First, there was a flock of birds that started chirping and took flight in a panic. NExt, a mother doe and her little deerling came quickly jumping out of the woods on the east and made a beeline for the hills across the road. Finally, there was the noise of branches snapping, thin tree-trunks cracking, leaves rustling and low, rumbling noise that sounded very much like something between a gasless lawnmower and an earthquake...

Rustle, rustle. Crack! Pop! Creeeeeeaaaaaaaaak~!

Then, it emerged! From the woods, the asme place as the pair of deer, a new creature arrived on the scene. Alas, this one was far less adorable.

It stood over seven feet tall, had a very significant underbite, with a row of sharpish-looking long teeth to go with it. A large, bubly nose and a pair of deformed elf-like ears. Its eyes were beady and red, it had a slouched posture and it looked to be made of equal amounts of blubber and muscle. It also had a beer-gut. And it was bald. And it was a greenish grey color . did we mention it also was almost entirely naked? Aside form a small, ratty, moth-eaten piece of fabric hanging - thankfully - infront of and covering up its crotch.

Yet, the being's rather unpleasant appearance was nothing compared to its smell. Oh ye hods, the smell! Imagine a cramped elevator fillwed with a bunch of convention-goers who haven't showered since their con started, along with the smell of a week old, unflushed toilet-goop and a mouth that's never seen a toothbrush... That was an approximately passable comparison to how this thing smelled. Not that it seemed to mind or care itself, in fact, it probably enjoyed the stank.

Regardless!

As the trundling, lumbering minitaure-giant came out of the woods, it looked around with its smushed-in, pug and/or bulldog-like upper-bit face, scanning the area. When it spotted the trio of girls, it slowly turned its entire body towards them. Did we mention the club it was holding? The club, which was more akin to a log. Said club-log was flung up and onto one of its shoulders to rest, as it stared at the girls... It was a very discomfortable stare... Very hungry. As in the wanting food-variant, not the wanting-something-else variant.

"Hnnngh... Small... Hungy... Hnngh." The creature spoke, with a very barely understandable voice that sounded more like a low growling and snarling.

At this point, a certain satyr removed her head and upper body from inside her own pack and returned to a fully standing state. In her hands were a few wooden utensils, such as mugs and bowls.

"Alright, finally found these suckers. So, what're we haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-oooooooooooly crap! What the fudgenutters is that thing!?" Brandy, who had been preuccupied with finding her cutlery, had only just now noticed the new arrival. Her apparent shock at this caused her to drop the mugs, bowls and utensils on the grassy ground as she stood dumbfounded and with mouth agape at the sight of the horribleness before her. "That is one ugly fella!" She exclaimed, aloud, unabashed, unconcerned for her own well-being should the foul thing understand common.

Luckily for Brandy, the creature didn't seem to understand, or wasn't interested in conversing. Unfortunately for Brandy - and the other girls too - the creature did seem interested in murdering their faces. With a loud, gutteral belch-roar, the creature stomped its foot a few times on the ground, swung its club-log over its head in a threateningly wild fashion, and then set off running - with surprising speed - towards the girls. The noise of each footstep as its large, gross, unwashed feet struck the ground sound like loud thumps.

"Eeeek! That nasty thing's coming at us! Where's my... My... My... uh... My thing!" Brandy quikcly dove back at her pack, nearly tripping over herself. It was clear she was looking for something...

Perhaps it was the spiked club she had strapped to her hip on a small metal ring....

"GWOOOAAAAH! EAT YOU UP!"