A cough of blood was expected. The guy basically had his organs mashed together like some screwed up flesh accordion, with the bones being the framework of it. Anyon simply sat back down as she gave his upper arm a rub as some form of strange, but helpful comfort. That wolf must’ve caused far more damage than they even realized. She knew that the old bastard would live, it is Mirt after all, but the damage was still surprising considering he’s walked off from, in her opinion, way worse than some overgrown mutt. Her eyes gave a quick once over as she noticed how blood soaked his clothes were, all easily from being crushed for a few moments. It never gave her comfort seeing him like this…

"Did the strangers make it out better than I did?”

She let out a scoff. Why can’t he be more damn selfish for once? “They ran off the moment they got the chance, so probably fine.” She sighed and spoke softly. She made sure to look him in the eyes for this one. ”Worry about yourself, for fucks sake. Your wounds might be healed, but your ass needs to rest for a bit for it to take full effect.” With that, she gave a soft pat and rub on his shoulder. Normally this affection would be saved if she was particularly plastered, but it also happened to be the other occasion where she would do this. He was severely injured and worried about things that didn’t matter at the moment. And she wanted this rarity of an emotion to show that fact to him, clear as day. For the rest of the group, it was probably strange seeing this behemoth of a woman, with a voice as deep as a basin, suddenly speak with such gentleness.

@Zelosse @BrokenPromise

The knights that Mono was talking to hesitated to respond. They did not seem to be scared, more bewildered than anything. ”This development is pissing me off.” He looked back at the soldiers behind himself. ”Make sure there aren't any pups around. I want every last square inch of this place checked.” After the soldiers departed, Mono folded his arms behind his back and turned to the two foreigners. ”It is relieving to have someone who can recall what the hell is going on here.” He briefly glanced in the direction of the knights before looking at Anyon and Mirt. ”Unless you saw them attack the beast with the shard, I'd be willing to wager they were cultists using it as a catalyst. There are rumors of cultists summoning people and beasts into the city, and this might just confirm our suspicions.” Mono nodded at Anyon. ”We have the situation under control now. Unless you noticed anything else, it would be best for you to get out of here.”

---

"I suspected as much." Aer nodded to Yuuki before approaching the second and third group of non-natives. "It has come to my attention that you have all been kidnapped and deposited in the city." She folded her arms. "It is very dangerous to walk around without citizenship or a permit. You could be killed on sight for not possessing one or the other."

Fritzi locked eyes with the adventurer. ”Why do you think we're trying to make them look the part? If the guards have no reason to ask for a permit, they won't!” She smiled. ”Clothes are as good as a passport!”

"Not always." Aer folded her arms. "The situation has been escalating for some time now. Itwon't be long before the guards begin checking everyone. Reinforcements won't be here for another two months. That's a long time to rely on a single change of clothes." She scanned the non-natives present. "If you want to get a job, stay at an inn, or interact with any establishment that provides higher level services, you'll need some form of identification."

Doctor Donovan stood up, towering over everyone. ”Ya actin' like gettin' a permit ain't no big thing. Lotta folks would get killed just tryin' to acquire one.”

"That's why I will be present, and so will Wisp." She pointed at the feline demi-human with her thumb. "Between the word of a licensed adventurer and a member of the compass, we should be able to get them passports relatively easily."

Fritzi scowled. ”Mono just walked though here, he seemed like he was really interested in killing something.”

Donovan's smile vanished. ”I should voice that I don't like that plan at all. The kids can work in my clinic until things blow over. Ya might as well be tryin' to kill em.”

Fritzi gave a single nod ”And if a clinic isn't your thing, I work a second and third job cleaning houses.” She winked. ”You guys could help me with that if you wanted.”

"I don't have time for this." Aer continued to walk away. "You are free to follow me, or you may stay here. I don't think any of you are harmful, so I won't force you to get a permit if it doesn't make you comfortable. Just make sure that when you make your choice, it isn't something you'll regret later."

It seemed like the non-natives were being presented with some options. Get a permit, work at a clinic, or work as house cleaners. Of course, they didn't necessarily have to pick any of these options. This is just what was being immediately offered to them.

Ashton Andrews and Flame Brooks

Flame's admiration of Alistair grew all the more as the latter was accepting of who and what he is, but wallowing in said admiration was not the wisest thing; there could still be setbacks for the group as time marched on. And said setbacks were these: The city was under lockdown, the authorities were trying to hunt down bandits and cultists, and their new allies were risking themselves in order to help them. But why? It didn't make sense that people would risk themselves just because their group seemed harmless. He then leaned to Ashton, asking in a whisper, "Who's Mono? Some sort of high official?"

Ashton wasn't stupid enough to betray his foreknowledge of who Mono was, and so he whispered back, "We can talk about this later, when we're safer." A pause, as he said more openly, "Flame, you're more perceptive than I am. What should we do next?"

Flame said, "I know you'd think this out-of-character for me, but I think we should get permits, then work for Doctor Donovan; best of both worlds." It was then that he recalled Alistair's reaction to the Doctor and his offer of help, and he guessed the rich kid's most likely choice. His next words were, "Thank you for everything, Mr. Archibald, but it seems that I and Ashton will be getting permits. We'll be going to the Doctor after that, though."

Ashton was surprised, but also knew that Flame was smart; as smart as he is in some respects. "You've learned to trust people more, I see." A smile of joyous approval from the brown-haired boy. "I'm glad."

Flame smiled as well, then gently tugged Ashton to where Aer was. "So, miss adventurer -"

Ashton interrupted, "Her name is Aer Pacifica."

Flame nodded and said, "Miss Pacifica, I think we're just about ready for you and your..." He seemed to notice Wisp for the first time, "Cat-friend to go get permits. After that, we'd like to meet up with Doctor Donovan once more. If it's possible, of course."

