"SQWWWAAAKK!!!"

Ozzy sometimes squawked when he was surprised. And having the coffin suddenly fly open, its contents already beginning to fall out, gave the harpy a shock which caused his wings to flare out and he swung his wings up to propel him from the shallow hole, even as the girl looked upon with cold dead, hungry eyes. "AHH! They've become monster zombies!" He warned. Not only power necromancy can do this but demonic mana! Maybe they buried monsters here too, or the land had been tainted by the sorrow of monster who despaired or died here! This was bad for all of them, especially bad for the males. Even Ditzy and Ozzy, both monsters, would register as male to these simple creatures.

Neil shouted something, get to to the church before there was a sign of a struggle. He flew over to Neil- "Ditzy get the twins!" He shouted suddenly taking command in a spur of the moment. "Ada, get that church door open!" Forde had hopefully made it away safely.

Ozzy dropped down into the hole and his odd boots unfurled into large gripping talons. He had to grab Neil and he had to make sure not to hurt him but with enough strength to get him out of the hole and away from his attacker. He pounced in, trying to get a grip on his shoulders before flying out- the woman on his back made things a bit more difficult but Ozzy tried. If he could break him out of the zombies clutches, he should get Neil to the church. "Sorry mame! But he has a girlfriend!" He just wanted to sound cool while helping someone... for once.

Ozzy didn't look it but he was still a harpy, and capturing human men and whisking them away was part of their wing physiologies, so those wings had alot of upward force despite their relatively small size.

@PaulHaynek

Yang Bethlehem

Fated favored her as Yang attack landed on target. It lifted Nero several feet in the air before he landed on the ground.

Right at the moment she relaxed and moved forward to see if Nero was alright, he got up to his feet much to her shock. While she was avoiding vital point, it was still her best attack that would've knocked someone in her caliber out cold.

It certainly gave her a sense of how much she needed to learn and truly how wide the world was.

She politely brought a hand over her fist and bowed to Nero in respect before the latter asked for the audience around them watch to applause for her, to which she just bowed to them as well.

"Apologies for the trouble and scene."

Afterward, once the crowd dispersed and she was invited for a drink in Nero's house. The latter then said that she can ask him anything since he had a front seat to everything.

Yang paused as she held the cup in her hands, thinking about it for a moment, before she took a sip from her drink first.

"I didn't challenge you for information, I challenge you simply to see how strong you are." Yang begin and placed her drink on the table back. "However, with how things are, there are a few things I like to know."

"First, a brief history on this Varjo and what they planned to do here. I'm a foreigner and most of what I heard are hearsays, ones that I thought were an exaggeration at first. Now it seems those were understating it."

"The other one...well, how and why did you leave them?" Yang said as she leaned forward.

After listening to Nero and digesting the information, an idea formulates in her head.

"Sir Nero, I have a request, if it's not too much for you. Should the worst come to pass and Varjo comes here. Would you take up arms to protect those that can't?" Yang said.

As it is, the guild being targeted seemed highly likely but it wouldn't do if the come after those that weren't involved with them. If they're to oppose Varjo, they'll need a lot more people and allies in this. Those like Nero doesn't necessarily need to aid the rebel but simply band together.

"Also, I'm sorry for breaking your sword. Do you need help fixing that? We have a cyclops and blacksmith in our guild."

---

Ditzy Stoneclub

@13org@PaulHaynek@ShwiggityShwah

While Ditzy was uncomfortably moving all the coffins and checking, hearing Nail asking on why there are so many women and the state of their corpse had Ditzy on edge.

"Ditzy thinks Neil need to be quiet." He commented softly, not really liking where this is going. It reminded him far too much of that time he had hidden near a cemetery during hide and seek game.

Then, exactly like that time, the corpse of the woman jumped to action and grab hold of Neil. At that point, Ditzy fear had exploded into reality.

@Stern Algorithm

So frightened was he, Ditzy didn't even question Ozzy and ran straight to the twins, carried them, the potted plant they're in and the entire cart like it weight nothing more than a box. Fear and adrenaline-fueled, Ditzy charged straight to the church door that if Ada doesn't open it in time, Ditzy would bash the door down with a kick.

^{@Restalaan@ShwiggityShwah@Stern Algorithm}

Ada tried to follow the conversation between Neil and the other guy but she simply didn't know what he wanted from Neil. He was pointing towards him almost as if he wanted something from him, but he also didn't appear to be someone that she should trust. Nonetheless, they still had a job to do and as Ozzy approached her with a strange stick with a flat end he called a 'shovel' Ada immediately turned her attention to he curious object and how Ozzy taught her to use it in order to make holes on the ground. Even though Ada could easily make holes with her claws, she was still curious to know how it worked so she kept imitating Ozzy until the plant sisters showed them that they could do exactly what they were doing but way easier and faster.

Ada watched curiously as the plant sisters used her roots to both find and dig the coffins, easily being able to pull them up. It was lucky that they could do it so easily, as it wouldn't be simple for Ada nor the others to do it. Lila kept following them around as they did their work, watching curiously as they used their roots to do so.

After they finished digging the strange boxes off the ground, Ditzy was the first to open one as it was instructed and explained by Ozzy and the others. She was curious about what was inside then but the stench from the box Ditzy opened immediately made her jump away as she tried to get closer. Probably, whatever they were searching wasn't inside that stinky box but maybe the one her and Ozzy would open would be different. It was so bad that even Ozzy covered his face. When she and Ozzy were about to open the other box, Ada hoped it wouldn't be as stinky but almost immediately was shown to be wrong... The stench was so strong that made her jump back, sticking her tongue out of her mouth, shaking her head a bit with a disgusted expression.

