Malphas could not believe the audacity of his allies, betraying him as such! He was held aghast by such a rejection of their role. They were sent by the Goddess to round up these primates, after all! All Malphas could do was cross his arms and pout, not accepting of such double-crossing. At the same time, Malphas did not choose to argue against such hesitancy to claim their divinity. These two were truly blessed... all Malphas had to do was show them to what extent they were. They will indeed learn in time.
As the guardsman began to describe what had happened, Malphas took quick note of these other less-than-human races. He wasn't quite keen with the idea of things such as elves or smelly mountain people. Malphas would even raise an eyebrow at Leannah's apparent heritage too, had he not known she also came from the same place he had and possessed the soul of a man. While he did somewhat expect that these lands would have such fantastical races, Malphas knew that the throne of the world belonged to mankind alone, and he would not be content to share the throne with such monstrosities. Perhaps the Goddess's wishes were to subjugate these fools in service of man? Or perhaps their strange, perhaps alien mindsets would be easier for Malphas to induct. He thought about his gift for but a moment, looking over to Leannah. He would have to perform some experiments on this, but if his ability would work on her, then perhaps he can convert even those monstrosities far detached from man into true followers...
Malphas's attention was drawn once more to the guard's words, looking over to the house of the one named Enli for but a moment. Three potential allies... or three rivals. Either way, if they were powerful enough to defeat such a monster as that in the center of the town with apparent ease, they are definitely a group to keep note of. Perhaps they could serve as new followers, as Malphas had noticed Leannah and Narkissa scheming with one another, perhaps against himself. Or perhaps they could be a common enemy Malphas could rally his conniving companions against, rallying them for a reason to follow his lead. Only time would tell...
And it seemed as if there was no time at all, as Malphas noticed one member of the talk of the town make their way out of the house he was pointed towards. It was a woman with... animal ears? Again? Her hair wasn't dark, so it likely wasn't the hero herself, but one of the aforementioned companions instead. While Malphas considered introducing himself, he figured it would be in his better interest to see what else this hamlet had to offer first before he made any moves. If anything, he was sorely undergeared.
"Scheme and plan to yourselves if you wish. I shall partake in the fruits of this town, however scarce..." Malphas huffed to his allies, still upset at their lack of cooperation before making his way further into the town. While he wished to find a place for room and board, he also believed that obtaining new gear would be in his best interest. At the moment, all he has are what appears to be a magical knife, and a magical bow... and yet, no arrows. While ammunition does sound nice, Malphas knew what he could also use was some armor to protect himself with. These guardsman were also equipped with such armors, so all he needed to do was, what, some convincing, perhaps the gathering of apples, and maybe slaying a crab or two? Isn't that how it worked in those fantasy video games of his old world?
Isidore spared only a single glance towards Augusta, the long-eared woman’s beauty distorted by pain and rage as she only barely managed to land on her feet after practically flinging herself off of Donovan. Her hand glowed, pressed as it was against her wound, and he turned away, to continue his own journey up the staircase, out of the prison. If these strange energies within their bodies could repair one’s physical vessel too, then that was for the better. If she failed, then Donovan could continue carrying her.
Hah. “If he dies, he dies.”
Two sets of footsteps trailed Isidore soon enough though. So it was the former. Good. They broke out to the surface, and he didn’t spare a glance towards the towering titan as he ran further off, off into the distance until the sounds of conflict disappear. Breath, white and blooming, escape from his lips as Isidore slowed down to a jog, then to a walk, and finally to a stop. Not because there was any good place to rest, but because someone else had decided this place as an ideal location for one.
Nick laid there, after all, sleeping without a care in the world. Would things be easier if he were killed, right here? Certainly, this world was one where more of these terrors persisted, enough so that someone so prone to flight would be an inconstant ally at best, a backstabbing liability at worst.
As if responding to Isidore’s homicidal musings though, the brunette roused himself immediately, barraging them all with a flurry of questions. Isidore stared at him for a long while, before letting out a breath. “The flower became our ally and aided our escape. Augusta’s capable of healing now; care to experiment on your limits with Nick?”
The pain in his own body was beginning to catch up to him again, but Isidore ignored it. With time, they’d scab over, and this body’s natural recovery capabilities would be useful to understand as well. His gaze swept over to the eastward forest. A mountain trek would kill them more easily than any number of plant-monsters when they had nothing in terms of tangible supplies. A beach was only good for a vacation with the family.
Without another word, Isidore continued walking towards the east, digging his fingers into the cut in his hand to aggravate it slightly.
If he could bait food with his own flesh, that would certainly solve at least one of their problems.
Thankfully, Malphas’ antics had not gotten them crucified on the spot. At the very least, the villagers, or the guard, didn’t seem to be the zealously religious type. Either way, it was becoming clear to her that cultist of a man was a dangerous wildcard. Sticking around with him might be interesting… but it was also likely the path to destruction. Shooting a look of distaste at the crazy man, she resolved herself to avoid the man as much as possible.
The words of the guard had some interesting wisdom. Listening carefully, she took the information in, making sure to try and memorize the details. After all, it was all they could get about the world right now. More interestingly, he confirmed the existence of elves, and more of Leannah’s kind, and enlightened them on the nature of the dead beast in the center. Narkissa didn’t immediately rush to the conclusion they were the other reincarnates she had seen earlier –she was dubious over the fact that any one of them could kill such a thing—but she remained curious what sort of mercenary or good-Samaritans these three people were. Any such people that helped a small village in such a manner couldn’t be very bad people, and as far as Narkissa was concerned, they’d need some competent, or at least martially able people to be friends with to make it in this world.
As she was thinking of going over and waiting to see who would come out, she noticed Narkissa approaching her.
“Somewhat, at least. As far as things go, definitely. We’re lucky we’re able to run into a village where we can get some proper information,” she nodded, in wholehearted agreement with the catgirl, who also started to lean in.