It was also then that he realized his mistake, his mistake in allowing the former 'Alistair Group' to abandon the female monk and her companion. At that time, there seemed to be nothing else they could have done, but just because a mistake can be seen with hindsight does not stop it from being a mistake.

"Also," Flame shared to everyone within earshot, "We must be wary of anyone in the attire of warrior monks. In an earlier run, we saw two of them fight a huge demon beast while we ran away. Then three Knights in armor came." He didn't add that those knights had killed him and Alistair before. "We should beware of them as well." A glance at Ashton, "Also, we should keep out of actual Cultists; do not seek them out."

Ashton nodded at that.

At the big black man's mention of people getting killed even when they did seek permits, Yuuki's hand reached out to press against his chest once more, feeling that familiar chill up his spine. Working at a clinic wouldn't be all that bad, and he had some amount of experience with cleaning as well. Heck, worst comes to worst, he could pawn the stuff in his backpack off for capital, and then see if he could straight up bribe his way into getting citizenship. There were many other ways to delay, and that 'Mono' person was out for blood too, the ever-present scepter of an icy death.

But the value of a permit outweighed the dangers involved, and hadn't he already resolved himself to it? To dying, instead of running and living a life in fear of being frozen inside out by a man who killed with words. So he breathed out, took another sip of his tea, and smiled.

"I'm pretty consistent," Yuuki laughed, lying through his teeth, "And it'd be pretty sad if I changed my mind at this point. Let's go then, Miss Pacifica."
@BrokenPromise

Gris was indisputably generous when it came to his staff, and Chiyo, but his shortcoming was the overprotective/cautious nature that had him fret over the youbg ladies well being rather than let Chiyo prove she could defend herself. Rather easily in most cases. Dangerous people lurked closely so there was no real blame to be had but Chiyo still found it to be suffocating.

Waving the Oni gentleman politely, Chiyo excused herself under the pretense of exploring the marketplace by herself and assuring Gris she would come running if trouble came her way. (Or if a sweets shop took her interest)
The large man told to accompany her was deftly left behind in the crowd by the energetic young girl who ran off with a playful but very fake smile.
There was business to be done today and it didn't involve playing with vegetables or snot nosed brats.

---

@BrokenPromise

The Slums

Like the name of this wing of the city suggested, every building was run down and boarded up. The people down in these parts were poor and wore rwgged clothinf to match their dilapidated homes. Having lived in these conditions nearly her entire life it always felt like Chiyo had come home to the docks.. this place even had a similar stench to it.
Walking down the streets, dressed in stolen clothing from a clothes line she had come across, the young woman marched with caution. Her 'new' dress was a plain gray color with a few various splotches of mud still staining the fabric. Her shoes had been replaced with worn down straw sandals, dirt from rolling around in a patch of grass gave the appearance of a poor citizen more credit.

The meeting spot itself was an abandoned home far in the center of the slums. Perched cautiously against the wall of said building, Chiyo leaned on with no outwardly concern to any that looked on. Inside, she was on edge. Alert and tense. Ready to strike.
The others would arrive soon.

Aki seemed more dog then human when Chieko was patting her on the head, Aki was really enjoying it seeing from the expression on her face. Chieko was suddenly startled however by the filthy feeling of her hand being covered in mud and the likeness. Aki wonderingly stared up at the girl as she stopped with patting to look at her hand. Was something wrong? Chieko mentioned Aki her hair being quite dirty which it was. Aki felt the back of her hair to compare it with Chieko her reaction but was honestly a little confused. Aki understood it was not near noble hair but at least she had done the best with what she had. Aki gave a quilted look towards Chieko.



Trouble Aki glared down at the ground not knowing what else she was suppose to do as to get her hair any more clean then this. Chieko mentioned however that she would be willing to wash Aki her hair so that she could be fresh and nice again. Aki brightened up in joy as she heard Chieko would want to help her wash it. Her eyes glittered at the face of Chieko as suddenly someone else came up and pulled on the ear of poor Chieko. Aki watched in silence as the chuuni girl got her punishment. Chieko was trying to get away from her but it didn't even seem plausible. The new girl briefly mentioned towards Chieko that she might be rude by just petting Aki on the head just like that. Aki was quick to respond to clear the awkwardness between them.



Aerith did come back to them after a moment of moving Chieko away from them to apologize to them and explain the situation they were in. So they were foreigners after all just like they guessed. Aki her amazement only grew for these people. At least she knew the names of these people now from Aerith, she would remember. Eiko placed a hand on Aki her shoulder indicating they should be leaving, Aki kind of stared at Eiko for a moment before she asked the new girl another question and a good one at that! Aki her eyes immediately shined as bright as the sun once more.



And just like that Irene suddenly showed up in front of the three. Aki was taken off guard by the sudden appearance of the noble like girl. She knew this person! Irene softly patted Aki her head, Aki was in heaven again by the soft hands of the girl. Pleasingly she smiled at Irene.



Aki wagged her tail as Irene kept at it for a bit. She would see her at some of her shows from time to time but it has been a long while ago since she last saw her. It was kind of a relief to see her still alive, she must have been doing something off her own for some time now then!

Golden Quarter, Center Road, Priestella
Deaths: 1

---

What should she do? Chieko frowned, watching the Elf that had arrived with another group of humans that were obviously from earth. kidnapped? Well, she supposed that was true. They were just kind of tossed here without any idea what they were supposed to do, and after what happened the first time she was pretty sure it'd be a bad idea to walk around without one of these supposed permits. There were a few options here, but none of them seemed particularly good. Irene and Vasilis saved their lives, right? So they were at least somewhat trustworthy. She found herself scooting a little closer to the two of them.

"Is the situation really that bad?" Chieko frowned. Well, she knew one thing. She was not cleaning houses. No way in hell was she wearing a maid uniform. Knowing fantasy tropes, that was probably going to be a thing. She didn't know a thing about medicine either so helping at a clinic was a bad idea. Going with Aer seemed like the legal thing to do. And if this miss Pacifica was an adventurer, couldn't she probably teach her how to as well? She seemed capable, almost as capable as Vasilis. Hm.