Unfortunately for her, Ozzy wanted her to continue opening the stinky boxes, pointing to another one as he explained that they were searching for a thin, paper thing. Ada did know what paper was, having both saw and seen some humans using it before, but she had never looked at it closely so she didn't know exactly how it was. The moment he opened the other box, already expecting a very bad smell, she was surprised to notice that there wasn't any bad smell at all. As she looked inside, she saw a fresh, dead body, what explained the bad smell from the other box and where exactly they were. Before she could look inside though, she heard a cry coming from where Neil was. Surprisingly enough, one of the dead bodies had just grabbed him, showing itself to be not exactly dead. Shortly after, other bodies started to get up in the same way. Dashing to where he was the moment she saw another dead body pouncing on him, Ada used her sharp claws to cut the zombies arms, trying to give enough room for Ozzy to rescue Neil after she saw him flying towards him.

Unfortunately for them, the dead bodies continued to rise one after another and fighting didn't seem to be the best option. When Ozzy pointed towards the building, Ada immediately understood his words to open the door as Ditzy rushed towards them. Using her speed Ada dashed, getting to the doors before Ozzy and opening them as he ran closer.

---

Freyr

It was thanks to the help of the unknown monster girl, but George's carriage was fortunately, safe. The goblins were dealt with and without any losses on his cargo. When George turned to thank him, he noticed the newcomer. Thanking her as well, George said that he would need to split the reward, apologizing to Freyr.

"No need to apologize, she helped a lot as well. Splitting it would be only fair." Freyr replied as he nodded to the monster girl, who had just introduced herself as Kira.

When she heard about the guild though, she seemed to be interested about it, asking if Freyr was a member. At first, Freyr thought she was just curious but when she mentioned Bartholomew's name, he knew that she knew exactly what guild that was and was talking of the same guild Freyr was a member.

"I am indeed a member, but how do you know Bart? Did he call you to the guild as well?" Freyr asked, looking to Kira with a curious stare.

@PaulHaynek @13org (FYR)

"Yeah, I know him. In fact, he invited me to join the guild a really long while ago. I would've joined at that point, but several family emergencies and a sudden invading force of bandits threatening the town had me staying home for a time.", Kira replied, chuckling as she scratched the back of her head. "But it's all good now and I'm now finally able to take up on Bart's overdue invitation. And with good timing too! Didn't think I would be helping a guildmember today before I even joined in! Small world, right?"

@Restalaan @PaulHaynek @13org @ShwiggityShwah

As the coffins and caskets were opened and everyone reacted negatively to the smell, Sylvia considered spreading some pollen to counteract the stench. Granted, being a plant, the smell reminded the sisters of fertilizer, and was pleasant for them. Fortunately, the liliraune was highly attuned to the fact that different animals preferred different fragrances, and Vivian, having been raised by humans, knew not to get tastes mixed up in her cooking. The sisters ultimately decided that spreading pollen would be a waste of time, since something that smelled sickly sweet might actually be more nauseating than something that merely smelled sickly.

But as the zombies began attacking, the sisters screamed in surprise and began to inefficiently slap away any approaching zombies with their flailing roots and vines. Upon being picked up by Ditzy, for which the sisters were grateful for, Sylvia feeling particularly guilty for how she had previously judged the hobgoblin, the focused their vine attacks to keep any zombies from dragging or slowing down Ditzy. Sylvia also jealously slapped at the zombies that were crawling all over Neil, but she was carried away before she could do much to help. At least Ozzy was able to lift Neil to safety.Upon reaching the church, the liliraune started to entangle the church doors with their vines, but not enough to prevent the doors from shutting. "Quick! Get inside! I'm gonna close it! That Forde! I don't think there was a patrol at all! He knew this would happen!" Sylvia called the others to safety while Vivian began to express her suspicions. If and when everyone had made it inside, the sisters would close the door and entangle the frame, fortifying the entrance.

Dubious Wares And Questionable Methods
~@13org (FYR), @Rezod92~

The trip to Ambran was without any further incident, only small talk between George, Freyr and Kira.

Upon getting to the neutral town, however, what greeted the trio first was a troubling sight. Plastered on a wall was a wanted poster of George Costava himself, awarding a hefty three hundred gold pieces for his capture. His crimes included possession and sale of illegal substances as well as forgery of information. "Oh, that is not good."

George immediately turned to Freyr and Kira. "Look, it is true. I do sell drugs. But they are harmless and many people like it. Is demon-energy free too, no risk of corruption. Not to mention high quality." He attempted to justify himself. "Besides, I need profits to fund our operation against Ravager's Rest. Such ventures not cheap, you know?"

"Listen, I pay you triple the bounty and we can all walk away from this happy. Fair deal, yes?"

---

Black Wolf
~@Restalaan (YNG)~

"First, a brief history on this Varjo and what they planned to do here. I'm a foreigner and most of what I heard are hearsays, ones that I thought were an exaggeration at first. Now it seems those were understating it. The other one...well, how and why did you leave them?"

"It's Varjo. What you see is what you get." Nero chuckled before taking a swig. "I heard that Varjo was long ago a not-so-bad kingdom. A magical kingdom but I forgot it's name. Once the change happened, Varjo's royalty concentrated all the kingdom's wealth to the capital and left all its lands for dead, turning them into little more than bandit dens. The Order was not happy with this but while Varjo's armies may be brutal and ruthless, they're also loyal and effective. And that's all the Order needed to keep them around."

