[Plain’s Moot – Early Evening]

Nathaniel walked a bit slower now that he was surrounded by the various colorful wagons, tents, and stalls of the Plain’s Moot while Daisy hovered about his shoulder looking at the various denizens with interest. He felt it really was rather impressive that such a mobile place of commerce could be as large but organized as this one was. The ground which should have been a muddy mess was reinforced with straw and some kind of porous stone that seemed to keep moisture from accumulating too heavily and the air was redolent with the exotic smells of oils or perhaps incense. The man chalked it up to magic as he figured this would save him future headaches in the case of ‘things that defied logic’ but weren’t ‘vitally important to understand’; he’d been doing it with Discord for years. The circular grouping of the structures offered a small labyrinth of protection the further one approached the center; much like he imagined the wagon trains of old Earth employed in times of trouble but on a grander scale. Even with this seemingly elaborate grouping however, it never felt cluttered or stifling. Truly, these folks had a system down that had been working for them for some time if Nathaniel was any judge.

As the sun neared the horizon for its final trip to nightfall and painted the sky a wondrous shade of pink, Nathaniel moved deeper into the Moot absently stroking the mane of his charge Lemon Square and continued to walk towards the arrows indicated on his HUD. Arrows that signified what he hoped would be a happy if somewhat tearful reunion. He’d heard from far too many sources that nothing hurt more than burying one’s child and a close relation was doubtfully any less painful. At first, the strange looks he’d been receiving were passed-off as his being the only human on Equus, but after a more detailed study of himself he realized that it was probably his attire that was attracting so much attention. Baby-blue bathrobe, kitten motif backpack, blood-spattered stick, and a festive party hat…

‘Well no shit, I look like a demented pedo-clown holding a small filly…’ he thought. ‘Nothing makes a great first impression like appearing as a possible serial killer and/or kidnapper. Fucking Discord strikes again and he’s not even here,’ he chuckled ruefully in his mind.

Deciding to look as nonchalant as possible, Nathaniel stepped out of the main thoroughfare momentarily into the narrow space between two tents and after setting Lemon down for a moment snatched the cone-shaped hat off of his head, gave a quick wipe down of his weapon and stuffed it and his hat into his backpack. Not a perfect solution but he figured it was better than nothing. He gently scooped up the filly and apologized for the delay, earning him a sleepy nuzzle for his troubles.

Feeling decidedly less self-conscious, Nathaniel continued his trek towards the center where he deduced the medical area would be: the safest place in the Moot. While it seemed the stares were not as intense anymore, he imagined that being a (he assumed) unknown race wearing a bathrobe and strolling through their settlement earned him some attention but at least he no longer felt like a potential prisoner walking to his public trial and subsequent execution. Most of the vendors seemed to be closing for the night but a glance at the various goods piqued his interest enough to immediately plan a follow-up visit in the morning. Weapons, armors, and other adventuring gear seemed to be in abundance here which was exactly what Nathaniel was looking for; that and maybe a hot date.

Nathaniel had been painfully celibate for over two years now thanks to the scripted schedules he’d been forced to slave over; not to mention how many times he’d been surrounded by attractive women and been unable to act on his desire to score a date because of time constraints or story manipulation. His hesitation at exploring sexuality with beings that weren’t human had gradually begun to wane after time spent as Kratos and facing so many attractive demi-humans (he was also still angry at Patches, due to his denying Nathan any pursuit of the sexual mini-games available as the God of War). He realized that his human girl options had vanished entirely with this latest trip and figured that if he was going to risk life and limb in the ultimate gamble of defying Evolution, he might as well sow some heroic oats before he got himself killed; maybe he could meet a sexy dryad or perhaps sleep with a cute siren? So far, he sadly admitted he hadn’t seen anything that was attractive enough to pursue but he reminded himself that he’d only been on this world for less than a day and not to rend his clothes while lamenting just quite yet.

Shaken from his lewd thoughts in surprise of reaching his destination, he found himself just outside a white tent with a recognizable red cross which seemed to be run by more ponies. Chuckling at an errant thought concerning the implications of cross-dimensional echoes in relation to saddles of all things, he double-checked his quest marker and once he confirmed that this was the place, he took a deep breath and stepped into the tent. Moving through the tent to a partitioned section which gave patients a measure of privacy, he was greeted by the soul-crushing sounds of pure heartbreak emanating from a golden-coated mare with a spring-green mane; her bandaged form huddled over a pillow and sobbing.

