Augusta squinted her eyes as Donovan had spoke, but offered no words to the man as he left. There was a small bit of disappointment that showed on her face as Nick parted with them. "Farewell, Nick. Until the next we meet. Don't mention my power!" She wasn't sure if the guy heard her, but with that, she turned north herself, satisfied that they kept the seed and Octavia safe. "It's good to have you along for this second ride into hell, Isidore." She mentioned as the three moved on in silence. As they trudged along their path, Augusta worked on a spell that would provide warmth with the explicit thought that she might not quite find a great source of warmth for everyone. And Octavia seemed to be rather cold, the longer they moved until the sun started to descend over the mountain.
"It's becoming a bit colder now." Augusta mentioned as the came towards the base of the mountain. Still, Octavia seemed quite uncomfortable with the temperature at the moment. The hound seemed to be... Plant-like so hopefully, the healing fire she held wouldn't be terrible bad for her. She cast it in her hand. It was definitely warm. More comfortable than the winds around them all at the moment. "Alright, here my darling, this should be warmer." Her hand that held the flame lowered slightly so it could radiate to the dog better. As they started up the animal trail, they noticed a light and the smell of cooked meat. A god-send it would seem. Or perhaps a curse on their way up the mountain. Either way, the would know soon. Perhaps it would be someone they could negotiate with. Regardless, they needed to press on.
Isidore passed the boar skin to her so he was free to move. Understandable, but still. "Let's hope it's someone we can negotiate with." The elven woman mentioned as the moved up to the camp. "I'm all eyes." She made sure her hand that wasn't holding the healing fire was free just in case she needed to sling a spell.
It seems he's having as little luck with her as he did yesterday, Novak noted with some amusement as he watched the fox woman shoot down the white-haired man's attempts to haggle with her. She even brought up the events of yesterday, hinting to him the circumstances which they first met.
During her conversation, she noticed Novak and shot a wink at him, then appeared to whisper to one of her guards. It seemed she remembered him too. One of the guards approached Novak, informing him that the fox-woman, named Lady Mie, wanted to see him this evening, and handed Novak a small bag of coins.
"Very well, you can tell her I will oblige, and...I am very thankful for her gift," Novak responded, blushing slightly as he took the bag. He glanced at Lady Mie briefly before turning away, not wanting to show his flushed appearance. He wasn't sure what to make of this offer, but he would have plenty of time to ponder on it. For now, he ought to try and find his companions. They was an important quest to undertake today, and the sooner they were able to assemble, the sooner they could begin working on it.
He didn't have to look far to find those he was searching for. