-

At first it’s like any other day. You wake up, shower, start to brew your morning cup of coffee, and that’s when you notice—outside the window, there’s nothing there. Just an endless black void. What happened? Where are you? You fret, and look around, but you slowly start to realize that nothing is left. Just the everpresent black encompassing you. You slowly start to lose grasp of how long you’ve been here, but you vaguely understand that it was not terribly long.

And finally, something happened in the endless darkness.















One by one, the figure made it's way through the new inhabitants of this world forming contracts. Until finally, the figure had finished.

When the figure had finished, a word echoed throughout the Abyss.

”Shamak”

And the void faded.

---

The new inhabitants of this world found themselves sitting in a seat in a large spacious room. They were littered around one large table, which seemed to encompass a large majority of the floor space. A thin layer of dust adorned every object in the room, including the seats that the newly summoned were sitting on. In the corners of the large room, there was large cob webs, and mice were audibly skittering along the walls. There was a faint but noticeable mildew smell in the room also. By the looks of things, the non-natives were in some sort of abandoned meeting room.

The sound of a crowd could be heard out side, bustling along a street and going about their lives. Among other sounds, there was a loud burly voice shouting about recruitment for knighthood, another loud but softer voice shouting about wares they were presumably selling, and the sound of a large animal making it's way down the street.

Every Isekaier appeared to have arrived at the same time, the moment the word Shamak was heard.

Jingle jingle.

There were a fair number of people walking about today, enough to drown out the sound of Aer's accessories. She wore several pieces of chained jewelry, and they bounced with every step she took. Most of them weren't visible under Aer's red cloak, but they could be heard if one tried to listen. Tucking them into her numerous pockets would have silenced them, but the sound was comforting to the petite woman.

Aer pulled the hood of her cloak tight around her head. Her crimson hair was still plainly visible, as if not wishing to be contained by her hood. Though as long as Aer's ears were hidden, she didn't care. The covered object strapped to her back weaved side to side with every step she took. She definitely looked like a mysterious person, but such strange characters were not uncommon here. The hero's district had all matters of weapons laying about. As a result, the area was well guarded and eyes were on everyone. But Aer was not here to purchase wares. She was specifically here to get work from the Gulendam adventure's guild.

The point of an adventure's guild like Gulendam was to let adventurers work for reputable clients. Adventuring is not an easy profession, and they don't always find work while drinking in a tavern. This forces them to put in work doing menial tasks. Not only that, but an unfamiliar adventurer is a prime target for unsavory individuals Tell an adventurer you have a rat problem in your sewer, and they'll happily walk into your trap. But an adventurer's guild doesn't just make things better for adventurers, it makes things better for their clients too. By going to an adventurer's guild, their request is going to be seen by a much larger pool of adventurers. And if it's a particular type of request, it'll end up in the hands of an adventurer who has the tools to complete it. The only downside is that the clients need to register with the guild, which ensures they can settle disputes between the client and the adventurer. Such guilds were funded by monthly payments from all it's members, and small fees from every task a client submits.

The front of the guild was nothing more than a desk made out of wooden crates. There were job postings all over the front of the building, and a guild clerk stood at the counter ready to serve people.

“Hello Aer!” The guild clerk waved.

This was not the first time they met, and Aer had been regularly coming to the guild for work. "Well met, Hanna." If anyone was unsure of Aer's age, her voice would reveal she wasn't a child. The petite woman tipped her head as a greeting before approaching the desk. It was a bit too tall for her to comfortably rest her arms on, so she kept her arms at her sides. ”Are there any requests that might be a good fit for me?" Aer slipped a scroll out of her cloak and presented it to the guild clerk.

“Let's have a look!” All registered adventurers had a scroll that detailed their skills and accomplishments. The guild used a system so that an adventurer's credentials could be quickly assessed and a fitting job could be given to them. Things like a keyword to determine their general set of skill, and their “level,” which was a number that recognized how accomplished a particular adventurer was. The scroll was nothing short of a resume, but it was sometimes referred to as a skill scroll. “Alright, I have two jobs that might interest you.”

Aer smiled. "So long as I can pay for my lodging, I will accept any task."

“That's the spirit!” The guild clerk reached under her desk and pulled out two scrolls. They were bound together with twine and had a number written on the corner of each one. Probably for organization. “The first one should be pretty simple for you. An aristocrat locked themselves out of their study, and they believe their keys were left inside. So you just have to open the lock.”

"I'm surprised they didn't get a lock smith to take care of it."

“Mister Bogart is ... a little strange. But he's made requests from us before. I personally believe he has an obsession with adventurers. Some of our clients are like that.”

"Hmm..." Aer tapped her chin with her gloved finger. "And the second request?"

“The second request will take you a bit more time, but it also comes from the noble district so the pay is good.” The guild clerk slid the twine off of the scroll and opened it on her desk. “It's a missing person request. Mistress Vertti has gone missing. You are to meet the client, Grisaia, at the household. He is one of the servants.”

Aer placed her arm on top of the counter. "This sounds fairly grave. Do we have someone else that can take care of the lock?"

The guild clerk turned away with a groan. “It's not as serious as it sounds. This sort of thing happens all the time with Mistress Vertti. She just disappears for days at a time without telling her servants, who then get worried and call on us.” She looked back at Aer. “Bogart's request is definitely more pressing at this point. There's a very real possibility Mistress Vertti will come back, and then the servants will cancel the request. That's not to say you'll walk away empty handed, but it is possible you won't be properly compensated for your time.”

"I suppose if she's not really missing, it's not that pressing..." Of course, Aer knew what the guild clerk was suggesting. Aer could waste a lot of time looking for someone who wasn't really missing if she wasn't careful. But if she just went through the motions, talked to the servant like it was something she was going to undertake, she could more or less get paid just for feigning interest in finding the lady of this house. She wasn't going to do that of course, but Aer suspected that was why she was downplaying the second request. "In that case, I will see to mister Bogart's lock immediately."

“Do check back later. I'm sure I'll have more work by then.”

Aer gave Hanna a polite nod before heading off.

---

After a fairly long walk, Aer had arrived at Bogart's home. But now that she was here, she was unsure if this was really his house. The entire thing looked more like a mage's tower than a comfy house. There was a possibility this wasn't his home, but Aer wasn't going to spend a lot of time thinking about it. She respected people's privacy, and wished everyone else would do the same.

“You've come!” Aer didn't even have time to knock on the door before a man leaned out of the window. He was tall, perfectly balled, and had a long white mustache. “You must be the adventurer who's come to save me from this most troubling crisis! Why, you even sound like a pair of jingling keys!” The man was as animated as a rambunctious child, practically bouncing where he stood.

A little strange was an understatement Aer thought to herself. ”That is correct. I am here to help!” She forced an awkward smile.

“Well step inside!” the man gestured while backing away from the window. “I haven't locked anything, and I won't lock anything until I've found my keys!”

This was not the strangest person Aer had to deal with, but he was still strange enough that she was put on guard. When she entered through the front door, the elf quickly looked to either side of the entryway. Aer had to make sure no one else was waiting for her. The first floor was just an open room, but Aer scanned everything as she made her way through. Before she could reach the stairwell, mister Bogart came charging down the stairs and stopped in front of Aer. “Hello little girl! I'm Dax Bogart, pleased to meet you!” He extended his hand.

