Potatoes Are 80% Water

Well, Risus was in quite a pickle she was. On the way back from a simple shopping trick her wagon broke down! During an attack! By a young Kargdan! Actually the Kargdan hit the side of the horse pulling the wagon and spun it out. Turns out spokes can only take so much sudden force, several practically exploded from the wheel!
Also the horse exploded, it was wild.

So naturally Risus did the rational thing and killed the hell out of the Kargdan. And by kill, more so convinced it that Risus just wasn't worth it. She blinded its right eye and it ran right off!

Taking her hand with it.

Oh well.

"Heeyyy there friend! It seems I'm in quite a spot of trouble. May I request your-ah it seems you're avoiding me! I applaud your correct instincts! I hope we meet again soooon!" Man, it seemed everyone was avoiding the one handed, bloody, overly enthusiastic harlequin looking woman. She wasn't going to die, but she had like 100 potatoes in her wagon (and some special surprises hidden underneath them), and she wasn't about to ditch them.

Ah well. She stretched out, flopping over next to the broken wheel. She needed a horse and a new wheel.

Maybe she'd just kill the next person riding in a wagon and take what she needed...

A battle against a Kargdan was definitely no easy feat, and Risus should probably feel proud of making a dangerous Corrupted Beast like that run away from her. Unfortunately, not only the struggle caused her ride to be damaged tremendously, but fate would seemingly reward the woman with an encounter.

One of a very polarizing nature.

"Heeey, lady!" A voice would echo behind her, with her sight being greeted by a man wearing a full Expiate outfit, riding a horse with the same condecorations. Once the two were close enough, the man would get off of his horse, and stare at the wreckage of Risus' wagon, as well as the gory remains of what was once a horse. His face went pale as he covered his mouth in shock, looking in shock before turning to Risus, his expression quickly turning to one of confusion as he saw the woman's affable outfit. "What in blazes happened here?" The man managed to ask, finally getting out of his shock enough to speak. "I had seen a ruckus in the distance, is everything alright?"

Annnnnd BAM

A traveler appears! Risus would never underestimate human nature. Be it great evil or good, you can expect one or the other. In this case, it seemed to beeee...She turned her head, studying the man for a silent second.

Then her eyes widened and her lips pulled up into a wide smile. "Good!" An Expiate officer coming to her rescue? What kind of luck was this! And an Enkidu officer? Ohhhh she hadn't seen many of those! This was getting better and better! "Good day officer! I can assure you without a doubt that everything, is quite grand now that you've arrived!" She beamed, straightening out and placing her hands on her hips...er rather, her hand. Oddly enough the handless arm perfectly mimicked the other, leaving an open space between the end of the wrist and her actual hip.

Risus didn't seem to notice.

"It seems I drew the ire of a corrupted beast. It killed rosebud, my horse, broke my wagon and worst yet, stole my favorite hand!" She, now, waved the bloody stump out in front of her. It somehow wasn't bleeding all over the place. "But, now that a talented officer such as yourself has arrived, I'm sure my troubles are at least coming to a middle!"

Well, despite all that happened, the woman seemed to be jolly enough to not be bothered by the onslaught that just occurred, which... actually, he wasn't sure how to react to that. It was hard to concentrate anyway due to the remains of the horse that were next to him, with Goibniu trying to process what was happening, until Risus finally brought attention to the missing hand.

And it was then when he realized that one of her hands was gone.

"... Wait... What?!" He blurted out as he observed the stump that used to be her hand. "You lost your hand?? Are you bleeding out?? Criminy, we'll need to take you to the nearest town and find a healer on the double! But..." Of course, this would be easier said than done, as half her wagon was out of commission. "What could we do to fix this conundrum...? I could lend you my horse to replace the lost one, but the wagon is still too broken to move." He said, pondering what they could to solve this matter, before an idea came to his head.

"Hey, what if I let you ride with me? We can try and reach a town and seek help there!"

Risus had to stifle a laugh as the officer in front of her began FREAKING out. She didn't blame him, but it didn't make the reaction any less of a joy to witness. She waved her head dismissively at his worries. "I lost some blood but I should be right as rain with some rest and bandages."

Her quickly began suggesting ways to help and Risus couldn't help but sigh dreamily. She really did love the Expiate~

Unfortunately, a ride to town wasn't what she wanted. She wanted vengeance.

"Good idea, but how bout this instead? We ride together and show that nasty monster what for! Well, more you, I'm afraid I'm just an entertainer that can throw knives." She stuck her tongue out, twirling a suddenly visible knife in her hand. "qqqUITE the party trick. But really, a brave officer such as yourself can't let such a spiteful little beast remain alive no? This is bound to happen again otherwise!"

It was quite a surprise to see that Risus was quite... nonchalant about the lost of her hand, amused even! Especially because he knew what it felt to lose one's hand, and as he unconsciously clenched his gloved hand, he wondered what she meant with 'some rest and bandages'. Maybe it was... some sort of expression? Or maybe she was just making light of the situation? She did look like a court jester after all. But considering she outright didn't look like she was in pain, Goibniu decided to not think about it that hard. At least not for the moment. "... Oh, aha, I see. Well... as long as you are careful not to bleed out." He said, a hesitant tone in his voice.

More to the point, Risus decline his offer to take her to a settlement to recover, and instead she wanted to seek that monster out and kill it. What, she wanted revenge? "Well..." He would normally tell her that seeking such a monster wasn't worth it, as it could cause more trouble for them, but at the same time... That last comment did pose s semblance of truth. He wasn't aware as to why such a monster attacked her, but maybe it was hungry and sought to consume an innocent. Goibniu rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he considered his options: Leave the woman to her luck and make sure he's not late for his relocation, or help her and make sure this didn't happen again.

"... Mmmmh, it would be unfortunate if these roads were terrorized by a beast, yes. I know this might be a bit outside regular protocol... but as an Expiate, keeping people safe is my duty!" He said, now looking resolved in his decision, as he moved to mount his horse again, and offered Risus a hand. "Need some help getting up madam... oh, I don't think I caught your name!"

Oooo it seemed her words swayed his heart! She knew they would, Expiate officers were brave and heroic after all. Not wanting to go after the beast right away...He was most likely worried about her safety! Such a sweet man~ "Oh no worries! I won't bleed out." She smiled wide and gave a thumbs up.

Her face lit up as he stated his duty as an Expiate. That's what she liked to see!!! She bounced visibly, quickly making her way forward as he got on his horse. He then offered his hand and stars practically grew in her eyes. Oooo such a nice man! She definitely won't kill or rob him! She reached out to take his hand, only to realize she was just waving his stump at him. "Oh this is gonna take some getting used to..." She pouted for a slight moment before letting him take her other hand and hoist her up. "Well I never threw my name at you silly!" She gave a wide smile, letting a beat pass before speaking again. "Call me Risus, entertainer. I perform at birthdays and events." She puffed up, quite proud of herself.

There was a brief grimace in his face when she extended her stub to help her up, but at least she managed to swap it around before he took a chance as actually lifting her up with it. He wasn't one of a weak stomach, but it didn't make her state any less grizzly! And once Risus was behind him, she introduced herself in a manner that'd make her look at her incredulously for a brief moment. Well, she did look like an entertainer, alright.

"... Ah, I see! Well, for you this is Officer Goibniu McCrae, at your service." He introduced himself, as he took a look at the area around them, trying to see if he could discern a possible trail to lead them to the beast. "Mmmmh... do you know where the beast might have gone? If we can make a speedy extermination my superiors might overlook the tardiness of my arrival!"