"Then the monsters transformed into... what they are now." Nero took another drink. "The Order's usual tactics was ineffective against them. I mean, who's going to murder an innocent Holstaur and not be haunted by it? And that's where Varjo came in. I'm sure you already know but the warriors of Varjo aren't exactly right in the head. They're more than happy to slaughter the innocent, monster or otherwise." He then sighed. "The depravity of their brutality also scares away monsters so that's a neat bonus."

"Varjo gained prominence for being able to ward off monsters better than the other Order nations. And by 'ward off monsters' I mean horribly oppressive to your subjects and if they complain, execute them and build effigies out of their corpses." Nero poured more wine. "Their rotten methods haven't taken hold in many of the Order kingdoms, but it's spreading. It's spreading."

"As for me, well first you'll need context." Nero sipped. "Several years ago, the Order needed humanity to be united against monsterkind. There were a lot of independent human kingdoms that squabbled with one another and the Order needed to fold them in. In a miracle, the Chief God blessed several individuals into Great Heroes who would lead armies in a crusade and unite mankind."

"Long story short, it didn't work out. Half of those armies betrayed the other half and pledged their service to Varjo, plunging the Order kingdoms into a brutal civil war for several years. It was large, but still localized so don't be surprised you haven't heard of it." Nero paused for a moment. "I was part of those rebel armies, the Black Wolves in particular. But my own Great Hero, my brothers whom I fought and bled with, betrayed me because they considered me and several others loyalists. Not that they weren't right."

"I managed to escape the trap and drifted all the way to Zipangu." Nero sniffed, memories coming back to him. "By the time I came back, the rebels have won. The Order higher-ups were convinced by Varjo and branded us the actual traitors. So, here I am. Everything I fought for, everything I sacrificed, all that blood and mud and tears. It was all for nothing."

"Sir Nero, I have a request, if it's not too much for you. Should the worst come to pass and Varjo comes here. Would you take up arms to protect those that can't?"

Nero laughed. "Varjo's not gonna come here. Don't you know the history of this place? This was once Varjan territory, but then it's garrison got bored of looking over fishermen and decided to pillage this place and slaughtered most of the folks before leaving. The monsters of the sea came not long after to help this port recover."

"But yeah. I used to think that fighting was pointless, much like what happened in the crusade. But you've shown me, that inside I'm really a fighter. A warrior and I will fight these Varjan bastards until my last breath." Nero had made his position clear.

"Also, I'm sorry for breaking your sword. Do you need help fixing that? We have a cyclops and blacksmith in our guild."

"Nah. It's been high time for me to get one. Besides, as a single man, I don't think I want to owe a Cyclops anything."

---

That's What Friends Do
~@Stern Algorithm, @ShwiggityShwah, @Restalaan (DIT), @13org (ADA)~

"Sorry mame! But he has a girlfriend!"

"Wait, what girlfriend?! Whoa!" Neil had to ask before being lifted off by Ozzy, but the Zombie held tight to the boy. Ada had slashed at the Zombie's arms, not enough to cut it off, but it did release her grip on Neil.

Ditzy carried the Altissima sisters into the church which Ada had opened, getting there first with her speed. Once Ozzy and Neil were inside, the Liliraune closed the doors with their vines. The horde descended upon the abandoned church, surrounding the building and banging on its doors and walls.

Inside the church were the typical pews and empty candle holders. The pews were ruined but still intact and Neil had a plan. "Guys, help me with these pews. We need to block the main door." With that, the wooden double doors of the church were reinforced by the pile of pews behind it and saving the Altissima sisters from the effort of blocking it.

The moans of the undead were unceasing as the party secured their perimeter. The other smaller entrances were blocked and the windows were too high to be reached by the Zombies. Soon, the party could rest and catch their breaths but they still did not have a way out.

After several minutes, Neil was the one to speak up. "Alright. What do we do now?"

Ada was on the window as the group discussed. She saw a burly-looking Zombie among the horde, and in her hands was a small piece of paper that had clear drawings upon it.

Ozzy was lucky to have Ada there. He flapped his wings, pulled, hoping he didn’t need to squeeze any harder in order to free Neil from their undead clutches. He plucked Neil up when she let go and he immediately flew towards the church. Ozzy soared through the front door and then needed to flap a bunch to slow himself down. Once that happened he let Neil go. He turned his head and gave a quick little head count. Everyone was safe for now.
Neil shouted about the pews and Ozzy did his part, he gripped a Pew and remembered how he gripped a log of wood with Sensei Yang. It helped, definitely. He grabbed some of the far pieces and plucked them close for the others with arms hands to pile it up.

A few frantic minutes later, checking the front, the back, he sides, Ozzy landed and gave himself a breather with the rest of his friends. ”That was close.” He said before looking back up to Neil’s words. Ozzy got up. ”Well... I’m the least likely to get caught by them, unless zombies fly now. Which they shouldnt.” he concurred. ”I could- I could try to lead some away. Sylvia and Vivian could try to dig out the back. That gives Ditzy, Ada, and Neil a chance to defend them while we get away. I’d say Ada could distract them, but she’s a girl so that won’t work.“ He thought a moment... ”Then there is still that map... I wonder if one of them has it.”

@PaulHaynek

Yang Bethlehem

Yang took this information slowly and ruminate on it, finally getting some context on what happened and how did the relationship between Varjo and the Order went. She did raise an eyebrow when Nero mentioned he was in Zipangu, come to think of it, he didn't really bat much more attention when she showed herself in the first place.

A moment passed as she sat down quietly to think about this, wondering how to proceed. Ultimately, she did have a questioned that lingered in her mind.