Lemon Square stirred in his arms and open her eyes sleepily, “Auntie Gold? Is that you?” The effect was immediate as the bedridden mare sucked in a choking sob and went dead silent, her eyes wide as she stared at the bedspread in forlorn hope. “Auntie Gold! It’s me, Lemon! I’m finally h-here!” the filly yelled before breaking down into tears of her own, her little forelegs stretching towards her family. Nathaniel took that as his cue to swiftly move close to the occupied bed and lie the youth on the blankets.

The distraught mare moved woodenly at first and then with some alacrity as she scooped up the filly and began to hug her senseless. “Oh my Goddess! Sweet Celestia, you haven’t forsaken us! Lemon, you’re a-alive! Are you hurt honey? Are you okay?” The older mare continued to pour both affection and concerned questions over the little one while she squirmed under the assault of cuddles. Nathaniel stepped back a respectful distance and enjoyed the moment with a slight smile. The increasing volume of noise attracted the attention of others and two more ponies entered the partitioned-off area the three were occupying only to have both stop in stunned silence.

One was a pale-green mare with a nurses cap perched on her head, her flank bearing an image of a reflex hammer Nathan thought, and her pink eyes wide as she looked at the man in confusion. The other pony seemed to be a deep-brown coated stallion going by his bigger build and more-squared muzzle, sporting a rust-red mane and tail. Nathaniel couldn’t make out what his flank mark was supposed to be as it looked like a shapeless, darker brown patch of something he couldn’t identify, but the splints on two of his legs and the head and chest bandages gave the impression that he was a tough son of a bitch. The stallion didn’t even spare him a glance as his eyes were focused solely on the two mares fussing on the bed, his mouth slowly opening wider as disbelief plastered itself all over his features.

Finally the stallion seemed to break out of his mind-lock. “Lemmy? Is that really little Lemmy I see?” his voice was a smooth tenor and accented with a slight quaver but loud enough that the two mares on the bed noticed as he approached hesitantly, limping on his casts.

“Uncle Loamy! I’m…I’m…” whatever Lemon Square wanted to convey was lost in fresh tears as she started to cry once again and her aunt pulled her in for another bout of hugs prompting a text message to pop up in Nathaniel’s HUD.

Completed Quest: Taking Fruit to the Moot

Nathan was awarded a decent amount of experience for the quest and gauged that he was probably well on his way to the next level. Looking at the nurse pony, he motioned her over with a hand. It took a moment, but she got the message and approached with caution. Nathaniel knelt down so as to avoid looming over her and spoke quietly. “She’s badly dehydrated and a little hungry being on her own for what I assume is a couple of days. I didn’t find any external injuries on her but I did get her to drink a little water and eat some pear so food and rest will probably be best, possibly some vitamin supplements but it’s your show nurse,” he said with a warm smile. The pony seemed either surprised at his information or his imagined eloquence; he wasn’t one-hundred percent sure which.

“Is first aid something you’re trained in?” she asked with a curious tilt of her head, her eyes taking him in from head to toe.

Nathaniel shrugged his shoulders noncommittally, “I’ve had basic training for life saving emergencies and first aid but I’m no doctor, or even a nurse. I just know enough to be helpful until real medical care is available.”

The pony blushed as if something just occurred to her. “I’m terribly sorry, where are my manners? I’m Delicate Treatment, a nurse for the Plain’s Moot Medical Center. I apologize for this but, whom and somewhat more importantly what are you, if that’s not too forward?”

Nathaniel grinned. “I suppose I should get used to that, being so far from home. I’m Nathaniel or Nate for short. I’m a human, probably a distant relation to minotaurs,” he said while thinking about the dreadful myth of Minos, Poseidon, and Pasiphaë. “I may be the first to walk these shores, at least in recent memory so I understand your curiosity.”

She tittered while holding a hoof in front of her mouth. “I didn’t want to be rude, but you did sort of look like a minotaur that had survived a terrible accident or something. A human you say? I don’t imagine I’ve ever heard of or seen one of your kind before, Nate. Nonetheless, you’ve made two ponies very happy when they were on the verge of heartbreak. Thank you for that.” Her smile was genuine and no longer laced with the unease that graced it before.