Aer looked between Dax and his hand before extending her own. ”Aer Pacifica.” She was not going to correct him about her age, as that hardly mattered. It was probably better if he thought she was a young lady anyway.

“Aer Pacifica? Sounds exotic! You must have come from a pretty far away land huh? Would you like something to drink? I have lots of different teas we can try!”

”O-oh, um...” Aer was starting to believe her fears were misplaced. The guild clerk did tell her this was a regular client. ”Actually I have a lot to do today. Once I'm done here I need to help find a missing person.”

“A busy body! I like that!” Dax took her had and walked up the stars. He was quick, but it wasn't hard for Aer to match his pace. “The lock is this way. It's entirely custom, and I paid extra to have it made by the finest locksmith in the kingdom.” He looked over his shoulder at Aer. “I'm sure only a brave adventurer could possibly get it open. I would prefer if we could save the lock, if you think it's possible.”

”The contract said as much. I will not open the door if it breaks the lock.” Before long, Aer was brought before a tall iron door. It looked durable and intimidating. But what Aer was most interested in was the key hole. It was in a black box just beside the door, and was smaller than your conventional key hole. Aer stepped closer to the lock and placed her eye next to the hole. ”You are correct, this is definitely a well made lock.” Aer reached for her waste band and pulled a flask off of it. ”I believe I can open it though, but I'm going to need to focus. It's very important that you stay as quiet as you can.”

“Alright! I think I can do that.”

Standard locks of this vintage mostly work the same. A key with a particularly shaped tab is inserted into the lock, and then it is twisted. If the key is the right shape, it will pass all of the plates, or “wards,” and either engage or disengage the door. As long as someone knows what the basic shape of the key is, it is possible to easily forge a “skeleton key” that can be used to open said door. Since Aer had no idea what the original key looked like, making a skeleton key would be impossible. She did know of another trick that would get the door open though.



Aer used her thumb to pop the cork off the top of the flask and proceeded to pour its contents out. The water seemed to defy gravity and flowed directly into the lock. With the small chamber filled with water, Aer had a much easier time visualizing the inside of the lock, as she could feel her mana coursing through the water. The elf closed her eyes, and some of the water inside the lock started to freeze. She had to be careful. While she was working with a very small amount of water, it took a lot of focus to freeze the water in just the shape she wanted. In her youth, she'd have created an ice cube around the wards, and she wouldn't have been able to continue without thawing it out first. But once the key-shaped ice cube was formed, she had it spin and engage the locking mechanism. Locks like this seldom required much pressure, so the ice cube didn't shatter. Even if it did, pushing the broken chunks against the locking mechanism usually worked.

Of course from where Dax was standing, it just looked like Aer had poured some water into his lock, meditated, and then the door opened with a click.

“You did it?” He stepped past Aer to push the door open. “You did it!”

If Aer wasn't so anxious, she might have laughed at the man's excitement. ”The door lock has a lump of ice in it, but it should melt relatively quickly.”

“Hah! My keys were in here!” After picking up his keys, he rushed out of the room and spread his arms. “Thank you so much! I could just kiss you!”

Aer's face turned pale. ”M-maybe you could pay me instead?”

“Oh, that too!” He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a fine looking purse. He pulled out Aer's hand and started shaking out coins into it. “I'm not sure how much it was, but it was at least this much right?”

”Y-yes, that's more than enough!” Aer retracted her hand and dumped the coins into her pocket. A few of them spilled out onto the floor, but she still managed to pocket more than what the job called for. Being over paid for a job was typically something Aer didn't permit, but she just wanted to be on her way. ”Thank you for using the adventure's guild. I must be off, as there's a missing person that needs to be found.” Aer was usually far more polite with her clients, but she felt that if she didn't take the opportunity to disengage, she 'd be talking with Dax well into the evening.

“By the way Aer, I need to ask you something. Real quick before you leave.” Dax calmed down noticably before pitching his question. “Do you believe we have a limited number of chances to get our life right?”

The question was strange enough that it stopped Aer dead in her tracks. ”Excuse me?”

“What's the most dangerous quest you've ever undertaken?”

That was a hard one to answer. Aer was still in a rush to leave, so she recalled something at the front of her memory. ”There were some monsters in an abandoned castle. The castle was very old, the monsters were very strong, and we were entirely outnumbered.” the elf sighed. ”We didn't all make it out of there alive.”

“But you did.” Dax smiled. “And I'm sure you had to make a lot of decisions in order to get out of there alive. Take this path, attack this creature here, regroup on the steps-”

”I suppose I did make a lot of choices, but I made each of them once.”

“Well, that's what you remember.” Dax stroked his chin. “Maybe that wasn't the first time you had been in that position. Maybe you had many attempts to get it right, but you simply don't remember them.” He gestured with his hands. “Like every time you died, you were given another chance to get it right.”

Aer fret her brow. ”If I can't remember my old choices, I'm not sure they would really matter in the long run.” She threw her hand off to the side. ”What's the point of having multiple chances if I cant remember your actions? Why Wouldn't I just make the same choices again?”

“Oh, I didn't think of that.” Dax looked away from Aer. “Oh! I got it!” He shook his finger at her. “Maybe you don't remember, but someone else might have been able to! Maybe they were even guiding you so that you would survive!”

”Then I would ask why they didn't try to save everyone.”

“Hmm...” Dax rubbed his chin more. “It can be hard to figure people out. Maybe they felt they did the best they could, or maybe it was simply impossible to save everyone.” he looked back at Aer. “Did you feel like someone was looking out for you in that mess? Other than divine entities of course.”

Aer sighed and closed her eyes. ”Yea, one of the guys there. He was definitely looking out for everyone.” She shook her head. ”I can't even remember his name, I haven't seen him again since.” She looked up at Dax. ”But leaders are suppose to look out for everyone. That's hardly a reason to suspect a phenomenon like multiple chances at life. Why believe in something so strange?”

The old man chuckled and shook his head. “Aer Aer Aer, there are two types of people in this life: Those that ask why, and those that ask why not.” He started to walk into his study. “People who only ever ask 'why' are missing the boat completely. It is only when we ask ourselves 'why not' that we are welcomed to a world of possibilities. 'why not' is the language of researchers, discoveries, and most importantly, adventurers.” He let out a heart felt laugh. “You should embrace that side of yourself Aer, it's what makes you do incredible things.”

”Perhaps.” Aer was done here, and couldn't wait to leave the tower. She just hoped this Grisaia servant was more hospitable than her former client.

"Saia, your ears are going lopsided again." The water spirit chided as she twisted her waist away from her comfortable seated position on Mistress Vertti's desk and gently pushed the bunny boy's right ear back up to its pristine glory. If said spirit didn't know any better then she would have thought Grisaia was ignoring her, his expression still and unwavering, but with the circumstances going on around the house, she really couldn't blame him for a delayed or lack of response.