"Sir Nero, do you think some of your own compatriots survived like you did?" Yang asked, wondering if there are any. It'll certainly help them if they bring more of them slowly and quietly.

Although Varjo will definitely not keep quiet when the other faction slowly came together.

After he gave his answer and most of all, saying that he need a new sword anyways. Yang declined to push further.

"I see, understood then but if you need a good weapon or metals, tools to be repaired, we do have a cyclops." Yang smiled as she stood and gave him a final bow. "Thank you for your time today."

Just before she left, an idea came to her and in a spur of the moment, she turned around. "Sir Nero, I have a disciple that I'm training at the moment. In the future, I might bring her here for some supplementary training. If that's alright with you."

Once that, Yang finally left for good. Taking her sweet time as she heads toward Boreal Port to thank the priestess from that weird lewd church for introducing him to her.

The moment she reached there, Yang knocked on the door and wondered if there's any task she has or thing she can help out. She had a lot of free time today after all.

---

@ShwiggityShwah@Stern Algorithm@13org@PaulHaynek

Ditzy Stoneclub

After putting the sisters down and trying to help put whatever he can to the bar the door. He sat down and sighed.

"Not sure, had two chase me before. Dad helped out." Ditzy pulled his knee up close to his chest and looked at the large number of zombies outside. "A lot more than my finger and toes this time."

"Ditzy strong, can push Zombie away without much problem." He said without hesitation, they still creep him out though. Those long pew chairs that was used to bar the doors can easily be lifted by him.

"But we need map, no map means no gold." Ditzy pointed out at Ozzy, worried about that. Already they're doing something bad, it'll be worse if they don't get paid then Bart will get mad at them.

^{@Restalaan@ShwiggityShwah@Stern Algorithm}

Despite the zombies' relentless attacks, thanks to the efforts of all the group combined, the plant sisters' vine attacks, Haley who helped Neil when he was attacked and Ditzy carrying the plant sisters inside the church, they quickly found themselves in a relatively safe inside the church. While the doors did protect them for now, the zombies simply wouldn't stop that easily.

After checking if everyone was unharmed and being satisfied with the results of that small check, Ada went to the window to watch the zombies while the group discussed. She was paying attention on their conversation for some time looking confused as the group discussed possible strategies in order to get out of there alive. But as some of them pointed out, there was still the square paper thing that Ozzy explained to her. If they didn't have that "map" they would fail the mission.

It was then that Ada saw on the outside, a huge zombie, much bigger than the rest and mean looking. Much to her surprise, that big zombie was holding something that looked a lot like the "map" Ozzy and the group were searching for. Reaching towards anyone who was near her with her free hand, she tried to get their attention while pointing to the big zombie outside.

---

Freyr

It was a pleasant surprise that Freyr had met with someone who was invited by Bartholomew himself, as it became clear as the monster girl continued talking. The guild master seemed to have a good eye for judging potential members and the girl in question seemed quite capable of holding her own on a fight.

"Indeed it is quite a coincidence. Once again, thanks for your help. I'm Freyr, it's a pleasure to meet you." Freyr said, extending his hand towards the monster girl in a greeting.

After then incident with the goblins, the rest of the trip was mostly peaceful, with nothing really happening in the meantime... Until they arrived on their destination, that is...

Much to their surprise, the first thing they saw on the neutral town was a wanted poster, featuring no one but George Cpstava himself, their contractor. Amongst the accusations were forgery of information and sale of illegal substances...

Before Freyr could ask anything though, George was quick to turn to him and Kira, trying to explain himself, saying that the drugs he sold were free of demon energy, high quality and other excuses. Despite what he was doing being illegal, he did have a good point... Funding their operation to take down the Ravager's Rest would take money... And they would need to gather it one way or another...

"I... Don't know about this..." Freyr said, thinking and obviously still undecided about what to do...

"We indeed need funds for our operation on Ravager's Rest but I can't really condone something such as drugs. That said... If it has to happen, at least it's good if we know the origin and that they're. It dangerous..." He continued, looking to Kira after he finished, waiting for her input in the matter.

@Restalaan @PaulHaynek @13org @ShwiggityShwah

"Digging our way out sounds like a plan," Vivian concurred with Ozzy. "But not having the map means we fail our mission," Sylvia agreed with Ditzy. While they were pondering their options, the sister's vines, which hung loosely and took up a good deal of space when deployed, felt a light tapping. "Now's not the time to play," Sylvia chided in mild annoyance, still seeing Ada like an overgrown puppy, but Vivian, who was more tolerant of playful behavior, gave Ada her attention.

"G-guys? Ada found the map..." Vivian called out, pointing out the window towards the burly zombie.

"Oh! She's a BIG one, isn't she?" Sylvia said with a weak chuckle, "How about we start on that escape tunnel while the rest of you try to figure out how we can get that map from her?" Already the sisters were prying up stone tiles with their roots to get at the earth beneath the church.

@13org @PaulHaynek

"Indeed it is quite a coincidence. Once again, thanks for your help. I'm Freyr, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, believe me. The pleasure is all mine.", Kira responded with a giggle as she shook the rabbit man's hand.

Upon getting to the neutral town, however, what greeted the trio first was a troubling sight. Plastered on a wall was a wanted poster of George Costava himself, awarding a hefty three hundred gold pieces for his capture. His crimes included possession and sale of illegal substances as well as forgery of information.

"No way...", she commented as she walked up and ripped the poster off the wall for a closer look. Sure enough, the drawn picture was an uncanny match to the man she just helped stave off a raid. "You gotta be kidding me! You're wanted!?"