“…Ah.” Her eyes flicked conspiratorially towards Malphas. “Say no more. I’d rather not stick with him for much longer, either.” Smiling at the complement, she continued. “On that topic, we should speak more later… for now, I want to see what’s going on up there.”
Up ahead, it seemed, somebody had left the large wooden building, and that said somebody didn’t look remotely like a villager. Another girl with animal ears? Whoever it was, Narkissa made sure to get there before Malphas, and slid in to accost the girl. Thinking quickly, she made up an easy litmus test on the spot.
“Pardon me. You don’t look like a local… are you perhaps from a little place called Earth?”
Nobunaga clapped her hands together on Enli's words.
"I appreciate that you have chosen to put your faith in us," she replied, bowing her head slightly. Indeed, it was important to treat those you desired to rely upon you with respect, at least as long as they warranted it. This village's chieftan had proven himself to be, for the moment, quite worthy of that respect.
In life, Nobunaga would have asserted that respect was something to be earned, but given that her position here was still that of an outsider rather then a warlord she had little room to demand such things.
For now.
But Enli's acknowledgement of their potential assistance as well as his extension of hospitality was certainly respectable.
"For the moment, I agree with Misaki-san. As long as it places no great burden upon you, your hospitality would be welcomed. In the mean time, I believe I shall accompany her."
With a bow, the petite black-haired girl departed from the building, walking beside the fox. There was much to discuss, and certainly, Nobunaga wished to explore the town as well. The more knowledge, both that held by the fox and of this world, the better.
And then someone, someone who appeared out of place with the town's inhabitants, suddenly appeared to speak with her.
Without a moment's pause, she had already asked about Earth... so that was it.
For the briefest moment, Nobunaga considered deception. With no way of knowing what this woman's motives were, even if she did herald from the world they called home, perhaps it would have been best to deceive her. To claim no knowledge of Earth and meet her question with confusion.
However...
Her outfit, no matter how she liked the fashion, made it abundantly clear she was not from around here. All it would take is a little questioning of the natives to reveal that Nobunaga, Misaki, and Novak had arrived from elsewhere.
Unless this woman was a fool, and given that she had recognized Misaki as a potential resurrected Earth human that was unlikely, she would be easily able to conclude the truth.
It was best to face this head on, in that case.
"Oh?" she began, "How curious, you mentioned Earth...? In that case, you must not be from around here, either. However..."
She gestured to Misaki.
"I'm afraid you will simply confuse my companion."
She could not claim herself a native, but Misaki...
Augusta followed along after she patched herself up. It still hurt in a way. Perhaps it was just a residual feeling... But it didn't feel good at all. Perhaps she was just remembering the pain that, at this point, felt so long ago. He held her side as the troupe pressed onward. She watched as the stone giant and the tendrils struggled with each other. She was glad they didn't have to run from that guardian giant at the moment. For most of the journey, she did her best not to make eye contact with either Donovan or Isidore. She felt awkward that she reacted a bit aggressively towards Donovan trying to help her. That didn't matter too much at the moment at least. They came to a slow at a forest finally.
It was something. A good change of pace from the original place they were. On the travel to where they were, she finally managed to remove her hand from where she was wounded. As the started to look around, they found a rather familiar face. "Nick?" She question, unsure if her eyes were seeing correctly, though, her Goddess' Eyes confirmed it was indeed Nick. "Hello again." She said, though she seemed a small bit colder than she had been before as she was still trying to process everything still. Despite him running from their escapade, it didn't seem like Augusta was upset with him or anything.
"After you left, we went into the depths of the complex. We made a deal with a demon for it's survival and a guaranteed escape for us. Well, it's species' survival?" Augusta questioned herself, since the giant plant they communicated with had ended itself in letting them escape. "Regardless, we escaped with it's seed and a new dog." She added, pointing to Octavia.
Then Isidore spoke up about testing her limits on Nick. She got a new ability didn't she? "Nick, I want you to trust me that you'll feel better. With all the black substance, we just need to be safe. It probably shouldn't hurt." The woman snapped her finger and a flame appeared at her fingers. She infused it with positive energies like she remembered and used it on Nick's wounds and the black substance, just to be safe. "It's a good healing technique, apparently."
“We make use of everything we hunt, if possible. Bones are used as tools, meat has its obvious uses. While armor isn’t something we’d make out of it usually...hm, I can’t say it’d be too difficult to fashion something out of it. If you want, they took the beast to Bolcha’s - he’s the one that we normally have handling the skinning and butchering of large animals.”
“I’ll show you the way now, if you’re interested.” Akando interjected in with a nod. The decision, of course, was Novak’s. Should he choose to follow
“I’ll see if I can’t find anything else that may prove useful.” Enli responded with a friendly wave as they left, allowing them to leave unhindered. As they stepped out into the snowy air once more, they were seemingly greeted by another traveler. Another one from earth? That was either good luck, or not depending on how you looked at it.
“Heeeey!~”
Before they could begin discussing things, however, a voice familiar to Nobunaga and Misaki would interrupt. After getting their attention, Lazhira waved energetically, running up and giving them a friendly greeting.
“How’d it go? You guys wanna head-ah...” She just now seemed to notice Narkissa, pausing a moment and giving her a curious look over. “...we’re getting a lot of visitors today huh.” She idly commented. “Uhm, is she a friend of yours? Well! She’s welcome to come along to my place too if you want. I got some food going, it should be done soon and we can talk about that uhm, thing I mentioned.”
Assuming those who wanted to follow did so, Lazhira led the party away from the longhouse that served as Enli’s residence towards a smaller building a small walk away from the rest of the village. It was a small, one room building without much in the way of space - not because of the small size, but rather, it seemed Lazhira had stuffed every corner of the place with something.
All manner of odd objects seemed to litter the room. A tall, wooden what seemed to be a mannequin of some sort, odd stone pots and vases lining the walls. A large stone slab with odd runic carvings upon it. A number of other seeming, what might on earth be described as archaeological objects were cluttering the room.