Mistress Vertti has gone missing...again. The first time something like this happened, Grisaia almost got sent to the hospital due to cardiac arrest; thank the gods Adhara was there. She left without a word and didn't return until three days later, claiming she was out with a friend. Okay, sure, fine. Grisaia would let a simple excuse like that pass. But then it kept happening again and again, with each excuse becoming drastically more absurd than the next. Although it was becoming more and more like the norm, everyone still held a faint sense of worry and concern, which led to Grisaia asking for the aid of the Adventurer's guild for constant help as finding one woman in such a big place was impossible, even for him. The blonde took it upon himself to up the security around the Mistress and even monitor her physical and mental state in case something was actually wrong. And while he did notice a few concerning things, he didn't feel the need to call upon a specialist. But now, it feels like that would have been the best for his and everyone else's sanity...

"...Thanks." He mumbled, giving the other a faint smile before leaning back on his chair. He briefly glanced at the twinkling crystal chandelier hovering just above the maple colored coffee table that bisected the space between the two darker colored sofas. Despite the Mistress' eccentric nature, how she managed to keep that from spilling into her work space that was so calm and inviting was beyond him. Not to mention how great the place was for if he wanted to escape and have a quiet place for himself, away from the other servants and guards. "How long has it been since the Mistress went missing?" He then questioned.

Adhara scratched the back of her head as her legs swung to and fro, the question forcing her to think back a bit.
"It's been over a week, so definitely a new record for her." She responded, only to frown when she saw Grisaia's stone face crack with a noticeable frown. "W-Well, if you had only listened to Anubis' idea to have one of us keep an eye on her, we wouldn't have this problem. Right Nubis?" She continued in hopes of maintaining her ground, receiving an affirmative grunt through Anubis' muzzle-like mouth.

"I don't like keeping you guys out for such a long time...and the Mistress doesn't really like you guys all that much." He almost whined before standing up from his chair and walking over to the large window placed directly behind it. After a short scan over the passersby and townsfolk, Grisaia turned back to his two spirits. "Regardless, I've already filed a request with the Adventurer's Guild. With the payment I gave, we should be hearing from someone capable very soon."
"Or we could get some newbie who wants to make a quick buck, but doesn't know what they're in for. Oh, and how can someone not like us?! I mean, sure we can be a little weird, but look at this face! I'm too pretty to dislike..." She pouted as she began to hover in the air, arms folded in disdain. Grisaia, however, ignored this and instead focused on what she said prior, his expression still.
"I doubt it. I have been...prone on sending requests to the guild, but they know full well that if they sent some, uh, 'newbie' to take care of this...well I'd rather not say what I'd do. I have faith in them." The bunny boy hummed before giving his contracted spirit a slight shrug.

Before Adhara could give any kind of response in return, a faint knock could be heard coming from the ornate door on the other side of the wall.
"Come in." He called, the door opening not a second earlier and revealing a girl in similar attire as himself. The only real difference was probably the styling, her physical appearance, and the cat ears. "Did you need something Claire?"
"Yep! Um, some of the maids are trying to wash the clothing and other sheets, but, like, it's a lot more than we expected it would be, nya--" The girl coughed to keep herself from letting out the stereotypical noise that came from her kind. "We could use a few extra hands! Oh, and by extra hands, I mean Adhara." She continued, earning a scoff from the water Spirit. Her informal and 'bubbly' attitude made Grisaia want to scream, but instead he simply nodded before walking towards her.
"Sure. As for you two, Adhara will come with me and Anubis will be listening out in case anyone stops by about the request." Grisaia ordered awkwardly - his contract didn't give him much of a choice - before following the shorter girl out of the Mistress' office and leaving Anubis to his...to whatever Anubis' do when left alone.

“Shamak.”

And with that, Yuuki found himself sitting on a chair.

Or, at least, that may have been the intention of that busy, vicious god, if not for the fact that the pack he wore had ‘pushed’ the seat away from his bottom when the young boy had manifested upon this strange reality. Instead of a dusty seat, he found himself plopping suddenly upon the dusty ground, the weight of his heavy pack swinging him backwards until he found himself in a position similar to that of a misfortunate tortoise. He blinked, chuckled slightly, before pulling himself upwards, grasping on the edge of the dusty table as dust motes danced upwards.

Shlop shlop went the wet snow as it slid from his coat and splattered onto the ground.

This was a warm, warm place. So much warmer than what he was used to. It was almost pleasant, to feel that warmth, more natural that flame and gas, seeping into his flesh. It was not the wind that caused ruckus outside, but that of men and women encouraged by the gentle weather, calling out all manner of stuff. Knighthood. What a romantic, outdated term. What a curious world in general, even within this ancient, stuffy building, made of such wasteful materials. Blue eyes swept through the other five within the room, curiosity and easy kindness displayed on his face.

No concern at the alien landscape he had been found in, the anachronistic appearance of those before him.

A waif of pink and white, the transient innocence of her features marking her as a child despite her budding body. Her attire were unreasonable, eye-catching, dangerous in all the wrong ways.

A plainer woman, a harder woman, dressed in muted fabrics. Simple clothing, if not for the flash of gold on her wrist, the fine sewing of her attire. Her bag betrayed little of what was within, but he saw how the strap pressed against the fabric.

A youth that may have been a mirror of Yuuki if he had taken a different path. Green eyes instead of blue, with hair that jutted out in unruly spikes more than even Yuuki’s worst bedhead days. A sketchbook was held in his hands, its value clear in how it was grasped.

Another boy? No, a man, blessed with a body that would turn gazes whether male or female, whilst holding the countenance of a prince or a killer. Those robes were naught but a distant fantasy, his night-sky hair more fiction than fact, his very existence more at odds with Yuuki’s preconceptions than the influence of shadowed gods.

And then, there was the last member of the motley troupe, brash and arrogant like the lions that Yuuki had read about in faded textbooks. Another beauty, cut of different cloth from the antiquated fiction but still just as much of an art piece.

What a weird bunch. How many of them were sheep? How many of them were wolves? Yuuki pursed his lips slightly, before he hefted his pack up into a more comfortable position and beamed a simple smile at them. “Well,” he began, a gloved hand raised to wave, “I’m Yuuki Kimura. It's a real pleasure to meetcha all, cause I doubt I’d ever see you types normally. I guess the rest of you have been flopped here as well by that god-child? The whole dark void of emptiness deal?”

"Hmm~" Mie hummed, holding a hand to her chin as she observed the peasant man in front of her closely. Looked at least more well off than certain others she had seen. He was wanting to buy something for his home. Something about a present for his wife or something to put in their home. Good, she could probably get a bit more money out of him if that was the case. She just had to decide what exactly she was going to attempt selling him. He seemed to be the traditionally masculine sort.

"Ah...I do have something I think you'll love." She smiled, replying in the most honeyed voice she could. "Tell this little fox...have you ever been to Gusteko?"

"No...?" The man replied, questioning slightly where this was going.

"Hmhm," She nodded, walking over over to a rack where several rugs were hanging. The large, obviously mildly ostentatious things were colored in various shades of blue and whites, and clearly of foreign design. "I have the pleasure to have just returned from there after a bit of a trip. Cold place, but friendly people." She pulled one of the rugs from the rack slightly, running her hand over the dense, warm fabric. "Now normally something like this would cost you a pretty fine sum if you were to buy it from anyone else." She continued, letting the man feel the rugs himself. "But since I'm a nice little fox, I'll let give you a deal on it."