"Oh, that is not good."

George immediately turned to Freyr and Kira. "Look, it is true. I do sell drugs. But they are harmless and many people like it. Is demon-energy free too, no risk of corruption. Not to mention high quality." He attempted to justify himself. "Besides, I need profits to fund our operation against Ravager's Rest. Such ventures not cheap, you know?"

"Listen, I pay you triple the bounty and we can all walk away from this happy. Fair deal, yes?"

"Oh yeah, sure. Bribe the people who just helped you so we can stay quiet about the fact that you're smuggling illegal drugs. Yeah, we'll certainly won't question it.", sarcastically retorted the flygirl. "I'm curious: If it wasn't for this little tip-off, were you ever gonna tell Freyr about what you were actually doing?"

"I... Don't know about this..."

"We indeed need funds for our operation on Ravager's Rest but I can't really condone something such as drugs. That said... If it has to happen, at least it's good if we know the origin and that they're. It dangerous..."

"Are you seriously suggesting that we let him go? What if this gets back to the Guild? It could really hurt our rep!", Kira protested, looking to Freyr with incredulous eyes.

Ozzy eyes lit up as the news was shared by Vivian. Ozzy took flight, hovering in the window and pressing his face to it. ”Yeah! There it is! Told you she was smart! Great job Ada!” He said beaming, proud of her. ”That solves that problem. But raises another... Yeah we’re going to need that tunnel anyway Sylvia thanks.” He He tried to look around the cemetery, anything they could use. All the gravestones and uneven ground was going to make moving around in the front of the church difficult. Vivian and Sylvia would still need to be carried. Neil and Ditzy should take care of her no problem. But the big zombie, its in her fist... and she was probably a stronger specimen. He didn’t want Ada to deal with her, and the other zombies. She might get in trouble.

Ozzy landed and crossed his wings over his chest, closing his eyes. He tried to think of a change to his plan. A strategy. ”Alright guys here me out. Let’s go with my original plan, but with a few changes. Ada, you’re still going to be our hero for this” He pointed to her, full of determination. He wanted to keep this simple, so that everyone could understand. He took a moment looking around, when Sylvia moved the floor, Ozzy took a bit of granite and rubbed it on the ground, it made a white scratch, perfect. He’d use it like chalk.

Ozzy went back to the group and then began to draw on the floor with the rock, scraping it. When he created was a bunch of crude drawings, very cute little stick figure representations of the group and the zombies. The zombies were girls wearing dresses with their arms out and make ‘uuuurgh’ faces with a big one to represent the big one. Ditzys figure had his tusks. Neil had his hair. Ozzy had wings. Sylvia and Vivian looked like they were sunflowers in a pot, one was wearing glasses. And Ada’s had a long tail. He made a kind of step 1, step 2, step 3, with arrows and lines showing where everyone goes.

“Okay, phase one. Sylvia and Vivian tunnel out of here, and are carried by Neil and Ditzy. I’ll fly out with Ada, drop her down and then ill try to lure the zombies away from the door to buy some time. Phase two. Once you guys get to the woods, make a whole lot of noise, that should distract some of the zombies towards you. You should be able to out run them, you can take them in a big circle through the woods and we’ll meet back up on the road we took to get here. Meanwhile, Ada and I will try to isolate the big one. Phase 3, once the big one is isolated from the rest, we’ll trip her into one of the open graves, Ada grabs the map, and we run away. If we get into trouble, I’ll screech. Ditzy if you hear that, come a running cause we’ll need your help, but make sure Neil, Sylvia, and Vivian are safe first. You guys clear?” He asked making sure everyone understood it.
Once they were agreed, Ozzy looked to Ada. He put a hand on her shoulder. ”We’re counting on you okay?” He said happily. ”Ill drop you outside, get somewhere safe until I say or until you hear everyone else make noise. Right here we go.” He would position himself behind her, flap a few times and his boots would open into his talons. He’d seize her gently by the shoulders and fly her out a window they opened previously.

Outside he could see just how big the problem was. Dozens of them all pounding on the door or the wall. He made sure Ada was clear of the swarm before he dropped her and double backed towards the front of the church, he stayed aloft, flying and hovering. ”Hey uh... mames! Can you look over here!?” He made sure to stay safely out of reach.

Dubious Wares And Questionable Methods
~@13org (FYR), @Rezod92~

"Are you seriously suggesting that we let him go? What if this gets back to the Guild? It could really hurt our rep!"

"Hey no. I am professional. I protect those I employ. Is how I got far in this business." George retorted at the Beelzebub. "Look, is highly unlikely but if I get caught, I just say you were simply hired guards. Completely unrelated to my business. Or better yet, I just say you were not here at all. That way, no one suspect you. Very professional, yes?"

"Look, I am already paying you way beyond the original reward. I also keep your identities secret. Is that so much to ask for harmless drugs?"

George had made his offer. Freyr and Kira had yet to reach a verdict but they must make one soon or else someone might walk upon them and get the wrong conclusions.

---

Black Wolf
~@Restalaan (YNG)~

"Sir Nero, do you think some of your own compatriots survived like you did?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure a lot of us got away." Nero replied. "But we're scattered and no doubt growing fewer everyday."

"Sir Nero, I have a disciple that I'm training at the moment. In the future, I might bring her here for some supplementary training. If that's alright with you."

"That's alright with me, sure, but just so you know I'm not a good teacher. I'm more of applying lessons learned than passing them to someone else, if you get what I'm saying." Nero said. "But... I'll do my best to help. Just let me know when, okay?"