"Uhm..." Chieko walked over to Aer's group. If a permit was needed, it'd probably be a good idea to go ahead and get one, wouldn't it? This lady and her friend seemed like they knew what they were talking about at least. "I'll go with you."

---

Just when Hiro was falling into the flow of the conversation with Fritzi, it all went sideways. Everyone showed up. All the people. People from Earth. There were more of them. Honestly, Hiro had no idea how to take it all in. There was arguing and discussions abound, and he had no idea what he needed to do. That. . . elf. . . oh yes and elf. That was also most men's fantasies. . . . What would it be like to touch the tips of her pointy ears?

. . .

. . .

. . .

Anyway. . . . . . While they were conversing, young man dressed in clothes that were also clearly not from this world approached. On his approached he broached a rather thorny topic. Hiro was indeed that young boxer, but the way the question was asked seemed strange to him. It seemed as though the youth was just trying to feel him out. As such, Hiro decided he would answer in kind before addressing the real situation at hand. What would he do from here?

"My name is Nobuhiro Nishioka. Whether that answers your question is up to you."

The line was delivered evenly. He was clearly not mocking the young man, but he didn't want to answer him in a straightforward manner. That aside, it was time to decide what to do next. He could go with the elf and legally assert himself into this world. She had said that she was an adventurer, and if any profession fit him in this world, it as likely that. He didn't have that many skills to his name outside of his analytical mind and his fast eyes.

On the other hand, he could go with that exceptionally trustworthy seeming doctor. Something about the man drew Hiro to him. It also just so happened that some forms of medicine were Hiro's other skills. After all, before he got big, there were not always medical specialists around to treat Hiro's wounds from fighting. In his spare time in youth he had indeed studied bones and musculature to a small extent. At least to the extent that it could help him in a fight.

And last was Fritzi. Hiro couldn't deny that there was an appeal to working around such a beautiful girl all day, and though she was mysterious, she seemed to have a good heart. In fact, the very part of her being mysterious was something that drew him. He felt as though there were definitely things that he could learn about this world with her that he would never have learned otherwisealsomaybeifhewasaroundherlongenoughhewouldgettotouchheranimalears.

The choice was difficult, but it was made easier by the second as he saw people flocking to the elf's side. Part of the reason he was hesitating was the fact that he felt somewhat responsible for Chieko and Aerith. When he was the chuuni girl go toward the obviously strong adventurer's side, he felt relieved. He could make his choice. With all that said, Hiro turned back to Fritzi. He gave her a very real smile, unlike what he had been showing just a little while earlier.

"Thank you for the offer, I'd like to take you up on it. But first, I believe that someone promised me a free pair of shoes."

He flashed her a charming, toothy grin. He only wondered how many people would see past the the dullness of just cleaning houses and realize that the best way to learn of the area was to live the life.

Plus, something felt off about applying for a passport in this area when he should even really exist here. Even moreso after hearing talk of people stalking the streets with blood on the brain.

For most, being told to just skedaddle now that the situation was under control would be, well, fairly reasonable. Anyon, on the other hand, had one other thing on mind that most probably wouldn't worry too much. "Hold up one fucking second actually. She stood up once more before pointing down the hall where she and the others had come from to combat the giant wolf. Her face, despite her cussing, was surprisingly pleasant and casual. It was less angry and just more...questioning if anything. After all, there were important matters that these knights seemed to be forgetting and, at the very least, this masked on had good reason to forget it.

"There's a wolf down that hallway that's got a fucking icicle just like this one. That one was killed by yours truly, with assistance by the girl with the super strength over there." She said as she pointed over to the armored female knight, though they probably already knew who she meant when she said "super strength." Now she was pointing at the more freshly dead wolf corpse before them. "And this one...Okay, besides a few scratches and a fucked up eye, I can't say we assisted much with that, but you can't deny we still helped." Her arms crossed as she looked down at the masked man. It would be hard to say she was trying to intimidate him, but it was fairly obvious she wanted to let him and the rest know that she wanted what she felt she was owed.

"I wasn't born greedy, but I'm sure both you and I know we deserve at least a little bit of reward for helping when we really didn't need to do shit. Let alone actually doing damage to the bastards. I'm not expecting pounds of gold, but at least something." Maybe the fact that she was so used to mercenary work was why she was so money focused, but who cares? A warrior's efforts deserves a warrior's spoils, especially when they did it without even an ask being necessary.

@BrokenPromise@Zelosse

---

Nobuhiro Nishioka, huh? So then it is the very same boxer I was thinking of. That means we're all probably from the same place, though how much good this information does me remains to be seen.

With his inquiry suitably answered Alistair turned his attention away from the young Asian man, and towards the individuals who were offering potential paths for the 'kidnapped' to follow. Being presented the choice between trying to get a permit, working with Donovan at his clinic, and housecleaning, the most obvious choice would be the pursue the permit. It would prevent future complications with the authorities and allow them to move freely within the city, as well as to utilize its services. So that's likely why almost everybody flocked to this Pacifica woman.

Alistair didn't like it.

He didn't want to be a part of the huge group. He did not enjoy leading people, but he despised being led himself. A solitary path was preferred. And with that in mind, it made the most sense to go with Donovan. That was the clear path to repay the man for his kindness, and the big heart he obviously had. Plus, it did not seem anybody was taking the kind man up on his offer. Regrettably, it was not the path Alistair would take.

Alistair liked it too much.

Call him paranoid, but since finding himself in this place, Alistair was subject to misfortune after misfortune. He did not doubt Doctor Donovan's character, but he did feel as though he might end up endangering the man if he stuck around. Part of repaying him would be to avoid causing him trouble. And so that left merely one place to turn if he was going to accept the help of one of these strangers, which was perhaps the best idea for a man who was completely lost at the moment.