"Hmm...I dunno, it's still pretty expensive." The man replied, not quite buying it yet. "It's almost an entire weeks pay..." Just a little more nudging in the right direction, then.

"Expensive?" Mie sighed, wrapping an arm around the mans shoulder and pulling the taller human down to her level. "Hmm, you're right. It's an expensive rug. I could probably sell it to a noble for double the price." She mused. "But y'see, friend, I'm offering to sell it to you for a pittance compared to that. Just a handful of coins for a rug that will make both your wife happy, and make you the envy of everyone on your street." She released the man, shaking her head and sighing, whacking him in the face with her tail and causing him to recoil slightly. "But of course, I understand if not...perhaps a vase? Some exotic artwork from Kararagi? I also have fresh vegetables from a few nearby farms." She walked back to a small table where she conducted most of her business from.

"Now hold on, I didn't say I couldn't afford it." The man continued in a mildly irritated manner, taking out a coin purse, seeming to weigh his options a bit more. "She would like it...How much is it?"

---

A few words helping the man roll up the rug to carry home, she had made a hefty profit off that since she had gotten the rug for practically nothing. The fox yawned, stretching tiredly. She hadn't sold as many things as she'd have liked, but she was intending on staying in Priestella for awhile. After traveling for so long, it was nice to be back. Maybe she'd visit her sister sometime, too. She needed to restock on some of her weapons anyways. She was probably worried about her, too. She hadn't been here in quite some time. Half a year, almost since her last trip here. Business had saw fit to take her elsewhere, and even a bit of travel into Gusteko! That was a fun trip. Cold, but interesting. Such a shame about what happened to her guide, though. Ran afoul of some demon beasts on the road...ah, at least she'd be relatively safe here and wouldn't need to put up with losing anything valuable.

"Hup, well, that should do it." She mused to herself, locking the box she kept her money in while traveling, and storing the rest of her wares in her wagon. Should be safe enough in the Cham quarter...heh, no one stole from her and got away with it even if they tried. There was pretty good security at the Inn she was staying at anyways, and he was more than happy to let her conduct her business out of there. She just had to pull the wagon and everything back into the stables and it'd be safe enough.

Well, time to go find something interesting to do in her free time until she had other business to take care of.

Ashton Andrews didn't remember what brought him to this place, or this world. But apparently, the other boy named Kimura Yuuki did. Walking over to shake the other boy's hand, Ashton smiled as he asked, gripping his scrapbook in his right hand, "God-child? Can you tell me more? I don't quite remember the dark void of emptiness you were talking about."

A small but motley group; thrown together by inopportune circumstances. We will either have to cooperate together or die, if we really are in another world. Looking over at the others, absorbing everything he can about the place and the sights and the sounds, the boy would continue as he opened his scrapbook.

"First, let me introduce myself; I am Ashton Andrews, sixteen years old. I live in upstate Maine, in the United States of America. Who are you all?" A pause to let all but Kimura introduce themselves. Ask nicely, these people are shocked or about to be; their reactions would be unpredictable and irrational. "And yes, it seems that we're no longer...home."

Hopefully they won't go in denial. Hopefully they won't suggest alternate theories like 'mass delusion' or 'they're elsewhere on Earth'. As for why Aston was so sure this was one of those 'Isekai' situations? Well, this was what the scant evidence suggested, scant evidence that included Kimura Yuuki's snowy clothes. Well, once-snowy.

Do not make it look like you're taking the lead. You're a kid, suggest, not order. Ashton took a moment to weigh his words, before saying once more, "So...that guy out there is asking for recruits for Knighthood. We don't have money unless one of us brought gold jewelry somewhere, so we have no way to buy the wares being sold nearby. I mean, I'm not suggesting that we all become Knights..." which was the truth, although Ashton wanted to become one, "but given that this world has Knighthood as a job instead of an inherited rank, I think that I'd like to be one." He then chuckled. "If it's all right with you guys, of course."

It's not all right with them; you're sixteen. Ashton rubbed the back of his head at that, and opened his scrapbook with his other hand before saying, "Sorry, that wasn't actually a nice suggestion. What we should be doing first is bringing out what items we have and telling each other our skills." A frown at that. "I know first aid, and I've also treated animals before. Hey, considering that animal transport still seems to be a thing here, maybe I can get a job as a stable boy? That might be safer than a Knighthood."

A pause. "Of course, something has to be done about our strange clothes, but that can be winged."

Another pause, and a few eye blinks. "Ah! Sorry if I am talking out of turn, just trying to...well, trying to make things better, in a way." This helps distract from the fact that my parents would be wondering where I am. He slumped down in his sear, letting dust gather on his shirt and pants. Give them a few moments to absorb both the situation, what it's going to do to our emotions and minds, and then my suggestions. Be careful to make sure that you don't look like you want others to like you; they'd refuse you because of that.

Which is a shame, as it's going to take a lot of effort to keep all of us alive, depending on the conditions of this world.

Busy streets, bustling wares... the Hero's District was known for a lot of things. Adventurers of all specialties and of all ages come here to prove their might against the unknown, to break their limits, or even just earn an extra sack of coins for whatever purpose they desperately need. This was the noisy district of up and coming heroes of Priestella, a place to get famous fast at the risk of your life and quite possibly your sanity.

This was the everyday life of Eristaria Heighen, one of the surviving Oni immigrants from Gusteko's demon village... or so people think. Trudging through the cobblestone pavement were her bloodied boots and along said ground was a sack leaving a bloody, stinky trail. Normally this is what adventurers go through to claim a reward for a monster hunt, they would often use a sack and take an ear or head of a certain monster by request. Eris however, had carried two sacks on each of her hands with the left carrying the larger of the two. This was normal around this district so regulars and veterans didn't get too weirded out by the Oni's antics.

"For an elf... she's pretty strong..." Whispered one of the new adventurers near Eris before she stopped in front of him. One of the regulars elbowed his gut, causing him to gasp and cough before he pats him on the back. "I-It's okay Eris... h-he's new. Probably just joking around..." He was nervous too... most of these people know what happens when you call this particular demon girl, an elf.

"Is that so?" A mature, womanly voice came from the lady before she walked a bit closer to them, her pretty amethyst orbs just staring down every inch of the newbie's body before he was forced to stand up straight. "Y-yeah. I'll make sure he won't say it again." Of course having a birth defect would give people the wrong idea. Eris remembered the time she was first traversing this district, harassed by the adventurers at the time for having "knife-ears", she tried to ignore it, she tried to be nice but they wouldn't stop. So she snapped and created a ruckus on one part of the district. She doesn't see them around anymore, either out of fear or they were truly out of commission in more ways that one, she didn't mind the less people to point out, the better.

With a sigh, she gave the gesture to carry on and walked past the Gulendam Adventurer's Guild to something much more shady. Just a few buildings ahead of the guild lies an inn with a wolf's head. People in this district know it as the Black Wolf Tavern, a questionable inn full of unsavory-looking characters looking to snatch at your money if you're not careful, recognizing the smell of smoke and ale she entered it immediately and dropped the larger sack in front of a tall, dark skinned bartender who was currently cleaning one of the mugs his "patrons" vomited in. "Grom." She greeted lazily as a small mug of ale slid in her general direction for her to receive and take a gulp.

"Eris." The big bartender replied.

The Oni downed half her drink and opened up the sack, giving him a full view of the bloodied contents which was full of Ulgarm ears and heads and that includes the big ones.

"Same price as usual. I even got the big ones this time and nearly got a couple of newbies killed trying to hunt them down." The other sack, she kept to herself, gripping it with her right.

"Oh? You actually kept some adventurers alive this time." Eris didn't know whether Grom was being sarcastic or genuine, it was hard to tell coming from his rough monotone voice.

"I showed them what they can do and they gave results, even if it was a near death experience." Finishing the mug. "I'll be coming back tomorrow, see if someone else wants some weird Witchfiend ears and heads."She held her hand up and on cue, Grom gave a heavier sack of coins to her. The loud jingle and jangle of the coins was music to her ears and with a small smile, walked out the door to a reasonably sized house near the inn she exited from to which she opened up the front door and threw the right-equipped sack onto an empty pile of bloodied sacks in the corner of her messy living room. She didn't feel like taking a break at the moment and just shut the door the same way she did.

The only problem now was... what to do? With a lot of time to spare, I'm sure she could find someone in this district that doesn't involve bullying someone just because of her ears.

THONK.

"Barkeep!" shouted a deep feminine voice from across the bar. A thick beer mug that had just been tossed ten feet with archer-like precision bounced harmlessly from Grom's head before crashing to the ground behind the bar. It's sturdiness was awe-inspiring, holding true to its form throughout the ordeal. The equally sturdy barkeep refused to offer the troublesome woman even a glance, at least until she continued to speak.

"While you were dealing in severed tongues with that elf, I ran out of drink!" Iskemia said, somewhat inebriated. She feigned holding a mug, wiggling the invisible handle around to emphasize her lack of booze. What followed had drawn the attention of the entire bar.

---

Iskemia found herself struggling to free herself from Grom's bear-like one-handed grasp. As much as she knew the trouble she was in, she couldn't help but laugh about it all the way from her chair to the cold street outside. Unceremoniously, the barkeep tossed Iskemia out and shut the door behind him without another word. Face down in the dirt, she let out one last chuckle before standing herself off and dusted away the grime. This wasn't the first time she'd been tossed out of the Black Wolf Tavern, but it was the first time she'd been thrown out specifically for the crime of throwing glass mugs at an employee. She'd come back in a week or two, and all would be forgiven. It wasn't like anyone ever stopped people at the door there anyways.

Her "fun quota" met, Iskemia exhaled out the last of her rambunctiousness with a corrective sigh and brought up her coat to wipe her face off. Mere weeks ago, she'd been dirt poor and out of work, striding into Priestella with a hopeful heart and confidence that someone, somewhere, would need exactly what she was selling.

As it turned out, with so many adventurer's guilds and the like choking the place up with an air of heroism, it came as no surprise that their number meant business was booming in the way of killing things. Most toted swords and axes and slayed the things that were nuisances to farmers more than anything else; a fresh face like herself was a fresh force against the things swords and axes couldn't just chop up into little pieces. Within days, Iskemia had made back a decent enough living situation, but all the same, had begun to see less and less requests turn up on her doorstep.

Fixing her hair, Iskemia strode down the street with a pep to her step. All she could do was wait until someone called her name. As she walked along, she came upon the very same "elf" she'd seen in the tavern moments before. In the darkness it seemed less clear, and she certainly wasn't paying too much attention to the details, but it was then apparent that the girl also toted some considerable horns.

"Say... you're that Eris girl I've heard about here and there, yea? I keep hearing things back and forth about you being or not being and elf... Which is it? Which rumor's the right one?" Iskemia asked with a chuckle. She bent forward and tapped her chin, as if appraising the oni girl.

---

One word.

One word, and everything around Alistair had changed.

Did he just say 'Shamrock'?

As far as waking up in unfamiliar places had gone, this was perhaps one of the more 'unique' results. A byproduct of the destructive lifestyle that Archibald was living recently was that he occasionally found himself in unfamiliar locations, usually with a nasty hangover. Most would say that such things were unbecoming of a man with such a proud, undisclosed wealthy descent. But most people were not him, and so he did not very much care for how they thought he should act. Living life as a sheltered, but curious boy for all of his childhood had been torture. So he grew up determined to do things he wanted to do, not what he'd been told to do. That kind of life was for other, less-willful people. And perhaps some of this was just to spite his parents, who had treated him more akin to an object than their child.

But I digress.

Alistair had listened to the others who decided to speak before ever bothering to do so himself. While he was still but a young adult, from the looks of the rest of the people in the room, he was one of the oldest. Some of the others appeared to be children, even. One was even literally live-action, so he wasn't exactly sure how old she was supposed to be. Neither of the two who had spoke decided to bring her existence up, so perhaps this was a normal thing that he should just ignore. In situations like these, it would likely be an ideal case to act with a calm mind and confidence, so as to keep others from reaching a state of panic that would cause an incident. Having at least a mild familiarity with their situation, Alistair would be able to keep a cool head and he certainly intended to. Yet, just before he was able to speak to place the group's mind at ease, he glanced down at the very chair he was resting in, noticed the dust upon said chair, and the general vibes one might've gotten from him afterward would, by some, perhaps be considered 'unfriendly'.

"The hell is this!?" he growled as quickly stood up and violently kicked the chair back, probably destrying it in the process. He patted all the ares that came into contact with the chair before going on a rant. "First she kidnaps me... then she threatens me... and now she throws me into this sphincter of a location and gets my clothes dirty... this 'kid' REALLY knows how to try my patience!" through careful analysis, one could potentially deduce that Alistair was not a happy individual. "Listen well, my fellow victims! I, Alistair Archibald, am usually a benevolent and tolerant man, but there a three things I simply cannot stand: People who order me around, people who insult me, and... people who use black text on this website because its hard to read stand in my way!"

Declaring this, the arrogant man made his way to the exit of the meeting room, forcibly pushing aside anybody who might've been in his way. He did, however, stop before opening the door. "There is no use in speaking about things until we've established where and when we are." he told the group. Perhaps others tried arguing this point. But that did not matter. Assuming the door wasn't locked, he pushed it open, revealing the new world they found themselves in.

---

The clang of metal on metal rang out through the air of a moderately crowded street. Again and again the sound of metal slamming into itself pierced through the ears of those nearby, drawing attention to a moderately sized building. A forge roared inside, smoke billowing out as two large men put themselves to work. The smoke would have threatened to engulf the whole building had the room they worked in not been exceptionally well ventilated. Instead, it just gave of the perception that the workers themselves were clad in smoke.

Of the two men, one pounded his hammer against the lifeless metal that lay across an anvil. Sweat poured down his bare chest before finally soaking into the top of his trousers. Ting ting-ting ting. Ting ting-ting ting. A musical rhythm rang through the smithy while the man hammered life into the bare metal.

