When push comes to shove (Rihog Rampage Quest)
"Outskirt towns are really nice", Cherrie thought to himself while exploring a small hunting town. He stumbled upon the place on his travels while exploring the nearest Forest. Normally he would rather avoid any kind of too crowded place, but this one's nice! It is very cozy and quiet here compared to the central of Easthaven. The people are friendly and also pretty laid-back, which might be something you need to be when hunting something, who knows. But the peace and quiet only lasted for a short while.
Cherrie was looking at the fresh fruit and vegetables displayed on one of the stands at the local marketplace, when he noticed a weird rumble. It was very quiet and barely noticeable, and he could swear that the ground was also shaking a little bit. He jolted out of his thoughts, when a loud and alarming voice shouted over the houses of the town through some sort of megaphone:
"THIS IS A DANGER WARNING OF THE HIGHEST DEGREE! A HUGE HERD OF WILD RIHOGS IS APPROACHING OUR TOWN AT A TREMENDOUS SPEED! ALL CITIZENS ARE PROMPTED TO GO BACK TO THEIR HOUSES IMMEDIATELY AND LOCK THE DOORS AND WINDOWS! EVERY HUNTER BRAVE ENOUGH TO FACE THE HERD GATHER NEAR THE NORTHERN ENTRANCE! PLEASE STAY CALM AND HELP THOSE WHO CAN'T GET SOMEWHERE SAVE BY THEMSELVES! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I'M REPEATING! RIHOGS ARE APPROACHING THE CITY! STAY CALM AND RETURN TO YOUR HOUSES IMMEDIATELY!"
With that the small crowd, which was happily shopping all sorts of produce just a moment ago, started to turn into a hectic mass of slightly panicking people, shouting and stumbling while trying to get to their homes as fast as possible.
"Uhm, excuse me-", Cherrie tried to ask one of the many people hushing by to find out what exactly was happening. As a young Toto there is still a lot of things he doesn't know, and one of them happens to be what exactly a ‘Rihog' is. That, and what he should do as a non-citizen since he doesn't have a house or place to go to. But it was to no avail. Everyone was so busy trying to save themselves that no one heard the small Birds voice. While trying to get the attention of anyone to speak to and not get jostled at the same time, he noticed a baby stroller near one of the market stands with seemingly no owner nearby. "Oh no, maybe the baby got separated from its caretaker during the chaos!", Cherrie thought to himself, and that thought alone was enough for him to immediately navigate to the abandoned stroller though the crowd.
He was surprised to find that inside was not a tiny version of one of the many inhabitants of this world, but a fairly huge egg of some sorts. Cherrie blinked a couple times in surprise before he decided to look around one last time and see, if he could spot a desperate parent looking for their… egg? "Is anybody missing their egg? There's an egg here that seems to be lost!" No reaction except for the usual commotion that started ever since they announced the incoming stampede. What to do now? He can't just leave it here on its own, the Rihogs would turn it into omelet! What did the guy from the announcement say? ‘Help those who can't get somewhere save by themselves', and this egg can definitely not save itself! Probably. At least the eggs he has seen so far wouldn't be able to. And with that Cherrie decided to pick up the egg to get it somewhere safe until the danger is gone.
Time has passed and Cherrie managed to reach the outer part of the town. Navigating through panicking people was not an easy task, especially with an extra package. Almost all people have found their way back to their homes now. He tried knocking on a couple doors to ask their inhabitants for shelter, but nobody answered nor opened, so the best option he saw was to run into the opposite direction of where the hunters were supposed to gather and flee into the forest nearby, hoping that, whatever a Rihog is, can't climb trees.
He could already see the forest that he went through before stumbling upon this town, when he heard a sudden grunt from the side. Upon turning his head to the left, Cherrie could see a creature double his size with big tusks and a chunky body that could crush him easily, if it wanted to. He shuddered. One of the Rihogs must have already managed to get past the hunters at the northern gate, much to the Toto's inconvenience. "No time to think!" he thought to himself while quickly turning his head back to the forest and getting ready to sprint for his (and the egg's) life.
Cherrie ran as fast as his legs could take him. The trees were getting closer, but so was the sound of the heavy stomping behind him following his steps. He didn't want to think about what would happen if the Rihog managed to reach him before he got to the forest, much less of how he'd be able to climb up a tree in time while holding the egg. Luckily he didn't had to, because his thoughts were interrupted by a dark shadow suddenly jumping out of one of the bushes when he reached the first bits of rich vegetation and several trees. A deep growl rang through the air as Cherries face landed in fluffy fur that stopped him mid run. Shocked and confused he turned around to find the owner of said fur, a quadruped black-grey Toto with a fluffy mane around his neck. And he was huge! Not as huge as the Rihog, but it was enough to intimidate it together with the snarling and the Rihog slowly started to turn around and leave.
After the giant creature was almost out of sight, Cherrie carefully turned to his savior: "Thank you, for saving me. Oh, and the egg!". But the wolf-like being did not answer in words. He mustered our feathery friend and the egg ze was holding, seeming content with his rescue, before returning to the woods he came from. "Who was that?", Cherrie thought to himself while he started to climb onto one of the many trees to wait out the rampage.
After the danger has lifted Cherrie returned to the town and started to look for the owner of the egg he courageously protected today. Luckily the hunters and other kind people helped him find the parent, an Aphex who was more than happy to be reunited with their child. They explained to the young Toto that Aphex baby's hatch from eggs like this one and that he saved a life today which they were very grateful for. After chatting with them and the other towns folk for a little longer, Cherrie decided to leave the town again. He waved them goodbye and headed off, ready for his next adventure, wherever it may take him.