"I'll go with you as well," Alistair told Fritzi. To the surprise of nobody, Alistair was not a fan of cleaning, but given his introduction into the world, he was sure that blindly setting off in this town would probably end with his second death. He wasn't sure how many times he could die and come back, but it was safest to assume that was a one-time thing. Plus, dying wasn't fun. Least of all when he was the one doing it.

Hopefully this path was a lot less treacherous than the last.

Mono's head turned towards the woman monk. The mask made it impossible to gauge his reaction to her words, but he was hesitating with his response. This could have meant he was considering what she said, or it could mean he was very, very angry. ”Miss?” he took a step towards her. ”If I were to rape you, to perform sexual acts upon you that were not requested, would you pay me afterwards?” His voice acquired a growl. ”We are here on behalf of the king. I came here personally because I am trained in how to deal with these matters. Any outside influence, regardless of intentions, is just an obstacle.” He pointed at Mirt, and his voice became louder. ”I did not ask for you to risk your life, nor did I ask this man to ride a fucking devil beast towards my troops. The hardest part of this job is protecting civilian lives, which you most certainly did not play a role in.” He briefly glanced in the direction of the knights before looking at Anyon and Mirt again. ”I will not pay you a single fucking coin! I owe you nothing for aborting your assisted suicide. You should be paying me for healing him, you ungrateful bitch!” He turned to his troops. ”Escort the civilians outside immediately.”

The troops promptly moved behind the two foreigners, ready to take action, but only if necessary.

---

After some consideration, the last of the non-natives made up their minds. Aaron decided to go with Aer to get a permit. Aerith told everyone that she wanted to get a permit, but would do so later with Irene and Vasilis, who agreed to meet up with her later. For the moment, she decided to go with Fritzi. Everyone's clothes were distributed and paid for.

"I was not expecting so many people to be willing to go..." Aer adjusted her hood. "Stay together now. We're going to find Mono shortly. I just saw him a few minutes ago." Aer continued to walk towards the south part of the city.

Fritzi eyed Alistair and Aerith in turn. ”Oh uh!” Her eyes moved back onto Hiro before putting her hands on her hips. ”For some reason I thought you were all going to go with the adventurer.” Her smile was so wide, she had to close her eyes. ”I feel kind of bad about taking away Donovan's newest helpers though.”

Donovan shook his head with a smile. ”Ain't a problem Fritzi. Just get that boy something to wear. I'm paying.”

The wolf girl nodded before looking back at her customer. ”Alright sir. After you pick something, we'll get you ready for your first day of work!”

---

Chiyo didn't have to wait long for the gang, only the gang looked a little small today. But she recognized the leader. It was hard to miss Quill. She had silver hair, and wore a horn accessory at all times. She was currently wearing a performer's outfit, so she must have just gotten off of her other job. Whatever that was. Quill didn't talk about herself very much, but she was kind to Chiyo. Or at the very least she always addressed Chiyo in a way that made her feel respected. They didn't interact with each other very much, and it was rare for them to directly speak with each other. When Quill approached, she took a knee. ”It's your best friend. Seems they need some help.” She handed Chiyo an envelope. ”I'm off for the rest of the day. So if you don't mind, I'd like to tag along.”

---

A few guards stopped Aer when she tried to enter the hero's district, but after showing them her adventuring license, they let the group pass. "This route will be safer for you. They know me pretty well around here." The guards didn't seem too put off by everyone's appearance. But eyes were definitely upon them. "Alright, so how about you tell me exactly what happened?" She looked over her shoulder at the group. "This is going to determine everything."

---

Alistair, Aerith, and Hiro were all standing inside a modest home. They had all been given aprons to protect their clothes from, well, their job. While it was a house in the chem, it was one of the many homes owned by a noble named Peppin, who rented them out to customers who didn't want to sleep in an inn. Peppin had several homes, and he expected Fritzi to take care of all of them.

The home had been used, and most of the furnishings needed to be cleaned, with some of them needed to be replaced. The drapes had been pulled off of the windows and thrown onto the floor. One of the chairs around the breakfast table had a broken leg, and it looked like someone tried to replace the finely crafted legs with a broom handle. You knew it was a broom handle because they left the rest of the broom on top of the table. Someone had simply sawed it in half and "repaired" the chair. ”And this is why Peppin always requires a hefty deposit for any of his homes. Animals!” She shook her head before turning to look at the trio. ”So before we get to cleaning, I think we can all agree that it's more fun to do with magic. So real quick, let me hear what element your gates are.” Of course, nobody knew what to say. Fritzi was able to quickly assess what was going on. ”I guess you don't know, huh?” She shrugged her shoulders and smiled. ”No time to learn like the present!” Her eyes shifted side to side. ”Alright, hope you guys aren't too bashful, I'll make sure this is over with as soon as possible.” Fritzi approached Hiro and put her hands together. Then she leaned forward, slowly, very slowly. Hiro could feel her breath caressing his face as she closed the distance. Then her forehead touched his, if only momentarily, before pulling away. ”Yang? Light magic is pretty uncommon. Also, you might have a fever Nohbuliro? Wait, is that how you say it?” She squinted her eyes. ”Nohbul? Noble!” She grinned. ”Noble! You might want to take it easy to start, okay?” Fritzi continued her ritual of slowly pressing her forhead against the other two, and discovered their elements. Aerith was shadow. ”Another rare one!” and Alistair was shadow AND water which was. ”Really weird... Well, let's teach you water to better round out our cleaning team.” She hopped away from everyone. ”Alright, so here's how you perform your first spell.” She folded her arms behind her back. ”Just close your eyes and try to visualize mana flowing out of your gate. It can be anything, from a waterfall filling a pond, or a kettle filling a tea cup. I know one guy who pictures a mouth filling up with plums.” Fritzi closed her eyes. ”It might also help to gently exhale, just to help create that sense of filling something with your body.” As if to demonstrate, Fritzi's chest expanded when she took a large breath. ”Then...” she said while letting go of her breath. ”Just say your incantation. For Noble it should be Jiwald, Aerith is Shamak, and Alistair is Huma. But for me it's-” Her eyes shot open. ”Fura!” Her arm shot out, and a gale of wind blew past everyone, kicking dust into the air. ”That made things a little cleaner.” she chuckled. ”Alright, your turn!”

Ashton Andrews and Flame Brooks

Ashton blinked at the mention of 'Mono'; they were going to that guy? For a brief moment, the boy chilled with the thought of remembered death, as well as the unnatural fear that struck him when he had tried to tell Mono of their means of transport the first time. So he would have to reword what he would say next in order to tell as much of the truth as possible while not violating the rules of his 'Geas' (single s' not double s'). Pausing carefully, Ashton was the first to speak to Aer.

"It all began in our land, our unknown native land and country. I and Flame were having a romantic walk, close to our house, when all of a sudden, we found ourselves in a sudden darkness." A pause. "Within said Darkness was a figure of pure black, with the initials L.T."

Ashton hoped that not referring to 'Lord Talus' directly would deter the mental block from making its apperance. "This darkness spoke of ferrying us, taking us to someone who was in love with us - even though Flame and I are already taken by each other. And then the darkness lifted and we found ourselves in the middle of a merchant's district in your land."

A pause. "You spoke of Cultists earlier, and magic, from the looks of it, is based on the four elements, light, and darkness." A guess from his Videogames and Wisp's show of fire magic earlier. "Could it be possible that some sort of darkness-based magic has been cast on us? If so, it might answer an earlier mystery."

Ashton smiled at his discovery, "Basically, if Cultists are being hunted down, there must be some way of detecting them, as well as detecting Dark Magic. If we've been immersed in said magic, then we might show as Cultists to magical senses. Basically, I think a curse has been cast on us by our kindnapper, L.T., as part of an experiment. It could also be that darkness-based magic was responsible for our 'insertion' into Priestella, if that were the case. If so, the reasons why are shrouded in mystery, but it's clear that we are as ignorant of it as you are, and therefore relatively innocent."

A pause. "Now, would this be within the realm of possibility, and if so, would the one you calll Mono be understanding of it?"

Golden Quarter, Center Road, Priestella
Deaths: 1

---

She was regretting this quickly.

Hiro and Aerith seemed as though they wanted to go with the fox. Understandable. Those ears and tails really looked like they'd be fun to pet. Ah, she should have stayed with them. She was feeling incredibly self conscious with these new people. Those two boys who were obviously a couple weren't helping. Urgh. So for the most part, Chieko hung towards the back, minding her own business. She didn't fit in with these people. That much was certain. They were all probably just as clueless as everyone else. At least Hiro and Aerith had been...nice...

Following along, Chieko kept her ears open. Jeez, the couple was a talkative bunch. She supposed it was understandable and good, but she couldn't help but to feel they should be a little more tight lipped on what happened. Not to mention those silly acronyms and the way he pleaded innocence just made him seem a bit more suspicious if she would have been on the other side of this.

"...Nothing to add." Chieko quietly replied in a mildly disinterested tone to the elf. "Someone snatched us from our home and dropped us here. Don't really know who or why."

Unbeknownst to all, deep in the recesses of Anyon’s mind, there was a surprising amount of turmoil within. It wasn’t that of some form of angst or trauma though, but more of the lines of a change in her usual thinking status. Usually, Anyon would be an aggressive talker, casually but unintentionally intimidating others to agreeing with her or simply putting them off all but entirely due to her sheer foul language and crass behavior. Strangely, this time, there was an actual part of her showing active restraint from this typical behavior. A part of her trying to...change, for lack of a better way. This man after all...This group helped make sure Mirt hadn’t gotten killed. Sure, they probably woulda been fine anyway, but who gives a shit? Damage and help was done and it was still appreciated help no matter how one were to look at it.

In fact, if one were to best exemplify her thought process at the moment, it could best be described as two physical forms of her opposing feelings. Each one would be known as “Unreasonable” and “Reasonable.” Unreasonable, as expected, is an anger filled, in-your-face, devil-like caricature of Anyon herself, as if looking like all her worse aspects in one concentrated form. Yet, Reasonable is simply a version of Anyon that is clean, a blissful look on her face, and having a strange but relaxing radiance to her. Dare one say, it looks like what would truly expect a holy woman to look like. The two would obviously be at conflict as the woman spoke her words, but they seemed to still be a simple stalemate.

Well, they were until Mono opened his mouth back. The second the words registered, Unreasonable proceeded to suplex Reasonable straight into the ground, shattering the poor thing’s spine clean in half. It could just watch as Unreasonable cracked its knuckles, neck, and laughed as it gained back control. Well, at least reasonability was considered for a few seconds, right?

“What the fuck were the words that just came out of your mouth, you short-stack, cockhead?” She said as her fists got tighter and her eyes began to glare at Mono from under her hat. The second after he took a step towards her, her neck cranked down as she leveled her head to glare at him even harder, if that was even possible at this point. The seconds she heard the knights approach from behind, her neck snapped over to them at lightning speed. If one were to look at them, it’d be looking at a rage demon from hell’s eyeballs, her irises gleaming

“I ain’t fighting your fucking boss over some stupid insults, but I got fucking words with him for a moment.” She growled matter-of-factly. Then her voice went to a gravely deepness that one would be shocked to hear come from a woman’s, let alone a human. It sounded like someone had been munching on gravel and coal their whole life. Her eyes narrowed more. [color=darkolivegreen]“Now, Sit. The Fuck. Back.” Whatever gentleness was on her voice earlier was obviously gone. The troops simply looked at each other before looking back at the monk. They were not going to force her outside just yet. Her head turned back to meet Mono, still cranked down to meet his eyes evenly.

“Listen up, you weird-masked, rapist piece of dick cheese.” Her arms crossed as it seemed very obvious that she was about to verbally fire right back. “If you horrible-timed morons hadn’t been so late having your fingers lodged up your ass, busy slamming your heads against trees to see if maybe you it’d somehow make you such a dumbass that’d spin back around to making you smart, or whatever other dumb shenanigans you were up to while we were down here, me and him never would have even needed to be down here, would we? Let alone having to even have to fucking kill a pack of dumb wolves.” She proceeded to point at first Mirt, then the wolf carcass without looking at either of them.

“And you seriously think those fucking sorry excuses for canine is my level of a suicide? Let alone one of them?! Fuck you, then that gas-mask must make you more blind and dumb than you already were, which must be some accomplishment in engineering cause I didn’t think that’d even be possible!” She roared right at him. Despite her angry words, she wasn’t making any notable vicious movements, like strikes or anything. Though there was plenty times where she raised her hands angrily, as if to see if that would make her volume even louder.

Her back suddenly straightened up though as she glared again, keeping her eyes right at the eyeholes where Mono’s eyes most likely were under the mask. “For fucks sakes, I’m sure if that group over there didn’t go missing and we didn’t stumble into this shambling ruin of a building, you wouldn’t have even found out where these wolves and those glass shard ball-less trio of bumblefucks even were until a decade from now!? Am I right?!” She once again brought her neck down as she crossed her arms and glared harder at Mono. Her expression wasn’t just angry, it was downright boiling. “Am. I. Fucking. RIGHT?!”

During Anyon's entire tirade, Mono remained motionless. Nothing she said or did caused him to react in any way. The only time he moved his head was to keep his eyes locked on hers. Even when she finished, Mono didn't have anything to add. One of the troops behind her kicked at the back of her knees, and two other knights seized the monk woman's arms. No matter how strong she was, she wouldn't be able to pull free from their hold. But Mono raised his hand. ”Duo, Quad.” The soldiers stopped. ”No one told me there were others present.” He raised his fingers, and the troops pulled Anyon to her feet and stepped backwards. ”This other group, what did they look like?”

The troops had her down in moments. However, Anyon, despite the comprimising situation, still gave that ever familiar confidence and seemingly looseness of her body, ready to fight. But she kept her head down for but a moment...until she was released from the others grasp. The second they did, her staff hand made an incredibly fast movement. It wasn't much but a simple tap to the back of the head of the soldier on her left. Not very hard, but definitely something that could easily be felt. And the second they did, she finally rose. Her expression had once again changed, but this time it wasn't anger. It was more accurately a gaze that, too possibly an unkeen outsider, would think it as a simple blank expression. But distinctly, it gave off something raw...hard to truly pinpoint but easy to detect. The air around her seemed to chill itself and it was as if just staring at her face gave that same feeling of a chill, like they had turned into a cold corpse. The stronger willed could probably surpress the feeling. She stared right back into Mono's eyes, her entire back straight as she spoke...far calmer this time.

"The group I was talking about was the blonde girls with those other knights. The only other group besides them was the group that passed by previously. You read my sentence wrong." She then looked over towards the 3 knights that had previously subdued her, her eyes narrowing substantially more as she looked at each of them. "Your physical takedown training wasn't good." She said matter-of-a-factly. "Those attacks, while not bad, only worked due to speed instead of any actual technique. Your legs themselves were completely vulnerable. One rearrangement of my foot in that second would've resulted in you tripped instead." She pointed first at the man's heel before pointing towards his neck. "A neck chop from me in a specific point near your nape would either paralyze you from the waist down or kill you outright. The accuracy and precision would be a trouble to dodge, and even if you could dodge, you'd be in a position for me to use you as a hostage, if I was that spineless."

She then put her eyes towards the soldiers who grabbed her arms, analyzing just the same. "You two did slightly better, using your numbers in an admittedly efficient if simple way. But even then, I still had my staff. A side stab would be easy, would it not? In that split second of pain from you and surprise from the both of you, my left arm would have the movement necessary to do any multitude of actions. Surely if you know anything about martial arts, you know that. And if your friend failed to knee me, you'd have even more actions to worry about." She finally took those judging eyes off the two of them as she looked back to Mono. However, she had one more sentence. "I say that not as a threat, but so you don't do stupid shit. We aren't enemies and fighting you solves nothing, so I refuse to let sloppiness stand by. Now then..." Her voice and focus was now completely focused upon Mono. Her mouth grimaced far more, looking as if she was about to be sick, thought out of disgust then out of illness.

"You taught them, right? Is this attitude also a teaching of yours or not?" It was obvious that she was asking out of a mixture of anger, curiousity, and some, some semblance of hate, though more pity than anything. Her stance was also far more prepared...active. It was hard to tell for others probably as it was an Aier'Sun made stance, one of many. A slightly wide legged posture with the arms seemingly straightened, but truly very loose in movement. The knees had a slight bend that was hard to tell with the robe, and the feet were slightly off the ground, ready to move around if need be.

”Perhaps they let their guard down because they knew that even if you were successful, it wouldn't have made any difference.” Mono spat out his words like they were bile. ”I think I've allotted all the time I could afford to you. If you don't have anything useful to say, you can piss off.” The troops moved in closer. They would not back down a second time.

Anyon simply glared once again at the man. She could feel the troops get closer towards her. They were seriously willing to lay hands upon her...It seemed like it would be their funeral, brought to them by their own foolish leader. Her grip on her staff was tight, firm, and she already envisioned the spells she already knew she'd have to say to these pieces of shit. At least, until realization finally hit her. One was obvious and fair, but the other was harder to swallow.