After a short while, he lifted it with his tongs. His face was serious as he inspected the still glowing metal, searching for any sign of imperfection. His gaze lasted only a moment before he gave it a curt nod and quenched it. Duran finally let out a sigh, setting down the newly forged blade and stretching out his shoulders, tight from the hours of hard labor.

Bellowing in laughter, the giant of a man that was Duran's employer slammed his meaty paws across his assistant's back.

"Duran you old coot, don't act like only this much tired you out! Just last month you were in here all day and didn't even need to catch your breath."

His roaring laughter crashed through the air like a tidal wave, nearly louder than even the cacophony they had been making with their work earlier. Duran chuckled back before shrugging the hamsized fist off his shoulder. The blacksmith was a good man, and Duran was always glad to help around the shop when he was in town. It paid well too. In fact, after he finished his work for the day, his employer paid him his dues, and even a little extra to get a nice drink.

Pulling his shirt over his muscled body, Duran stepped out onto the street, breathing fresh air for the first time in hours. He strolled the streets for a short while, his relatively large form influencing the other pedestrians to make way for him. Deciding it was time to get more work done however, Duran made his way to the adventurer's guild only to find that the two jobs he was most interested in were already taken. Well, he supposed that he could catch up on his reading.

He took a brief moment to find a tree that provided good shade and bed down.

---

---

Calliope was locked in a small room with a variety of material laid out before her. It had been days since she left, and she hadn't eaten a bite in that time, but she couldn't stop. She was so close to making a breakthrough. So close to figuring out how those damned material worked with one another. She started to giggle. It was quiet at first, almost not even audible. But over time, it increased in volume. Louder and louder. Eventually, it became a loud cackle. She was so close!

It was then, that anyone outside of her building would have heard a rather subdued "BOOM".

Stumbling, Calliope emerged from her den of research, covered in ash.

"Well now, I wonder why it did that? All I did was drip some water onto it. Hmmm, that is some interesting information to take note of."

While she was mumbling seemingly incoherently to anyone that could have been nearby, the tall woman's stomach growled. Well, less growled and more roared at her. It was going to be a long day now that she was awakened from her mania. Still, she couldn't go out looking like she had just been set on fire. As such, she quickly bathed herself before donning her new wizard robe and hat.

She stepped out of her home, taking in a breath of fresh air before stepping down the street to search up something to eat. Maybe she would even find someone that could hold up an interesting conversation. It had been quite a while since Calliope had interacted with another sentient being, so maybe it would give her an epiphany.

It was a new day filled with new ideas. Surely nothing would go poorly on such a beautiful day! Right?

A woman's call alerted her, the Oni's head turned to her general direction with a frown that doesn't look all too happy at what she heard near the end there. Before she could speak, she turned to the doorway from where she was thrown out from; It was the tavern that she had dropped off her loot just moments ago and judging from the slowly swinging doorways, Iskemia got thrown out, which would also explain the sudden 'thump' on the rocky ground.

Turning full body to face her with crossed arms (and probably grace her with her dark beauty), she studied her up and down. White hair, red eyes... she assumed this was the woman that was always thrown out of Grom's tavern for causing a stir. "Well if you want to continue adventuring, I suggest you don't believe the rumor where I'm an elf or anything related to me being half-elf. It's a birth defect and if the horns don't convince you, I might just throw you out of this city my way." An intimidation tactic, hopefully it's enough for her to walk away or at least change the subject that isn't about her knife ears.

"Since you no doubt heard of my name from these so-called "rumors", it'd be rude not to give yours. I'd like to know the person I may or may not smack around later." For someone who revels in bloodshed and killing monsters, she shows some sign of politeness even if it does have some hint of hostility in her tone.

@Asuras

@Ryofu

---

Ah, she was bored.

Wasn't there anyone fun around here to mess with? Rile up? Annoy until their head exploded? Ah, so far everyone seemed so utterly mundane. No fun at all to be had. Sure, she had a...business meeting to attend to, but that could wait for a bit until she had a bit of fun. She even closed up shop early just to have a bit of extra fun.

"BOOM"

Flinching slightly at the sudden explosion from a nearby house, Mie turned her head to the source of it. Eeeh? What had happened? The smell of an explosion - or fire in general was extremely unpleasant to her. Perhaps someone exploded themselves? The fox waited a few minutes nearby, seeing if anyone came out. Perhaps they'd be fun to mess with? Soon enough, emerging from a building was a woman, a wizard, from the looks of her if her so blatantly obvious garb was anything to judge by.

Out of the building emerged what was very obviously a wizard or mage, if their blatantly obvious clothing was anything to go by. Hmm...maybe, perhaps...

"Hmm...well, might as well try my luck." Mie chuckled as she walked after Calliope. "Hey, explodey mage!" She waved her hand, trying to get the older woman's attention as she gave her a bright, though obviously impish grin. "Did you intend to blow yourself up, or are you terrible at your job?" She asked in her usual smug tone.

Those very words, spoken with a cold but assertive tone, rung in the raven-haired man's head, followed by a pounding ache. It's as if a promise was being made, no, assured to him that his wish will be granted. As the others, some appearing much younger than him, made sense of the situation through conversation, the man known as Nakayama Suzaku stayed to himself, quietly as if in deep contemplation. Outfitted in simple robes of white and navy blue, his serene expression, with his closed eyes and beautiful countenance, along with his straight posture and long black hair, tied neatly into a ponytail, painted the picture of some sort of prince. His attire along with his physical features hinted his country of origin, Japan. Compared to the others, Suzaku truly stood out as different, if not exceptional.

Suzaku took a few mental notes as everyone made their introductions. It seems that, so far, everyone has made contact with the same obscured being in some sort of dark prison. No, prison is too extreme of a word, is it? In any case, he seems to have the same issues everyone else has. These observations only raised more questions, however, such as what everyone was doing before they made it there, or...



Suzaku had asked rather abruptly, although with a tone far too unconcerned for the nature of the question. His eyes opened, revealing fox-like orange eyes that appear to almost be glowing. Despite his apparent concern, his physical and facial expressions both make him oddly seem indifferent about his current situation. Rather quickly, a hand wandered onto his chest, into his robes, feeling for where his heart should be.



Standing up and placing his hands to his side, Suzaku glanced at every other person in the room, his expression unchanging, his thoughts seemingly incapable of being betrayed by his face. To Suzaku, only two people in the room interested him. One was the boy with the light brown hair who spoke as if he had a better grasp of everyone's situation, and who was quick to make suggestions on their next course of action. The other was the brash, loud-mouthed young man who seemed to be the oldest, who took immediate action and brazenly made his way to the door, opening it without any thought. In other words, all these individuals are already potential tools to Suzaku, and these two, who he has already associated with as 'the Manual' and 'the Hammer', respectively, may be the greatest at his disposal.

"I believe knighthood may be unsuited for my taste," Suzaku began, with a voice that could be considered as tranquil, yet off-puttingly cold, "While I do wish to serve others in some sense, I would like to do it on my own terms. As far introductions go..."