------

You return to the church and with a knock on its wooden doors, Riñas the Dark Priest appeared to answer it. "Oh, it's you. You're that one who was looking for that retired warrior. I heard he accepted your challenge. Which was strange because when he first got here, he was asked to train the town guard which he adamantly refused saying he had sworn off violence."

"So, how'd your duel go? And how did you coax him into fighting you?" Riñas asked, quite curious.

---

That's What Friends Do
~@Stern Algorithm, @ShwiggityShwah, @Restalaan (DIT), @13org (ADA)~

Neil clicked his tongue. "I have a bad feeling about this. But let's do it."

------

~@Stern Algorithm, @Restalaan (DIT)~

The Altissima sisters dug a tunnel beneath the soil of the church and cemetery grounds. The soil was not that hard, making the work of the Liliraune easy. Everything was going smoothly, at least for now.

Ditzy and Neil followed the sisters closely and they made good headway through the recently-dug underground. "Hmmm..." Neil began, looking back at the long tunnel that the Altissima sisters made. "I'm glad that the soil's still strong enough to--"

*RUMBLE* *CRASH*

The party had to cover their eyes from the wave of dust that came at them. When they opened their eyes, behind them was a dozen and more Zombies. The soil was already disturbed by the rising of the undead and now, the Liliraune had hollowed out the deeper parts. The collective weight of the Zombies above was the last straw, the soil gave way under the undead monsters and right behind the party.

Fortunately or unfortunately, one of the Zombies that fell was the burly Zombie holding the map. She was well-toned, short white hair and had other masculine features. She may have been male when she was buried but regardless, her height rose above the other Zombies. The fall, however, made her lose her grasp on the map and she and the other Zombies were dazed by the collapse.

"Sylvia! Vivian! Dig up!" Neil yelled at the Liliraune. "Dig up now!"

Neil dashed past Ditzy and towards the dazed undead. He grabbed the map and dashed back. But a hand hooked to his shoulder, stopping his attempt. The arm belonged to the strong Zombie and now the others descended upon the hapless boy. Thinking quickly, Neil crumpled the map a bit and tossed it at Ditzy. "Go! I'll hold them off! Go! JUST GO!"

The Zombies began overwhelming Neil as he attempted to push back. Everyone knew his efforts would be fruitless, not only were the Zombies stronger than him but more were dropping from the hole.

~@ShwiggityShwah, @13org (ADA)~

Ada was dropped off at a safe distance from the horde while Ozzy called out to the Zombies. The plan was working so far, a portion of the Zombie herd was lured away by the Owl Harpy.

*RUMBLE* *CRASH*

But the plan quickly went sideways when Ozzy a patch of the undead Horde suddenly drop down when the soil beneath them collapsed. It did not take long for the Owl Harpy to realize that the ground giving way was because of the Altissima sisters' tunnel. The Zombies began descending into the hole and likely harassing the other guild members.

There was still a portion of Zombies attempting to follow Ozzy, some of whom were going for Ada. The situation was going downhill.

@PaulHaynek

Yang Bethlehem

"Hmm, perhaps there's a way to find them? It would be a great help if we managed to rally some of them to our side here." Yang suggested to Nero.

---

As Rinas greeted her and asked, Yang rubbed the back of her head as she smiled.

"Haha, maybe because I annoyed him much more?" She jested as she shrugged her shoulders. "May I come in?"

Entering the church, Yang looked at the surroundings and was still off-put by the decorations but she pushed it aside. Taking a seat on the pewter seats there, she laid her back and talked to Rinas.

"But I didn't do much, I just offered a spar against him. Maybe the fighting spirit within him still burns brightly."

"As to the duel, it was great!" Yang threw her arms apart as she stood back up excitedly and then mimic a few of the moves Nero made. Retelling the entire fight from the start proudly. "I never realize just how tough knights are but they're still so fast!"

"I was like 'Pow!' and then he 'Hah!'" She started to demonstrate with punches and kicks as she switched back and forth between the role. Then it culminated in her crouching downward, launching upward and ending with a kick, a display of her physicality and balance as she landed easily. "Then I kicked him right in the chin and he was sent flying! But all it did at best was just knocked him down, which was kind of scary. Usually anyone hit by the tiger's foot should be out for an hour or so, Nero got back up to his feet within minutes."

"And that's it!" She beamed proudly before thinking just how close the fight actually was. It seems like she still had lots to learn.

"Enough of that though, I want to thank you for introducing me to him. You need any help today?" Yang offered, not really minding to help out in the church. "I can even get into that dress of yours and try to get a few converts or alms outside. I, after all, came from a temple of monks."

Yang didn't have much to do for the day anyway, and might as well do a few jobs here to repay Rinas.

---

@PaulHaynek@ShwiggityShwah@Stern Algorithm@13org

Ditzy Stoneclub

Ditzy looked at Ozzy quietly as he wondered what the owl harpy planned to do, looking at the scribbles it took him a moment to recognize that the one with the horns was him.

Listening to the plan, Ditzy had to look back and forth between Ozzy and scribbles. Eyebrows furrowed heavily as he struggled to ingrained the plan into his head, repeating the plan over and over again.

"Carry plant girl, and if Ozzy scream, have to help. Okay." He nodded furiously and committed to the plan,

Still, once the plan is carried out, Ditzy followed closely to Neil as he looked upwards to the tunnel they're making. He never had much chance of seeing a lot of tunnels but he was careful to fall down.

Whatever Neil wanted to say died in his mouth as Ditzy heard the loud crumbling and shifting ground fall behind them. Dirt, dust and the earthy soil blew past them, forcing them to cover their eyes.