“Sorry for the mess, hahah. I find interesting things in the forest - especially around the old temple and I like to just kind of...bring it home. Feels kinda a shame to let it lay there. ” As they entered, the smell of cooked food hit their nostrils - the source a pot over a nearby fire pit, with a number of fruits and vegetables upon the table with what seemed to be seasoned fish.
“I’m not exactly the best at this whole cooking thing, either but I hope you guys like fish.”
Octavia barked happily in acknowledgement from Augusta, but sat obediently by its new owners side. A brief exchange of words with Nicholas, Isidore headed towards the forest, suggesting that Augusta may test her new limits on their friend. Supposing he would let the elvish woman perform, the ensuing test would prove fruitful.
As Augusta lay her hands on his wounded shoulder, a warmth spread from the flame in her hand. It wasn’t as one would expect fire - it burned, but gently, a warm, welcoming fire. The dull pain in the wound faded slowly, the bleeding stopping and eventually coagulating. No doubt it wasn’t healed fully, but at least he wouldn’t have to be careful about aggravating the wound.
As they spoke and got their bearings, Isidore headed instead towards the forest, intent on finding a meal for them before night fell. Indeed, it was likely a good idea. The sun was sinking ever lower on the western horizon, with two moons beginning to show themselves in east - the same ones they had seen in their previous location, albeit they were both much smaller.
Snow and foliage crunched under his shoes as he walked. Normally in a forest, it wouldn’t be odd to hear the odd animal or two. Oddly however, this forest was quiet. Eerily so. Isidore would keep walking, much of the forest seeming the same as he went deeper, eventually the treeline of the forest fading from view.
Soon, the forest's terrain turned from relatively flat to small hills further in. Not far in front of him was...a boar? If the distinctive oinking noise it made was any indication to go by at least. It was of a similar size to what ones might have had on earth, its rough, grey fur coat unkempt and coarse. What was concerning however, was its two long, foot long tusks that were easily visible. The bony protrusions seemed to turn black towards their tips.
It had been digging in the ground, but when Isidore approached it paused and turned towards the man. Noticing the man, the Boar squealed, turning to face him and charging!
Leaving his companions behind, Malphas began meandering his way through the town. It seemed as rural as one might expect of some medieval, fantasy village. The people so far paid him no mind, going about their evening business. Fishermen near the docks were wrapping up their operations, bringing in a bounty from the sea. Passing near the forests, a number of craftsmen were busy finishing bringing lumber into a pile. Some of the hunters having some practice sparring as well it seemed. People heading into houses done with the days work, the smell of freshly cooked food finding its way out of their doors and into the air.
Oddly, it seemed most of the people here were already adults. Not many kids or young teens seemed to be living here. There were a few - but for the most part it seemed this village had an aging population.
Eventually though, he would find himself standing in front of what seemed to be where they had taken that beast from earlier. From a brief look from outside, a number of men were busy cleaning and skinning the beast, sorting different materials from it into separate piles.
It was then, a warrior with another man in tow would show up not long after. Clearly, even to Malphas’ eyes this man was not a native, either.
“Bolcha!” He bellowed. “One of those who helped slay the beast has a request.”
“Hm?” A rather gruff looking man currently skinning the armored hide glanced in their direction. “What’s he want?”
“Armor, from that things hide.”
“Armor? Hm...doable, but It’ll take some time.”
This might be a good time for Malpahs to interject, and ask about something he wanted as well, if anything. Seemed like one of the few places he might be able to get something.
Taking a brief look around as she left the building, Misaki found that nothing in particular had really changed in the scant while they had been inside. The corpse of the beast that Nobunaga and Novak had felled was gone, though the trail of blood showed where it had gone, and for a moment the foxgirl considered following the trail before deciding against that. As much as knowledge on the biology of such creatures might have helped otherwise, it was probably too late to get any actual information after it had been dissected and disassembled.
Before she could move closer to the waterfront, though, the sudden arrival of someone coming over to question her caused Misaki to pause in an attempt to process what had just been asked of her. Obviously, the mention of Earth was noteworthy, but to call out to her so suddenly, and have that be the crux of the question...
"I..."
Before she could give a proper response, though, Lazirha's arrival and subsequent response to the situation allowed the white-haired girl a bit more reprieve. She was sure that the questioning wouldn't end here, of course, but at the very least, she could use their companion as an excuse to dodge the question for now. Of course, the truth would probably come out sooner rather than later, but hopefully by then she would get a feel for what sort of person the woman in front of her was.
"I wouldn't exactly call a stranger a friend," Misaki began, choosing to ignore the question of her origin altogether before shrugging her shoulders, "but regardless of that, we should continue our conversation from earlier. Please, lead the way."
The cluttered mess that was the young girl's home, though, caused Misaki's eyes to light up, if only momentarily. She could speak perfectly well as she was examining everything, and if these artifacts were linked to what she had read earlier, then all the better.
"I don't particularly mind all of this, though it might be better if you at least organized some of these things a bit more," she said, slowly kneeling down and staring at the stone slab. "Do you mind if I took a closer look at these while we talked? I'm also tempted to clean these up a bit so that we have a bit more room, but if you don't want that..."
In a low-stakes location like this, suppressing her own curiosity was... Difficult.
It was too quiet for a forest, nothing like the urban parks he’d have headed to for a change in pace, nothing like the secluded highway stretches he’d have headed to for garbage disposal. Quiet enough that he could hear the silence ring in his ear, until the crunch of leaves and the snapping of twigs sounded as loud as broken bone. Compared to the chaos that had occurred moments past, however, Isidore was grateful for the deadly calm, where only invisible dangers lurked and you never knew when you’d be jumped.
He remained careful though, maintaining as straight of a path as he could and sliding the edge of his sword against tree bark if he had to make a noteworthy detour around the terrain. No tracks showed up on the ground that he could make out, but it was expected, in a way. Isidore had never been a woodsman, after all. Perhaps Donovan, upright gentleman that he was, would have been better equipped for such an excursion?