Putting a finger next to his mouth, Suzaku's eyes looked up as he began to think of a few things. He felt like he shouldn't share his name to his new companions. It wasn't a feeling garnered from mistrust, but rather he believed that it may help him in identifying others like the one who had called themself his 'reaper', the childlike figure who had appeared to everyone prior. If anyone knew Suzaku by his full name, then they are a person of interest, and one who could maybe grant him more answers.

.

---

"Shamak." The enigmatic figure enunciated. And with that phrase alone, Priscilla witnessed the elimination of the never-ending shade that confined her a moment ago, replaced by scintillating light that forced her to close her eyes.



Ruminating over whether what had transpired was a hallucination or actuality, her lingering consciousness prompted her to open her eyes. Priscilla was in a sitting position, which she had just became aware of when she came to. Her bag was beside her seat. There was a lot that needs to be processed. For one, she found herself in a very antiquated and decrepit chamber. And she wasn't alone. Five other individuals were in attendance, four males and one female, of varying disparities at a glance and in the same state of confusion as her, surveying the uncharted room.

The most normal-looking of the bunch, the baby-faced male with a scarf, unusually relaxed for someone who was unjustly thrown into this predicament was the first to speak, affirming that they were brought here by that figure. The discussion kicked up from there, unceasing, and it was difficult to find an opening for her to speak out, so Priscilla remained quiet. The only individual with a relatable response was the blonde with the air of a delinquent, clearly pissed off but in all honesty, who wouldn't? These other folks looked like they were mentally equipped in this situation, but she wasn't.

"So uh, guess it's my turn to speak now, right..?" Her feigned smile only sold how uncomfortable she was, and her voice, contrary to her usual self, was lacking avidity. "My name's Priscilla... Nice to meet you all!" A brief pause. "... is what I would like to say, if this were any other ordinary circumstance. I don't think I need to elaborate further, as Mister Alistair had already voiced out how I feel about all of this. This really sucks... I just wanna go home... I have exams coming up too..." Covering her face within her hands, the ingenue was at a loss for words after that. It didn't take too long, but with everything that has happened so far, the longing for home had already hit her.

Ashton found himself admiring Alistair's...spirit. While he clearly didn't believe that the guy was in any way 'tolerant', he liked how the upper-class man had totally siezed the initiative, and so the boy followed him to the door in order to see if he can be of help. A memory came to him; a memory of the Cameron person who had cajoled and threatened him, and Ashton knew that the group would still need to be careful.

Then turning to 'Nakkun', Ashton said: "No, I don't remember dying. I was just minding my business, feeding Pidgey II, my pet pigeon, when I...yeah, I'm remembering now - I remember that black void and that creepy Slendergirl/Slenderboy!"

He began to analyze his encounter with Cameron, "That creepy Slendergirl/Slenderboy said that someone named Od Laguna was generous to me, and he also knew my name, my full name. Then he asked me how much my life was worth, and when I told him or her that I was not going to give him information with which to manipulate me, he or she reminded me that he held all the cards. So I did what he said and told them how much I valued my life. Then they asked me to make a deal with him; a contract 'in exchange for that life'. They then introduced himself as Cameron, the 'New God's Queen', and asked me to shake her hand.

"She then reached into her spectral form's 'pocket' and pulled out a purple pocket watch, before saying that if I don't decide, she'll 'destroy everything'. So I shook her hand and then I appeared here, momentarily forgetting who Cameron was." Ashton then prepared to analyze again.

"Now, here are a few preliminary conjectures: One, that Cameron is an eldritch being that has the apparent power of plucking people from time and space and even universes; note that this is again conjecture. Two, that there is another being, named Od Laguna, who is apparently of Godlike power - I do not presume to use the term God. And three, that there is a New 'God' that Cameron serves."

The boy paused. "I do not believe that 'Od Laguna', who has apparently generous to me, and the 'New God' whom Cameron serves are necessarily at loggerheads, although Cameron did find said generosity, which has not been exhibited yet, to be humorous. Then again, Cameron seems to be easily amused. Oh! Cameron also spoke about wanting a skin but lacking one, which depending on the stories one reads, is shorthand for wanting to be human or at least have a fleshy form. It can be presumed that the 'New God' is supposed to help him with that, but it is not powerful enough yet to do so. Therefore, our contracts with him, which I genuinely don't remember..."

Another pause. "Our contracts with him that I and we might not remember are to empower his 'New God', perhaps with 'Od Laguna' turning a blind eye, somehow. Note that again, this is merely conjecture."

He then turned to Priscilla and said, "Another conjecture is that we'd return eventually, after what might - might - be a lengthy adventure, so I think I should help you study not just for exams, but for years of make-up classes and lying to one's parents and authorities as to where you'd disappeared to."

You're being rude, you know, Ashton thought to himself. "Oh, and sorry for being rude, Ms. Priscilla."

There had been a moment of awkwardness when the other brown-haired boy had come over, ready to shake hands when Yuuki had just planned on waving. Extending his right hand for the shake that was going to come in his direction, Yuuki watched as this new boy, Ashton, pulled out his left hand instead, right hand still grasping the sketchbook. For a moment, the coat-bearing boy hesitated…but in the next, HE POWERED THROUGH. Twisting his arm around so that both palms could meet after all, he grasped Ashton’s hand tightly and shook it twice, firm and fast.

“Oh, god-child? You know how it is,” the blue-eyed youth said, “Threatened to explode everything I loved if I didn’t shake hands. Sounds pretty normal for a fledgling god, yeah? Making a fuss about having no time when they’re immortal. And wow, I never saw an American before! No wonder you’re dressed so differently.”

It was also very American to just immediately start thinking about work and such, wasn’t it? The whole ‘seize the day’? Good ol ‘pursuit of happiness’? Already, Ashton was bouncing off a dozen ideas and consideration, leaving Yuuki to just chuckle to himself at how eager and excited the lad was. Very American indeed, to turn everything from a conversation to a speech. Guess that’s just how boys from highly individualistic societies were raised? According to the books, at least.

“Hey now,” he said, “No need to rush t-”

Then Mr. Alistair Archibald decided to show off his own American-ness, as if such thing were a competition. Powered by outrage against the divine, the lion said his own miniature speech, establishing his individuality and rebellious nature within a few quick lines, before bursting out of the room majestically and throwing open the doors to a new world. For a moment, the light that streamed from the open door was blinding, and then…it remained blinding.

Samurai man spoke up next, outing himself as Nakkun, an archer from a time where archery was still relevant. “Didn’t die myself, friend,” Yuuki commented, “Just walked…but yeah, Ashton, like I was gonna say, making assumptions about what this world has is a b-”

Of course, at that inopportune time, the pink waif spoke up next, naming herself 'Priscilla' and making it clear that she was super pissed as well, in her meek, effeminate way. Exams and a longing for home, hm? Well, he could understand one of those, at least. Scratching the back of his head, the baby faced assassin youth dropped his pack onto the ground with an audible thump, before unzipping one of the side pockets and pulling out a large thermos of pine needle tea. It only came with one plastic mug, but everyone else looked more or less fine compared to Priscilla, so they can just remain thirsty for now. He hummed a little tune, poured out the steaming brew, and then placed it before the rose garden girl.