Nathaniel smiled and gave her an overly hammy bow from his kneeling position, causing the mare to giggle again. Nathan managed to overhear the three family members talking as Lemon told her tale, picking up where Nathaniel found her in the wagon. Her embellishments of his actions and deeds made him out to be some kind of legendary hero out of an epic story and Nathaniel chuckled as he stood to his full height again. By the time she finished, Nathan was feeling a little embarrassed at the hero-worship the filly was heaping upon him.

Nathaniel quietly coughed to get their attention and looked at the pair on the bed with a cocked eyebrow and a crooked smile. “Lemon Square, while I appreciate the glowing review, I just did what any decent…er, being would do in that situation. I’m just glad you’re back with your family, and not hurt too badly,” he said in mock seriousness. This seemed to finally get Lemon’s family to finally notice Nathaniel standing in the room. The reactionary looks of frightened shock quickly passed but still kind of hurt his feelings a little before the stallion finally limped over and gingerly offered a hoof.

“I'm Rich Loam and that's my wife Golden Orchard and while I don’t know what you are mister, you saved our Lemmy and that’s all that matters to me.” Nathan wasn’t sure exactly what the offered hoof was for but he gambled with a fist bump, which the pony grinned at. The man figured that was close enough with a half-shrug.

“Think nothing of it, uh sir. I’m sorry about your wagon and its contents. They didn’t survive for the most part. The majority of it was scattered about haphazardly…” As much as he wanted to, Nathan couldn’t in good conscience keep the chest of money he found if it was all they had left; he just wouldn’t feel right about it.

The stallion gave him a grim smile. “Yeah, that’s tough for sure but we’ll pull through. Some lost goods are a small price to pay for our niece being spared. I figure you don’t feel much like a hero from yer fidgeting but as far as me and mine go, you’re sure as hay our savior.” Nathaniel barely managed to avoid blushing at his candor. Lemon Square added her cheery acknowledgement while the bedridden mare smiled at Nathan with genuine goodwill.

Sheepishly scratching the back of his head Nathaniel smiled at the family and then in a bit of acting, snapped his fingers as if recalling a forgotten detail. “Ah, yeah! I just remembered,” he said and proceeded to remove his backpack to his audience’s bemusement. Digging around in the Kitten 9000, he finally extracted the small chest and held it out to the stallion. “This was on the road nearby. Seemed like it might be important so…”

The married couple looked at the chest in undisguised surprise and then at one another. The mare simply nodded at her husband with a glowing smile and the stallion looked back at Nathaniel with a big grin, much to Nathan’s confusion.

“You keep it friend. While I appreciate you returnin’ that chest to us, consider it our gift,” the stallion clarified. He looked the bathrobe and kitten-pack up and down and then returned to looking at the man in the eyes. “I have a feeling you can put it to more immediate use than we can, and it would be our honor for you ta’ use it to do more good deeds fer others like ya done for us.”

Nathan just looked at the stallion and then blinked. “Say again? You, really want me to keep this?” The family nodding at him while the filly giggled, signaled their approval. “Well, I’m not sure how to take all this generosity so I’ll just say thank you kindly and leave you fine ponies to some quiet family time.” As he started to rise, Lemon Square called out to him.

“You’re not gonna just disappear, are you?” The filly asked with a quivering lip. The man shook his head with a grin and assured her he was not. “Okay, don’t forget about me, promise?”

“I promise little one. Goodnight everyone,” he said and then turned to the nurse pony who had been quietly observing everything. “And goodnight to you madam,” he added with an overly dramatic bow and poorly conceived Shakespearian accent, causing her to suffer fresh giggles. With that, he gave a jaunty salute (that they probably wouldn’t easily recognize on hindsight) and spinning around he stepped out of the partitioned area and exited the tent into the cool twilight air.

‘I need to find a place to crash but before I go to bed, I’m thinking maybe a nice stiff drink,’ he thought. With that, he began to wander the mobile settlement, looking for a little booze before bedtime.

Author's Note

Level 2 Student

Updates
Faction: Plain's Moot citizens have become more amicable due to rumors
Escorting: Lemon Square has been reunited with her family

Not all those who wander are lost.
- J.R.R. Tolkien

Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.
- Oscar Wilde