That thought brought a frown to his face.
Odd, that his mind could produce such co-dependent thoughts. He’d have to keep that in mind. He breathed in the cold air, white breath escaping his mouth. Water would be nice too, but they had no pot. Isidore scraped some snow from a low-hanging branch and melted it in his mouth before moistening his lips. Light was growing dimmer; there was no guarantee that two moons would make a return trip at night any safer either. If they couldn’t get a shelter going, they might have to return to the prison too, if only for sturdy walls and a proper roof. Decisions, decisions…
An oink pulled his attention back to the world around him, and his eyes flickered to the direction of the sound. A boar, featuring tusks a foot long and a fur coat that looked prickly to the touch. Meaty, for certain, and dangerous too. Isidore’s own armor had fallen off at this point, and being gored in the gut would be a death sentence, out here alone. The Goddess hadn’t deigned to grant him supernatural capabilities of regeneration yet; his body still ached, and the weight of fatigue clung to him. Had to be smart again.
Isidore breathed in.
It was a frontal charge. The boar had a lower center of gravity and greater momentum due to initiating. The tusks were shorter than his sword, but even if he pierced straight through the boar’s skull, the tusks still end up goring him. Fire didn’t have enough stopping power. A twitch of the boar’s head would increase their threat range instantly. Evade to the side? Might miss the opportunity and the boar would escape. Jump over and slash? Too difficult to negotiate the spacing of tusk and sword in mid-air. Use his energy to make a gun? Hah, had to stop dreaming.
Isidore breathed out.
It was funny, actually, how little he knew about fighting non-humanoid enemies.
He grit his teeth, imagined how good meat would taste after this long, violent day, and met the boar’s charge head-on! Bending his legs, Isidore called forth the imagery of bracing chains once more, the same chains that anchored him in place while he had reinforced Augusta’s resistance against the demon-flower’s arcane pull. As the boar got closer, he lunged forward as well, catching it by its tusks. The impact on his body, even at the apex of human strength, was immense, and Isidore could feel the wound on his left shoulder reopen once again, but it was an impact that he could bear as well. Against the snowy ground, his feet skid and skid and skid, until he finally found the traction he needed to arch backwards and hurl the boar into the air.
There was no time to breath, but it didn’t matter now.
Drawing his sword, Isidore raised it skywards, and caught the falling boar with the length of his blade.
"Bits of leather armor, as well, if you have some to spare!" Malphas hollered, doing his best to match the tone of the warrior's call. While he was by no means a professional imitator, he had hoped to take advantage of the craftsman's focus to get something. Of course, he could just take his request at face value and accept it regardless. In any case, Malphas felt it would be safest if he got himself some protection, for whatever it is to come. As someone well-versed in acts of deception, he definitely felt the sharp familiarity of daggers pointed at his back. At the same time, he cannot afford to watch his back at all times when his path is only forward, so at least keeping it protected should be in his better interests.
And that's just the basics. Malphas also needed to worry about stocking up on winter clothes for the cold, rugged boots, rations, water, and arrows. The arrows especially were something of dire importance. The bow was likely useless as a bludgeon, which left only the dagger for Malphas to protect himself with. He needed to make some friends for this town, friends who would pass along enough helpful advice and equipment for him to be out of this town soon. As much as it would be fun to see if he could... uplift these villagers, he did not want to compete with others of his ilk, especially if they were to be so bold as to scheme in front of him.
Malphas then turned to the stranger of interest, one of the heroes who had slain the beast prior. He definitely looked like one of the more 'normal' strangers of this world. Not that Malphas was worried about that in the slightest. If anything, it could mean he would be more relatable. At the same time, he could as well be just as apprehensive as the rest to Malphas's rhetoric. Introductions are sorely due either way, at least to gauge what sort of traveler this man is, or if he even was a true 'stranger' to begin with.
"Hello there, fellow traveler. Seems I'm not the only one new to this village... or this world?" Malphas cocked an eyebrow, inquisitively.
“The flower became our ally and aided our escape. Augusta’s capable of healing now; care to experiment on your limits with Nick?”
"After you left, we went into the depths of the complex. We made a deal with a demon for it's survival and a guaranteed escape for us. Well, it's species' survival? Regardless, we escaped with it's seed and a new dog."
"What? You made a deal with the black tar-thing down below? Escaped with a seed and Octavia? What're you gonna do with the seed?" Nick was incredulous. These people did get in a lot of trouble in there. He was almost glad he ran away. Then again, he shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Maybe the black thing from the ruins wasn't bad, just lashing out or something. Still, Nick didn't trust it but he did trust the trio. "Well, I hope you three know what you're doing."
Isidore then left to hunt for food. A bit hasty, Nick thought, but if that's what he wants to do then by all means.
"Nick, I want you to trust me that you'll feel better. With all the black substance, we just need to be safe. It probably shouldn't hurt."
"Wait, what're you gonna do?" Augusta's words put Nick on edge. He reflexively recoiled while the Elven woman snapped a small flame into existence on her fingers. Nick still couldn't believe how that was possible. She then brought it over to his shoulder wound. "Wait, what're you--"
Nick was silenced as he felt the small flame spread its warmth over the injury. It burned, sort of? The wound felt nice and the dull pain faded away. The bleeding stopped completely now and while the damage wasn't fully healed, it was still a lot better than the crude dressing Nick gave it with a makeshift bandage. "Thanks, Augusta. You sure can do anything, can't you? Casting all sorts of magic and all."
"Hey, didn't you say you were gonna teach me magic? Now's a good a time as any, isn't it?"
As Augusta eased Nick's wounds, she looked it over once and gave a nod. Yes, while not perfect, it should probably heal just fine on it's own at this point. "I can only apply light amounts of triage and do small amounts of damage. I seem to amount to little more than a match at the moment, truthfully. Apparently, I couldn't even stop myself from getting stabbed in the side and remembering the past." The woman giggled sadly, her vision gazing towards the forest Isidore wandered into. It felt odd seeing a forest after all the time stuck in a dungeon.
"Anyhow. You want to learn magic? Very well." The elf held her hand out and showed Nick her actively forging a ball of magical energy in her hands. "The only reason I have an easy time is because of that pillar we pulled Octavia from. When I touched it, I could feel it pulling the magical energy from me. I can't replicate it so you'll just have to figure that out on your own, honestly. What I can tell you is you just have to feel the energy and try to push it out. I recommend the hands, personally. If you can give reason to it, you can make it so. For example, fire. If you have a grasp of physics from Earth, it helps." She snapped her fingers and a fire appeared at her finger tips.
"For example. Imagine, while expelling magic, of how to create a fire. Heat and oxygen and there." The fire at her fingertips grew some and then she extinguished it. "That's most of it. If I can, maybe I could learn the mana draining thing that stone tried to do and I could try it on you and you could be fully aware of it. I don't think I realized the magical potential was there until after I felt it being sucked out of me." The woman gave a small sigh. She cracked her neck and then her fingers. "Try working on getting a feel for your magical energy if you want to for now. I need to rest a bit." She mentioned, finding something to sit on.
"Come here, Octavia." She said, patting next to her, beckoning the demon dog over. "You need to rest too. I think you too more hits than I did even."
She followed along with Narkissa as the other woman ran over to another odd group of-...wait, was that a fox girl? And (GACHA GAME) ODA NOBUNAGA?! It was enough for that to attempt to start soaking in, but she listened on after a light shake of her head. The Oda-lookalike seemed to act well mannered enough, no idea if she was the real one or someone had a nice taste in their new form, and the fox girl seemed to be generally well enough for all she knew. As for herself, she had no idea about either of these two, and simply put she felt running on the assumption they could both be 'Earthers' would be fine enough for her at this point in time. One had just confirmed it, and the other's form was both suspicious and further stood out as alien as she did in this village of humans. It was all she had to run with anyways, and more importantly conversation would perhaps be more important to have once they all could sit down. At least if these two gave herself and Narkissa the time of day, depending on what was going on here.
Though at least this girl from the village seemed to be friendly enough, albeit mistaking herself and Narkissa for friends of the other two. It regardless got them in the door of some place, somehow, and sitting in a room with-...oh. Fire roasted fish and vegetables, such a primitive dish and yet something all so delicious in its simplicity. Had there been some figs and dates and such she might have gone on a ramble about the food of the ancient Egyptians, but alas her cat sense of smell only distracted her for a moment before her human-brain took note of a certain large stone slab. Her inner archaeologist tingled in anticipation, and immediately her attention was pulled away and she moved closer to the object.
Was it a familiar runic script to the prison fortress they'd appeared in? Was it familiar to Earth languages? Was it something of a Rosetta stone for this world's ancient peoples? It was tantalizing, too tantalizing to pass up, though before she got too close she turned to the hostess to at least try to be polite.
"Can I, ah, look at these things as well? Please? If that's ok I mean. Old stuff can be so cool! I'll be careful too, I promise!"
While she was trying to be on her best, the girl's tail and ears twitched with eager excitement and a bit of obvious joy at the prospect. Albeit it was obvious she wasn't the only one. Er...or perhaps she was assuming. Then again the fox girl had asked to see these things too, and native or not an interest in ancient objects was something she could respect! It also made her more suspicious. Eh, either way she wanted to look at cool old stuff carefully if she could. Such a prospect seemed far and above better to her than having to punch some failed experiment from a video game (but irl this time)...or nearly getting exposed by a laser light show shortly after waking up...or attempting to fist fight a giant stone monster and going Shadow of the Colossus on it's ass only to nearly die and send herself flying away at mach speeds like a big flaming comet.
...Really, the bar had been set so low that it wouldn't take much to make the day better at this venture.
Akando seemed receptive to the prospect of having armor fashioned for Novak, and offered to lead him to where the beast was being processed. Novak obliged, following the hunter through the town to where the hunters were hard at work pulling the carcass apart. He watched them carve its flesh, careful as to not activate his power, but still mentally taking note of what he saw. As far as he believed, even the most minor observations could be useful. It was a bit of a gruesome sight, but Novak knew it was something he'd need to quickly get used to.
Akando spoke up, asking the butcher in charge to produce armor from the beast's hide, a request that the second man obliged, the only caveat being it'd take a while. It certainly wouldn't be ready by tomorrow, when the group would presumably begin their quest to investigate the ongoing trouble with the Kyrinth. Nevertheless, it was good to hear that the locals were willing to accommodate his request despite his relatively minor role in actually stopping the animal.
Just then, Novak heard someone else speak up, requesting armor. He turned to witness a newcomer. Whoever this fellow was, he clearly was not a local. His demands suggested some familiarity with the locals, because Novak didn't think that a stranger would just walk into town and start demanding things from the locals. Perhaps it was the opposite, and this new arrival was simply some wealthy, over-entitled foreigner.
When the strange man greeted Novak, these speculations vanished as it quickly became very clear what was actually going on. This was yet another of the goddess' summoned heroes. The way he talked, the mantle of heroism may have already gone to his head. Novak cringed a little at the man's open declaration of being from another world. It was something not to be admitted to lightly, especially in the presence of the world's natives whom they still knew fairly little about.
"I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the world," Novak replied, not wanting to reveal too much, but also not wanting to trip himself up by trying to lie. Novak had little penchant for lying, but his ignorance of the world he originated from, and his lack of ties to it, was very real. He was a man of this world now, for as long as this goddess-given life would last, and his answer was truthful.
As Narkissa began to speak to the fox-eared woman, a second girl appeared behind her. For a moment, she was taken aback; while she had always thought gacha games were a scam back when she was still alive on earth, even she could recognize this lady was a ‘female Oda Nobunaga,’ from a certain game… down to her clothes. Or, at the very least, this was a person that had taken a great deal of a fancy towards the persona.
She had… questions. Either way, this person was from obviously from earth, from one time period… or version… or another. As academic as she was, this wasn’t a topic she wanted to ponder at the moment, or she was afraid her brain was going to explode from overprocessing.
Still, Narkissa was curious how they would answer. Surprisingly, the Oda lookalike answered first, in an annoyingly coy way. Well, her suspicions were confirmed, at least, but the way she immediately covered for the fox girl made her raise an eyebrow.
The fact that she’d cut off the fox girl as she was responding piqued her curiosity, even more so when the fox girl ignored the question and spoke. The way Narkissa been tactically ignored rather than being refused or looked at in a confused manner made her think the opposite of what the black-haired lady had said. If they wanted to keep the fox girl’s origins a secret, that was fine with her, though. In this strange new world, it was probably safer to keep things closer to one’s heart.
As she was thinking, yet another girl barged into the picture, but this one looked a lot more like a native.
Narkissa looked back at the fox girl, casually raising her hand up to her chest height. “As far as I’m concerned, it appears we all have similar origins,” she made a nod towards Nobunaga, “As such, I don’t see why we shouldn’t be friends.” While implying she didn’t believe Nobunaga, she simultaneously hinted she believed that they were all from earth. At this point, what reason did they have not to work together? There was no better trust and comradery to be found in the fact that everybody in this small group were the only ones from earth, in this strange, new world.
With that, she decided to follow the energetic girl along with Leannah and the rest. Walking along the way, she introduced herself. “Narkissa Landgon. May I have the pleasure of knowing your names?”
Although she had tried her damned hardest to be social and to get to know some fellow earthlings –that were not crazy cultists—once she entered Lazhira’s house, she too was immediately drawn to the various odds and ends in the house.
In fact, as an archeologist herself, this was not something she could give up on.
Raising her hand in the same manner as before, she chimed in. “Sorry if I’m also imposing, but looking at old things was actually an old profession of mine. I also can’t help but to also be interested…”
Don raised a concerned eyebrow at Augusta as she forced him away from her. Had the sudden change in blood pressure affected her judgement? Was the tar-like fluid already messing with her head? Don frowned. Regardless, she had refused his help, and he wasn't about to force her into accepting his aid.
Upon seeing the wound heal through Augusta's own magic, Don breathed a sigh of relief. But while he was certainly happy that she wasn't going to bleed out anytime soon, the more immediate goal of escape took priority.
Needless to say, the brief sight of the raging confrontation between the Guardian and the Garden only furthered Don's belief that the seed ought to be dealt with the first chance he got.
The absence of crumbling, ancient walls was a welcome sight to Donovan. They were free! They were safe!
For now, at least.
After quietly allowing the original members of the group he'd stumbled across have their little reunion, Don stepped forward as Isidore started to enter the woods, "Aye'll make sure Mr. Invincible don't get himself kilt er' nuthin." he lightly joked. Pausing for a moment, the large man noticed that unlike Augusta's wound; which had nearly closed completely, Nick's had more or less just stopped bleeding, and had begun to clot. Was the elf's spell only repairing the wound without treating the infection? Don honestly had no idea. But in his mind it was better to be safe than sorry.
Placing his hand casually on Nick's injured shoulder in a reaffirming gesture, Don briefly channeled his his purification magic into the wound as discretely as possible to avoid further offending Augusta with his unwanted help. "Glad tah see yeh made et out arright lad. I were a tad worried when weh got split." he said with a beaming smile. "Much as I'd be happeh to keep tha two uh yeh company, aye can't let Isidore get too far ahead uh meh. Might not be able tah find the quiet bastard!" Don said with a chuckle as he headed off to follow the other reincarnator into the woods beyond.
“Ah, It’s fine.” Lazhira replied with a grin. “Most people here don’t really care for this sorta thing, so if you wanna look I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. Just eh, be a bit careful. I had to lug some of those all the way back from the old temple. Some of that stuff is really old. Oh, and its uh, Lazhira. My name, that is, ehe.”
While the trio began inspecting the various things around the room, Lazhira began setting the table. The relics themselves, if they could be called that just seemed to be various objects of questionable importance. Pots, vases, a mask or two, but the most notable however, were a few stone carvings, the largest ones the size of a large book. The writing on them, if they were indeed that, were entirely unreadable to them.
“Ehm, if you’re wondering about the writing on some of these things, its supposed to be the God of Knowledge’s runes. I have no idea what they mean though - weh!” Lazhira spoke up, almost tripping and dropping a plate she was carrying. “I was trying to work on a translation, but I’m not really...good at it.”
The tablets at least, seemed to depict both words and human figures occasionally, roughly carved into its surface, though it also seemed much was missing from each piece, being only a fragment of both. Alongside those fragments, were a small idol of some sort, expertly carved from stone. Fitting in the palm of ones hand, It seemed to be a bust of some sort, seeming fairly similar to a human save for the smooth, polished shape of the face and the large horns adorning either side, one being larger than another.
Nothing seemed to stand out more than normal to the three curious onlookers. Of course, all of these relics would be equally strange, as they were completely uninitiated in the history of this world, or the village of Dawn itself. Perhaps further examination was required.
“So uh, about what I said earlier.” Lazhira looked at Nobunaga. “The er, curse thing...I think it has something to do with the old temple. You probably saw mention of it in those scrolls, Misaki. Some weird things have been happening there lately, and last time I was there, there was this really thick fog that’s not normal there. If I didn’t know the area or a few magic tricks I’d probably have gotten lost.” She grabbed a piece of a fish, slowly starting to eat. “I’m not an expert on anything, but that was weird.”
Magic seemed simple enough, if Augusta’s explanation was anything to go by. The capability was already within, he just had to find a way to push it out. Easy, in theory. He just needed to try and do it, it seemed. Perhaps he could attempt playing around with that, while they waited for night to fall. But then, it might also be prudent to try and find some sort of shelter. The sun was already dipping behind the horizon, and with it the temperature.