"On the house," he said, lifting up his pack again, "If this god can pluck us out of our worlds, they can certainly pull us back, right? Ashton seems to know of this subject more, but hey, think of it as a job. You can only go home after the job's done, after all, but it's also guaranteed that you can leave for home after it's done. Don't worry 'bout it too much."

He considered offering her a can of meat as well, but girls were always so weird about eating food.

---

Ignoring the young man offering a girl he just met his meat, Alistair confidently faced forwards, braving the sight of the new world in which they found themselves. He was very thankful that nobody mentioned how a meeting room would generally not have an exit to the outside and instead would lead further into the building they were in because as far as I'm aware meeting rooms aren't just their own thing and instead exist as part of a bigger building. But if I overuse strikethrough, Warp may think I don't intend on taking this RP seriously so I will likely lessen my use of it for a little bit, excuse me. Daytime was not especially blinding, but the view before them was... a bit confusing for the Archibald. Like the outside noise had suggested, the world, at least as of right now, seemed to be rather primitive in architectural design and in general. Alistair took note of things like the dirt roads, the lack of anything that seemed to resemble modern infrastructure, and also the clothing the people on the street wore.

He did not care one bit for this. He'd prefer to be sent into a world where the culture and technology it used was more futuristic. The past was very inconvenient, he had learned. But aside from this, the peasants walking the streets did have something quite unique that caught his attention: some had animalistic features. Fur, tails, some even appeared as though they were more animal than human. How strange. How interesting.

He wasn't sure if he should be worried, though.

Thankfully, there were normal-looking humans walking the streets too, else he might have thought this to be some kind of Planet of the Apes scenario. Not being especially consistent with commoner culture, that was the best he could do. "For those of you still in denial, I would recommend taking a nice long look at all of this. I fail to see any way that this is all some elaborate joke, as a brighter individual would choose either furries or a renaissance festival, not both." he declared to his companions. Well, that particular word was a bit much. "Fellow victims" was perhaps the best way to describe how Alistair currently thought of them. It was not like he particularly cared for them, they just happened to be in the same situation.

Alistair slammed his fist into the wall beside him after taking a step outside the building, still pretty irritated despite the somewhat comical deduction. "This is such a pain in the ass," he complained. "No air-conditioning, no electricity... and I seriously doubt my credit cards will be useful here. Wait." having remembered finally to check his person, Alistair searched his clothes to see what was on him. He retrieved a few things:

His wallet, with everything in it. His license, a small amount of cash, and the aforementioned credit cards.

His phone, which presumably had no service. He turned it off for now.

Finally, his car keys.

Shit, nothing here's gonna help, is it?

Alistair noticed that one of the animal-like citizens had stopped and begun staring at him. Particularly, his coat. He locked eyes with this being, it was one of the mostly-human ones, with cat-ears and a tail. There was a brief moment they stood still, neither speaking, until Alistair finally got fed up. "It's cat-fur!" he barked at her, unsure if she'd even understand him. If not, his tone must have gotten through as she jumped in surprise and with a rather cute yelp, scurried away. Some others appeared to take notice of him as a result.

Turning around, he faced the group he had arrived with, most of who did not appear to be too eager to leave the room. Most of whom were actually pretty young. Perhaps he should help them? Ah, but that was a bother. At the very least, a suggestion, maybe? "Unless they accept Visas or USD, I suspect this dirty hellhole will have to serve as a sort of home for us." he mentioned. "Not that I am content with such a piss-poor place, mind you. It is just ever-so-slightly better than resting outside, and given its condition, I doubt anybody intends on reclaiming it anytime soon."

Alistair turned his back to the group once again. "I will make my way back to this place once it gets dark, assuming that I am not blessed with a better place. Until then, I suggest you guys stay in groups, but I don't intend on babysitting you. Good bye." stating this, Alistair Archibald took off with the intention of perhaps learning more about the world and possible job opportunities that weren't dubious.

Really rolling out the red carpet, isn't she?

@Rune_Alchemist

---

"Hmm...well, might as well try my luck. Hey, explodey mage. Did you intend to blow yourself up, or are you terrible at your job?"

The words caught Calliope of guard. She had been living in this area of town for a few years, and most of the residents were used to her, errrr, experiments. Explosions were not the most uncommon thing to happen in the area over the last few years. Before responding to the little fox that had spoken to her, Calliope reminisced for a few seconds about the past. She remembered the guards had been called on more than one occasion when her neighbors complained about the noise. Well, they were all past that now. That was why she was so surprised that someone had called out to her.

Turning her gaze, Calliope was met with a very small fox person. She had a mocking gaze flashing through her eyes. It took but a split second for Calliope to realize what was going on. Mmmmm. She was just bored and was picking a fight. As such, the witch tilted her head and walked over, a subtle smile flitting across her lips.

Placing her hands on her hips, she leaned over so that she could meet Mie's gaze head on.

"Well now, you don't have to worry 'little one', this Explodey Mage knows exactly what she is doing. You must be new around here. Did your parents bring you to travel around recently? Where are they right now? You shouldn't wander off on your own and speak to strangers."

Her eyes were smiling, not letting on in the slightest that she was fully aware that Mie was an adult. Still, when one messes with you, you are in full right to mess back yes?

---

@FamishedPants

---

It had been a long while since Duran had taken the opportunity for a nice long rest. At this moment, he was lying beneath a tree, enjoying a book that he had purchased some time ago, but never had the time to read. His last few months had been packed to the brim with work of any sort. Adventuring work, laboring work etc. He was essentially busy all the time. and while he did enjoy this brief moment of rest, there was also another thought that crossed his mind. Well now, this is a little boring, now isn't it? It was not a thought that he had been liable to have in the past. Maybe it was because he didn't have that same excitement at the prospect of new work that he had in the past. Or maybe it was because none of the work that had come to him in recent months was as exciting as he was used to. There wasn't anything wrong with working in the forge, in fact he enjoyed it, but it wasn't the same as adventuring.

It was at this time, when his mind was locked in the grips of his contemplation, that a young man burst forth onto the streets.

"I will make my way back to this place once it gets dark, assuming that I am not blessed with a better place. Until then, I suggest you guys stay in groups, but I don't intend on babysitting you. Good bye."

He was dressed in frankly rather strange clothing. Oh, how his prayers had been answered. With a snap, Duran closed his book and hopped to his feet. He jogged over to the youth that was new emerged from the building, waiting just a bit so that he could get some free space from the building he had exited. He didn't particularly want to interact with just anyone. This young man in particular had caught his interest.

Once he was sufficiently on his own, Duran clapped him on his shoulder.

"Oy lad. You don't look to be from around here. How's about this old man help you out with what you're looking for?"

Now, Duran was only a couple inches taller than Alistair, but his frame was loaded from top to bottom with muscle. He must have weighed at least 50 lbs more than the young man, giving him a much more imposing form. That form was much offset by the smile on his face. It was clear to anyone with even a little bit of EQ that he didn't mean anything bad by his interaction. He was just truly interested by this young man.