The obvious fact is that while Mirt was mostly healed, he still probably needed rest to be in any fighting shape. These lot were willing to attack someone they consiered a citizen just because of a few rude words she said, there was no doubt in her mind that they wouldn't hate taking hostages either. That'd be a blow to both their prides and probably a death sentence for her. But more importantly, this masked man...He was powerful, as much as she hated to admit it. At least magically-wise. The troops could be taken care of easily and barely registered as threats in her head. But add them with this guy, let alone facing him alone? No. It was a fool's errand. If she were to die, it wouldn't be due to some troops trying to turn an argument into a battle. This wasn't the time.

"Seems like I've wasted plenty of my own time here too. Any reward I'd get from you now would make me feel disgusted with myself." She said with as much venom as Mono gave to her. She gave a hand to Mirt to pick him up from where he was being healed. With him up, she proceeded towards the door. But not before giving one last glare and insult from underneath her hat, simply as a note that she wasn't to be trifled with. "You ever wanna back up any of your fucking words, you know where to find me. Otherwise, choke on your own gas smothered dick, got it?" She said with the iconic deepness of her voice as she left towards the same exit the others had used.

The troops had stopped in their tracks and just let Anyon and Mirt leave of their own accord. Mono kept his hands folded behind his back and watched the two leave out of the corner of his visor. Once they were gone, he looked back at the two knights who had arived here first. ”Do either of you have a fucking thing to say for yourselves!?”

@Zelosse

@BrokenPromise

Chiyo beamed with a rare genuine smile when Quill arrived and similar to the way the siver haired woman took a knee, Chiyo gave a polite curtsy of her dirty clothes as she dipped her head respectfully. For all appearances it was a simple gesture and unthreatening but the little womans hands were positioned in a way that put them in easy reach of the knives strapped below.
Ever ready to strike by surprise.

Coming up from the curtsy, Chiyo took the envelope and swiped with her opposite hand, a small sharp throwing dagger mysteriously in hand as it neatly slashed a clean line through the paper before vanishing with the same alarmingly quick and practiced flick.
The contents were a meeting location and, as Chiyo could likely guess, Quill was to inform her of the specifics when the gang was properly gathered.

"Big Sister Quill is always welcome to come along. But we should get going; don't want to keep my best friend waiting!" An innocent sounding giggle accompanied the fake innocent smile now growing across the little monsters face as Chiyo grabbed Quills hand and eagerly moved forward, seeming every bit the innocent and harmless youth.

---

Mirt merely groaned at Anyons disposition. Talk of payment and violence for aid were better left when their little mercenary company was hired to fight rather than getting involved. It was also equally shameful that the Knight had healed Mirt rather than leave him as a casualty. Beggars couldn't be choosers in a situation like this one and so the Older Monk could merely shrug the ordeal away and attempt to move on. Attempt being the keyword, as his legs still felt like rubber.

Despite the verbal tirade sparking from Anyons mouth, words that could make a flooded forest burst to flames, Mirt was not even going to attempt to dissuade Anyon from the fight she so clearly wanted. Her pride was enormous and matched her skills but Mono was another demon in itself. No fear. A warrior to their core. When at last the to had spilled their angry words and Anyon finally turning to leave, it was Mirts turn to do the talking.

"Sir Knight. Excuse my hot headed daughter. No doubt her concern for my life has effected her judgement and so I would be a poor father if an apology for her and myself was not in order."

The old monks hands rested at his sides as he dipped into a low bow, his beard touching the floor as he bent nearly all the way to the floor with relative ease for a man of his age and despite his painful but recovering wounds.

"You have my gratitude, friend, for saving me when you had no cause to. As such it is my duty to offer my services as repayment for my damaged honor." Mirt raised his head and offered his hand, a gnarled limb of scars showing a lifetime of hardship, in peace to the knight captain. "Though it may not seem it, I am a warrior of some skill in my homeland and offer my services to you free of charge. Mirt, of the mercenary company 'Danger for hire'."

@Ryofu@FamishedPants@BrokenPromise

---

Aerith had to admit, her new clothes for "this" world were comfortable and....kinda cozy really. And they were kinda cute to boot, in a "fantasy world esque" sort of manner! Plus it had been nice to get an apron with which to keep her clothes somewhat protected against the dust and grime they would be cleaning to boot. A bit of experience, potentially some cash, to her that was the good idea to pass the time and start things of here proper. Then she'd meet Irene and Vasilis to go get identification and such things. Safely. Without a large group. That was what had scared her the most about it, albeit she hoped sincerely that Chieko would be ok. Well....not that she didn't want the other "hey we are from Earth too" people to die, but she'd become attached to her original group a bit at least by this point.

No to mention the overriding question of why Lord talus had pulled them here, despite the reason he gave. In truth, it would seem the reason for this was a certain someone who "loved" her. She wanted to meet this person, though she got the feeling this would be a struggle.

Regardless, as Fritzi put her foreheads to hers to learn her magic element Aerith felt a small rise in heat into her face. This close...well, Fritzi was kinda cute. Her skin was petty soft as well, kinda like....wait, bad Aerith! The girl chastised herself mentally at what she dubbed "pulling a Hiro", though her attention was quickly pulled away as the animal-like girl told them how to cast magic. This had been another topic entering into her mind, and as she was told her magic word the memory of earlier entered into her mind. Shamak? That was the word that Irene had used to immobilize that entire crowd of bandits! She'd even memorized what Irene had done to attempt later in secret, but....well, this was her chance to do something with it at least!

Aerith closed her eyes, seeking to do as Fritzi has instructed. In her mind, the picture took the form of water pouring from a hot kettle into a tea cup, gentle yet filling, serene...yet focused and deliberate. Her breathing seemed to adjust to this unconsciously, and then she opened her eyes and extended a hand whilst breathing out gently and calmly. Her face seemed to echo the feelings she'd channeled, or rather the image she'd mentally channeled for this with her being the teacup and the magic being the kettle, before she spoke in a manner as she'd seen Irene do earlier.