When he opened them, all fear and apprehension came right back as he heard the moans. He shifted his foot repeatedly and inched away from the zombies slowly until Neil suddenly rushed past him.

"Ah! Don't go near!" Ditzy reached out with his arm but Neil was already ahead of him, grabbing something and then running back. That's when Neil got pulled by a big zombie and wasn't able to get away.

That's what Ditzy wanted to warn Neil but couldn't, a thought that was interrupted when a lump of paper then smacked him in the face.

He didn't know what it was but it seemed important though when Neil asked them to leave, which stoke a burning sensation in the pits of his stomach.

Ditzy was slow but not dumb, he recognized that tone and words that was usually said by his father in really dire times. One of whom Ditzy didn't like as it meant abandoning his friend or family.

While initially squeamish about zombies, that changed as Ditzy picked up the crumpled paper, stuffed it in his pants unceremoniously then marched forward to Neil.

Ditzy is strong. He thought indignantly and slung the sandbag around his shoulder. He stretched both of hands and fingers as he walked briskly to Neil despite his command.

"No."

Ditzy grabbed Neil by the back of his pants, and to the latter, it felt like someone just hooked his clothes to an iron hook as Ditzy fingers clenched tightly.

Then he lifted Neil upwards, away from the crowd of zombies, with the larger zombie still holding Neil tightly. The two-weight combined didn't phase him at all as Ditzy turned on his heels quickly with both arms balancing Neil as the large zombie was dragged along for the ride.

"Ditzy was dragged by zombies before, needed dad help. This time, Ditzy help." He stoutly announced as he showed his strength by moving forward even if more zombies grabbed him.

Nevertheless, they had to get out of the area fast as the tunnel collapsing on them would be terrible and they had obtained the map.

^{@Restalaan@ShwiggityShwah@Stern Algorithm}

Ada was still a bit surprised with the huge zombie she saw outside but seeing how Ozzy reacted to her having found her, it was, apparently a good thing. They had found the square paper thing they wanted but they had to get it from the huge zombie. When Ozzy proceeded to point at her almost as if he wanted her to do something though, Ada tilted her head confused.

It did take some time but thanks to the fact that Ozzy was using a piece of chalk to explain the entire plan, Ada was able to understand it perfectly well, nodding her head as she listened to him. Without much time to talk about the plan, as soon as he finished to explain it, he went outside with her. Ada didn't hide her excitement the moment he lifted her off the ground by the shoulders. It was only for a small moment, just enough so Ozzy could get to where the zombies were, but Ada still thought it was fun. The moment he dropped her though, she knew what she had to do.

According to the plan, she was supposed to distract the zombies and lead them away, but it soon became clear even to Ada that something was incredibly wrong. A loud noise and a cloud of dust appeared when the mass of zombies fell through the ground. There was still a good amount of zombies that were going after Ozzy and towards Ada, but the biggest part of the horde, that fell through the ground, was probably going after the rest of the group.

Not knowing what to do, Ada looked towards Ozzy, to the rest of the horde and then to Ozzy again. Outrunning the zombies was easy for Ada but it wouldn't be as easy to the others. Not only that but despite the fact that Ada herself could deal with a few zombies, their numbers were still a real threat by themselves, not even counting the huge zombie that had the map.
She could keep following the plan despite the unforeseen circumstances or she could go back and try to help the remaining group... The problem was that if she did go back, the zombies that were currently going after her would go back as well...

Undecided about what to do, Ada looked at Ozzy, confused. If he took too long though, she would simply try to go back to where the zombies fell through the ground and try to draw their attention. If they focused on her, she would still be able to outrun them so it could also work...

---

Freyr

Freyr wasn't surprised on how Kira reacted to George's bribe offer but still... the situation was more complicated than it seemed to be at first. Selling drugs, even if they were 'safe' was still morally unacceptable... Despite that, there was still a lot of things that could and should be taken in consideration when deciding if what George did was 'acceptable' or not.

"Many things should be taken in consideration if we want to decide if what George is doing is 'right' or 'wrong'... Are the drugs really that harmless? Do they make the users dependent or addicted to them...?" Freyr started talking with a distant stare, thinking about what was happening.

"Even if the drugs are completely harmless, it is still morally unacceptable. But why? If it's really not harming anyone in any way... There shouldn't be a reason... Or is it wrong simply because it's wrong?" Freyr asked to no one in particular.

"Still... I can't condone what George does, despite the points that I've just mentioned. It is undeniable that we need funds to do something about Ravager's Rest and maybe in the future... Varjo. Between someone who sells harmless drugs and bandits, monsters that don't even hesitate in stealing, killing and destroying other's lives... Which one is the worst?" Freyr asked, looking to Kira and then to George.

"I don't want to make a decision alone, not only because you are here with me but because I myself don't know what to do but... Have you ever met or saw what those people both at Ravager's Rest and Varjo itself are capable of doing?" Freyr asked, with a grim expression on his face.

"I don't feel well by simply letting someone who sells drugs keep doing so but... There are more pressing issues that need solving... In the same way, I don't want to be part of or help someone who does such things..." Freyr concluded as he looked at Kira. It was obvious both to Kira and George himself that Freyr was conflicted regarding what to do.

"Two wrongs never made a right, Freyr. I might not be seeing the bigger picture right now, but I can definitely tell you that there are other ways to get funding. Ways that are legal and way less morally questionable.", Kira retorted, clearly displaying her stance on the current issue at hand. "At this point, it doesn't even matter whether or not the drugs are harmless. It's still smuggling. If it's causing you to be this much of a crisis in conscience, wouldn't it be better to just turn him in? Better safe than sorry. Or worse, this coming back to bite us in the ass. It's a risk we can't take.....I know I won't."