But a brief rest couldn’t hurt.
Upon hearing her name, Octavia poked her head up from a nearby pile of snow she had somehow managed to cover herself in. The demon pup walked over to the elf, taking a seat by her, loudly yawning and settling down next to her. As she did so, perhaps she’d scan the pup again with her eye to see how it was doing -
Name: Octavia Race: Demon Hound pup Physical Attributes: Similar to you. Magic Attributes: N/A Weakness: Like all demons, they are weak to divine related miracles that seek to purify corruption. It is inherently bound to obey those who made it unless released from its service. Is weak to magical effects, especially fire and ice. Abilities: Black Blooded This hound comes from the --------- clan. Its blood is toxic and extremely caustic, causes severe burns and can even cause humans to mutate. Pack Mentality As a demonic beast, this particular one works best in a pack. When around other members of its pack, it will gain sharp boosts to its intelligence and physical boosts. Physical Regeneration Demons of the --------- clan are notoriously difficult to kill and blessed with massive physical boons. The least of which, is incredible regenerative properties even being able to remake severed limbs in the midst of battle
Special attributes: Seed Carrier - this pup carries a seed from the garden that birthed it within.
A Demonic Beast from the --------- clan. Dangerous and intelligent, it is a beast that will relentlessly pursue its prey and sadistically end them. Loyal and steadfast, it’s a beast you can trust should you command it. You do. As a beast-type creature, its physical senses are heightened. While smarter than your average animal, it can still only follow basic commands from those who control it. No status abnormalities. Uninjured.
For the most part, it seemed she was fine, but something else had been added since the last time she scanned the pup.
Donovan’s own worries seemed to be somewhat founded - upon placing his hand upon Nick’s wound, it felt...off. Not in the physical sense, just off. Placing his hands upon the wound though, and using his own abilities - that feeling vanished near instantly. It seemed as though while Augusta could heal the physical, she couldn’t cleanse the ‘corruption’ the plants brought.
Isidore, meanwhile, decided to meet the Boar’s charge with a steeled stance. His hands met the boars tusks, his armor doing their job of keeping him mostly unharmed for now. Yet, his body groaned and protested the repeated use of such force - still, it held for now. His feet slid across snow, wet ground. With leverage and momentum, the pig squealed, its feet kicking and flailing as it was pulled from the ground and launched into the air.
In the next instant, Isidore drew his blade.
Fresh blood stained the snow.
The weight of the boar's body fell into his own. The weight forced the pig further down the blade, fully impaling the creature upon it, right through where its heart should have been, yet it wasn’t dead yet it seemed. It thrashed and flailed, twisting and craning its neck, a tusk tearing lightly into Isidore’s neck as it attempted to wrench itself free of its hunters grasp, but it was a vain attempt. The boar’s heart had been pierced, and soon its struggling would cease.
The quiet crack of a twig would draw Isidore’s attention next.
Standing not far away, was...a tree?
At first his eyes thought he might have been looking at a tree or a large, barren bush. Long branches extended far into the air, reaching just below the branches of the other trees. Upon them seemed to grow various foliage and plants, a small squirrel or two seemed to even have made a nest in them - yet as his eyes followed the branches down, he’d come to a realization.
It wasn’t a tree - it was a deer. A large, massive deer with a luxurious looking fur coat as white as the snow that surrounded it. Swirling patterns of grey fur decorated its flanks. A long, bushy tail dragged behind it, long, thin legs, carrying it gracefully across the ground. Indeed, if he hadn’t been directly looking at it, one might have simply missed it entirely against the forested background with how still it was standing.
It stared at him, then turned its gaze to the Boar, then back to Isidore.
It pawed the ground, raised its head. A loud, echoing, shrill call resounded through the forest, a wind beginning to stir. The deer began walking towards Isidore, each step causing a flurry of wind to move snow from its path as it approached.
Donovan wouldn’t have much trouble finding Isidore, following the sound of that call, stumbling upon Isidore the moment the Deer began walking towards him.
“Leather? We have some pelts in the back...I’ll see what we can do.” Bolcha grunted, nodding to Malphas. “Shouldn’t be too difficult, come back tomorrow afternoon, it should be mostly ready by then.”
“Well, Novak, I should get back before something else happens.” Unless stopped, Akando would leave Novak and Malphas at the workshop on their own. Bolcha continued to work for a few moments, before stepping out to the front of the store and eyeing the two of them.
“Hm...if you two got time, I need a favor.” He motioned back to the beast they were butchering. “You’re the travelers that killed that thing right? That thing is gonna take awhile to fully get through, so I’m not gonna be able to handle some things I need doing today, and the hunters are winding down for the day. If I could have a few extra hands, I could maybe even get yours done faster - and I’d be willing to give you a few extra things too.”
After being given leave to examine the miscellaneous goods scattered about, Misaki wasted no time in attempting to take note of everything, shuffling things around so that, at the very least, like artifacts were grouped together in a far more orderly fashion than they had been when she had entered. It was of note how the language written on the tablets was remained unintelligible despite the apparent automatic translation of the scrolls she had gone over earlier, which, while disappointing, gave her more reason to at least focus more upon Lazirha's attempt to translate them herself. Of course, the other two people that had asked for permission to look things over were working on their own, and despite the less-than-warm reception she had given the one who had approached her, they seemed to not take much offense. Of course, she was still a bit wary of them, given the wide variance in the type of people who lived on Earth, and so she resolved to hold off on actually reaching out until she felt like she could at least get a better feel for them.
That didn't mean that she'd simply hand off her name, though—or, at least, that was what she had planned to do, had Lazirha not spoken it in her stead. It was at this point that Misaki considered the costs and benefits of trying to keep up this charade before discarding the idea entirely. It'd only make her look foolish in the long run, after all, had she continued to try and act like she knew nothing when so much was already out in the open.
"Fog, huh...? Well, that's certainly ominous," she sighed, shaking her head. "Given that we've gotten the go-ahead to explore the region, I suppose that much might prove to be a bit problematic, though. I'd rather not get stuck wandering for an eternity, though, so the problem now becomes navigating through that..."