And issuing from her palm was, to her surprise, a cloud of black dust, filling up the space in front of her and fogging up the air like a fog would do back home. Wait, it was filling up the room?! Nonono! This was going to make it all dirtier, wasn't it?

Mono didn't respond to Mirt's words, and simply turned around to continue directing the knights around. Anyon and Mirt had only taken a few steps outside before they noticed a large congregation of people moving in their direction.



Aer was still considering what she had been told. "Does this unknown country you come from have a name?" Are brought her hand to her chin. "Regardless, if these were cultists, the only love they could possibly be talking about is the love of the witch of pride. Do they think you're capable of becoming archbishops I wonder?" Aer looked over her shoulder at her group. "Did anyone chant the word shammack? If there was a dark spell involved of some kind, there's a chance someone would have said something like that." Aer nearly bumped into the monks, but managed to spot them first. "Excuse me, have either of you seen Mono? I heard he was headed in this direction to purge a possible cult dwelling."

---

Aerith was able to summon a cloud of dark spores, to which Fritzi clapped along to. ”You cast a spell! Great!” She placed a hand on her chin, keeping her pinkie extended. ”It's... a little underwhelming, but I'm sure you'll get better with practice.” She turned to the other two. ”What's the matter guys? You're not scared are you? Or perhaps you're just a little distracted?” She giggled. ”Alright Aerith, I don't think your magic is going to be very useful for cleaning. But that's why I brought lots of buckets, and tons of washcloths! There's also a pitcher pump out back if Alestair can't figure his magic out.” She glared at the blond man before stepping into the next room. ”Just clean whatever! You can also set damaged or ill repaired furniture outside. Someone should be coming by to replace or repair that stuff later today.”

Were the nerves getting to him after all? Though Yuuki thought that Ashton’s narration was just a little bit too dramatic for his liking, he could hardly protest about what the boy had said. The truth did have a place in this scenario, and if Ashton and Flame wanted to talk, then they could. He kept his own head down and his backpack strapped tight as he followed Aer and the group in silence, unwilling to get wholly involved in all this theorizing. Being transported to another fantasy land was something real, and he could even understand the conflict between knights, as keepers of order, and cultists, as creepy little shits that do creepy shitty stuff. But magic? And theorizing about it? Being cursed?

“As a ferryman, it is just my job to move you around.”

“She must be in the mood for something strange to pick someone like you.”

“What I'd like to know is if you feel you're worthy of love? What makes you deserving of such a blessing?”

Yuuki narrowed his eyes. The words pinged through his skull like diamond dust as he felt his heart beat against his rib cage again. Felt it beat too fast. Breathed deep. Set it to slow again, emptying it of trepidation and attachment.

Remember where you came from.

“I came from Earth,” he said slowly, grounding himself with facts, “A place where we have science instead of magic to solve our problems, and where dozens of countries exist on six different continents, each one of them capable of communicating with the other.”

It slowed further, his pulse. His blue eyes were bright against the sunlight.

“And there was no word chanted, only a grasping of our hand. As for what they think…I don’t think they did think all that much. It was more like…”

The hands turned into claws, the voice dripped with simplistic malice.

“…pettiness and envy. But huh, are cultists actually something that’s common in Priestella? Or is this ‘Mono’ working overtime because we showed up?”
@BrokenPromise

Ashton Andrews and Flame Brooks

There had still been a sensation of fear when shortening Lord Talus' name to 'LT', but it was slight and more managable. Nevertheless, Ashton was surprised and a little uncomfortable when Kimura told too much of the truth, coming close to saying that Earth was another world. But he had to trust the other boy to know what he was doing; Ashton needed to let others have their share of the... Effort.

In the meantime, he was prepared to theorize about the 'Archbishops', before Flame tugged on his shirt sleeve. Ashton turned towards him to find the latter a bit nervous, even frightened. This was explained by his boyfriend's next words.

"I, Alistair, and 'Father Whiskey' abandoned those monks when we escaped from a few monsters back in our... Starting point. Considering the fact that we had nothing to fight with, it would be understandable to do it if they knew that. But they probably didn't, and as they seem to be warrior monks, they might demand that we be punished for 'cowardice'."

Ashton nodded in comprehension, before saying to Flame, "I think you should apologize." Upon seeing his boyfriend's shocked expression, Ashton held up his hands and said, "I know, I know! You don't think it'll work. But, the way I see it, you abandoned them in their time of need. Yes, I know you feared for your life and so did the people with you then, and it was probably good that you ran away, but that was then; this is now. And we can't afford making more enemies than necessary."

Flame looked nervous and looked down before he got up to gaze at Aer, then the Monks, waiting for the latter to fully register his presence. Then he cleared his throat and said, "Hey. It's me. One of the three people who abandoned you to that wolf-thing. Multiple wolf-things, in fact. I'm not going to justify my actions; they're not excusable. But if you want a reason that we left, though, it's because we are afraid for our lives."

His expression hardened. "No, we did not do anything wrong. But it was clear that we were suspected of being criminals of some sort, even members of a deadly Cult, and that those who were sent against us were authorized to let go of due process. We didn't want to die."

Then Flame's face softened; cynicism was still there, but it fuelled fear instead of defiance. "I am sorry. I and my companions should not have left you behind. Now we truly will die, innocence or no innocence."

Aki gave Irene a big hug before they chit chatted a little about life and all. After they were done the group they had been close to had split up in multiple small groups. Most of them were wearing their new clothes as they fit in way better now in the crowd of people. Irene went her own way as well leaving Aki and Eiko alone once more. Aki turned towards the other girl to hear what she wanted to do now all the nice people left.



Aki waited for Eiko to reply hopefully agreeing with what Aki had in mind. She either took Eiko her hand to follow after Chieko or parted ways planning to meet later again.

Once Aki catched up to Chieko she cheerfully smiled at the girl.