With that statement, the flygirl's wings started buzzing as she hovered off the ground and gave the George a threatening glare.

"Freyr, with or without your help, I'm turning this guy in. One way or another."

From the tone of her voice, it sounded like her decision was final.

~@13org (FYR), @Rezod92~

Kira had made the decision and searched for the Ambran guard to turn in George. The drug smuggler, however, was not at all upset that his offer was refused and that the Beelzebub went out to serve him justice. He merely gave Freyr a shrug, as if what was going to happen to him was a minor incovenience.

------

George did not, at all, resist when the town guard apprehended and cuffed him. Before he was loaded into the prison wagon, he was allowed some parting words with Freyr and Kira. "I see you guild people have very strict morals. That is good. Morals make people good. Anyway, I see you two again!" He bode farewell to the guild members, his spirits still up despite going to jail. "I have more jobs for you in the future, including a contact that could help us. Keep an eye for my requests on your board!"

And with that, the smuggler was arrested and the guild members were awarded. The quest was done. Freyr and Kira can head back to the guild, or they could do something else if they so desire.

It was now dusk, blanketing the town of Ambran with a beautiful orange light. The setting sun meant the day was nearing its end, but the bustling town was still very much alive with activity.

---

~@Restalaan (YNG)~

"Enough of that though, I want to thank you for introducing me to him. You need any help today? I can even get into that dress of yours and try to get a few converts or alms outside. I, after all, came from a temple of monks."

Riñas chuckled at your recount of events. "Sounds like you had quite the time with Sir Nero. It also sounds like he is quite the formidable warrior. I'll note that."

"Anyway, I thank you for the offer but I'm afraid I must decline. Sorry." Riñas bowed her head in apology. "We need no assistance as of now and besides, I don't think you're the type to like trying to get converts to the Fallen God. Unless you want to join us in seducing men with the prospect of eternal pleasure, drowning in sex forever in the realm of Pandemonium."

"However, I do want to give you this." Riñas gave you a piece of paper. It was a flyer, advertising for some unknown competition that will take place in Boreal Port as part of a local celebration. "Take that back to your guild and see if anyone's interested. Maybe all of you can come." She gave you a happy smile.

@Restalaan @PaulHaynek @13org @ShwiggityShwah

The tunnel collapsing behind them came as a major shock to the Altissima sisters. Though digging was a skill of theirs, 'tunneling' was slightly different, needing to take into consideration factors like structural stability. This threw the sisters into a bit of a panic, but Neil's voice broke them out of their daze. Heeding his order, the liliraune began digging a path up to the surface lest they were all trapped underground with the zombies. When Neil was snatched up by the larger zombie, Sylvia called out, "Neil!" but then, much to Sylvia's relief Ditzy came to the rescue. "Ditzy! You're amazing!" Sylvia praised the hobgoblin. With Neil safe for the time being, the sisters focused on creating an escape.

Everything was going fine until there was a literal cave in. Good gods why did they build the church where it wasn’t structurally sound. So much for Ozzy’s grand plan. Atleast from the vantage and sound of things, his friends were okay.
He wasn’t effected by it, but he managed to look into the pit where all the zombies fell and noticed the commotion on the far end, the zombies were still swarming in one direction, well most of them. Some of them didn’t fall into the pit, but the big one did. That opened up an opportunity.

He shouted to his white long tailed friend. ”ADA!” He shouted. ”She dropped the map! Try to get it and run away! Ill hold her attention!” He hoped she would be okay. Hoped she was fast enough or strong enough. Hoped he could get her out if she did get into trouble. ”Please be safe Ada.” It was her first mission and he’d be crushed if he was the cause...

He swooped into the pit, trying to flap his arms and wings and keep his feet clenched in as he shouted towards the zombies. ”You okay ladies! I read about zombies! They aren’t undead, they are just... different life cycles! It’s prettiieeeee!” He said almost getting swiped but pulled up at the last moment. ”Interesting! I was gonna say interesting!” The only threat was the big one who had much longer reach, he tried to make sure the big one was in his sights.

Focus on him so Ada can get the map.

@PaulHaynek

Yang Bethlehem

"Hmm, true, I was thinking of being more of an eye-candy though." She looked at Rinas clothing and made a window with her fingers, tongue stuck out as she imagined herself in it. "I probably look good in it."

"But you're right, I suppose, I'm not interested in...lewd acts. I'm more of a beat them up type." Yang sighed as she sat down with both arms splayed on the pews. She supposed that no one devout enough should be doing it. "But if you need help, just give me a notice and I'll head right here."

When Rinas gave her a flyer, Yang eyed it and wondered what competition it was. She then turned to Rinas and inquired more on it. "So what competition will this be?"

Once she received enough explanation from Rinas, Yang will bid her farewell and head back to the guild for now. Ready to help out-whatever chores or task they still have. No doubt Talia or the blacksmith would have things for her to do.

Speaking of which, an idea formed in her head as she looked for Talia. Once she found her, she greeted her and then made a request to her.

"Hey Talia, I was wondering, if it's not too much of a trouble, can you make some clay jars for me?" Yang indicated the sizes, able to hold a bucket of water to size that are able to hold four buckets of water. "I kind of need them for training my disciple in the future when he gets strong enough."

"I'll help you make them as well." She said with a pleading look and small smile, Yang then winked to her as she added. "I want to keep this a surprise from my disciple as well if you can."