Chapter 3 - Loyalty points

After a slightly tiring walk, old man Hus, Luke, and I arrive to see Lucina drinking water. Resting her head on Howard's thigh, I notice that it was less flushed than before, meaning that she was recovering. Moving the water sack away from Lucina, as Howard notices our arrival, he gently lifts Lucina into a seated position.

"Sister Lucina! Are you feeling better?" - Luke

Rushing over to her side whilst clutching the bag, Luke checks Lucina's condition, looking up and down to make sure she was okay.

"Yes, Luke I am fine. I was just-just feeling a little hot is all." - Lucina

Lucina slowly reaches for Luke's hand, holding it gently before looking towards me.

"Thank you Ian for looking out for me and I'm sorry for causing any trouble." - Lucina

"It's fine, are you sure you are feeling alright? Any nausea, headaches, or even uncomfortable feelings?" - Ian

Kneeling next to Lucina, while looking at her expression as I ask her a series of questions relating to her health.

"Other than feeling a little light-headed, I am feeling much better than I was when we were walking." - Lucina

[ Loyalty Points (Lucina) + 10 ]

[ Loyalty Points (Howard) + 10 ]

[ Loyalty Points (Luke) + 10 ]

[ Loyalty Points (Lucina) 10/100 ]

[ Loyalty Points (Howard) 10/100 ]

[ Loyalty Points (Luke) 10/100 ]

What? Loyalty points? And how come I got it from Howard, I don't remember doing anything to him...?

Glancing over at Howard, with a slightly perplexed expression, I start to think about the reason behind his increase in Loyalty Points. However, before I could think for too long, he notices my gaze and nodded to me.

"Ian, I think it might be better to rest here for a bit while we wait for the sun to go down. However, I do believe we should find proper shelter before it gets too dark." - Howard

Did he just ask for my opinion? Is this what Loyalty Points do? If so, then increasing NPC's loyalty points towards me would relate to how I approach certain situations and whether or not it improves their opinion of me. Making decisions that relate to their well-being or helping them when they are in trouble would be the more obvious choices, but then Howard's loyalty points increased too. Maybe it increased because Lucina got better... It did look like he cared a lot for Lucina.

"Then let's rest up for a bit. Once the sun is past our heads and going down we should start moving. Although I am not sure of the destination, we can figure it out along the way. Let's have something to eat and drink first." - Ian

Putting down the bag, I open it up to search through its contents. Knowing that there wasn't a lot inside the bag, since it was very light, I didn't have high hopes for its contents. I see that there is another water sack cushioned between a couple of torn clothing as well 2 pieces of bread.

Picking up the bread, I pass it to old man Hus, who was already sitting on a rock not too far away, in the meantime, I take the water sack for myself.  The water had a weird leathery taste, but I couldn't complain since it was quenching my thirst. Old man Hus tore a small piece away, before passing the rest back to me.

"This is enough." - Hus

"Are yo-" - Ian

"Yes. Don't worry about me lad." - Hus

Looking at old man Hus's determined expression, I take back the bread and pass the water sack toward him.

"At least drink some more water, I know you are thirsty too." - Ian

After hesitating for a bit, his skinny hands reach for the water sack, taking a small sip from the opening before passing it back.

"Drink old man Hus." - Ian

Seeing that I wasn't moving away from my decision, he closes his eyes as he drinks a bit more water. Looking towards Luke, Lucina, and Howard, I see them sipping on a little bit of water and eating some bread, making me feel relieved.

"They look good together, don't they? The three of them. As a family." - Hus

Turning away from them, I look at old man Hus, to see a gentle expression on his face, like a grandfather looking at his children growing up.

"Did you know, Howard was always interested in Lucina? But he was too shy to say anything to her. Instead, he would always come to her help when we were getting whipped by the orcs. At the same time, Lucina would always take care of Luke's well-being after his parents were murdered by the orcs.

Behind Lucina's back, Luke would give advice to Howard on what Lucina likes to help him get closer. It was like a circle of love and friendship. One helps the other, and in turn, happiness could spread even in that chaotic hell hole." - Hus

"I see... They do look like they care for each other a lot." - Ian

Listening to old man Hus talk about the past allowed me to obtain a lot of information. The encampment they were located in belonged to orcs and Luke, Lucina, and Howard each had a relationship with one another. This explains why all three of their loyalty points increased when I helped Lucina.

Now that I had something to eat and drink it was time to make some sort of plan. Looking around, I see in the distance a couple of viable locations for shelter. In front of me, I can see a large mesa as well as some green patches near the base. To my left were even larger mountains however they seemed further away than the mesa and of course behind me was another mountain. The orc encampment was most likely in that direction and it did not make sense to backtrack toward them.

"The mesa might be the best location to travel towards. With how far away it is we might be able to get there by nightfall if we hurry. Of course, we should wait for the sun to lower a bit before we make our move." - Ian

Telling the others my thoughts, I believed that the mesa might be the shelter we were looking for as well as a possible chance of food and water since there are trees near the base of the mesa. Looking at each of them as I tell them the plan, I start to gauge their thoughts from their reaction. Nodding as I finish speaking, Howard seemed to already trust my decision, as he stands up carefully. Picking up the bag that Luke was carrying, he makes a decision as well.

"Sounds good to me we should definitely hurry though, the temperature drops a lot at night. Instead of waiting for too long, and potentially falling prey to whatever creatures are here at night, we should start moving now."

I smile at Howard, picking up the bag that I had placed on the ground, as I lead the way to the new destination.