As good as it was to have this information on hand, it wouldn't actually be of any use to them if they couldn't figure out any countermeasures beforehand.
Malphas raised an eyebrow at the man's response. While he chose not to give anything away right now, he also didn't deny Malphas's claims. Perhaps he wasn't one for the limelight? No matter the case, Malphas shrugged and turned his attentions elsewhere for now. He'll keep his eye on the young man, but he'll also respect his wishes of not wanting too much attention to himself at this time.
Malphas's attention was then taken by Bolcha's approach. It seemed as if he believed Malphas was part of the troupe that had killed the beast! Well, no point in correcting him now, especially if it leads to his benefit. What's more, he also needed assistance in a few matters. Malphas wasn't really busy with anything at the moment, and while he did wish to leave quickly, it seemed as if helping the craftsman at his work would net him a few more things he could use on his travels. Networking is also a plus, even if it were a village as small as this. Perhaps this might also mean he wouldn't have to leave after all...
"Oh, but of course! I'm not one to shy away from hard work, after all..." Malphas stepped forward, eager to get to work. Despite his looks and demeanor, Malphas welcomed the idea of menial labor. Sweat is the salt of man's hard work, after all. And would he truly say he loved his fellow humans if he didn't sweat alongside them? Whatever it was that Bolcha needed done, Malphas would eagerly begin to work on, whether his fellow beast-slayer chose to help as well or not.
"Try working on getting a feel for your magical energy if you want to for now. I need to rest a bit."
Nick heeded Augusta's words. She even showed him a couple of demonstrations, first with a ball of magic on her hands then flicking fire into existence with her fingers. She did it seemingly effort, like walking or breathing. Alright, Nick cracked his fingers and mentally prepared himself. Alright, feel the energy like she said. He knew some physics concepts so that should help too and use the hands to help push out the magic.
Nick focused and concentrated, attempting to feel the magic and cast it. A simple fireball, a small one, was on his mind. Oxygen and heat combusting and being flung away. When he felt it was ready, Nick pushed his hands forward toward an empty patch of snow.
...
Nothing. No matter, Nick doubted he could do it in the first try. One more time!
...
Nothing. Alright, third time's the charm!
...
Nothing. "This... might be harder than I thought."
"Glad tah see yeh made et out arright lad. I were a tad worried when weh got split."
Donovan placed a hand on Nick's wounded shoulder. "Dude, stop. You might--" The black corruption on his wound soon dissipated and Nick realized that middle-aged guy had just cast some more healing magic on him. While Augusta fixed the physical, Donovan cleaned off the... whatever that was. "Whoa. Thanks for that, dude. I didn't know what that was. I mean, it didn't feel like anything but it still kinda made me nervous."
Donovan then went off to find and join Isidore in the snowy woods, leaving Nick with Augusta. "Well, Augusta, what do we do next? I mean, we can still rest here if you're tired while I continue trying to cast magic. Or we can head off and find shelter. Maybe a cave or something?"
Thinking about his inability to cast magic yet, Nick decided to add. "Say, got any tips for magic for a newbie like me?"
...Nothing recognizable. No runes on the tablet, no amount of the relics and trinkets of old or any of it seemed to make sense at this time. Such was the nature of archaeology, however, and especially Egyptology in its infancy. It was one reason the Rosetta Stone had been such a valuable discovery! Two languages upon one great piece of stone, and a particular bit of greco-egyptian influence that had made it easier to decipher things (to say the least). But she was getting ahead of herself. Truth be told, however, the fox girl putting these beautiful discoveries together in an orderly manner was something she appreciated. A little respect for the history these spoke or, and perhaps literally so contained in regards to the runic tablet, that as a historian of sorts she could respect. Yet the fact this woman was still totally foreign to her, and considering the manner of her own death and career before dying there were a lot of people out there...and respecting history didn't mean always being a good person.
Still, the fact this girl was translating these arcane runes was something even more enticing. Or at least she'd been trying to do so from what it sounded like. And they now also had the name of the fox girl in turn: Misaki. A very much Japanese name to be sure, and another thing to add to her list of suspicions about the fox being from Earth in turn. That and the mention of this fox having read old scrolls, which if the fortress and this tablet were of any note were indecipherable to anyone from Earth....or at least herself and Narkissa probably.
Her own information wasn't very complete about everything in this world regardless, far from it to put it far too mildly, but the mentions of abnormal fog and weird things was enough of a telltale sign of myths and danger to make her ears perk up. Magic wasn't a new concept to her, at least after Malphas' and her own shenanigans back there, but the rest of it spoke of something...hmm...that and the nature of the other relics here...
"A curse? Mysterious fog? Strange phenomenon?" the catgirl muttered to herself a moment, putting a hand to her chin in thought before looking back up, "Even if you do not think your translation is very good, Lazhira, it could be a clue to those odd events you spoke of. At least potentially. You have to start somewhere when figuring this sort of thing out, after all!
The catgirl sauntered back over and sat down cross-legged at the table, her eyes attentive as much as she seemed to be ardent in her curiosity and earnest in her encouragement.
"Apologies for being a bit forward, you've been very kind so far, but if I may...from what you've tried to translate so far: Was there any mention of a 'tomb'? Anything that calls upon gods to punish others? Mentions of something sealed away or closed up?"
All she knew to heart, at least right off the bat, was something like the curses put on the tombs of the ancient Pharaohs. Calling upon the gods to curse a tomb looter was one thing. Likewise there was the ilk of greek curse tablets (she'd dabbled in learning of those on the side), and tales like the Minotaur and the Book of Thoth came to mind in turn. Sure back on Earth it was all legend and myth, but here, well, she felt more apt to give this place a LOT of credit to such stories and mentions. After all, magic was REAL...and monsters and cat girls and fox girls and anime Oda Nobunaga looking people were REAL. Etc.
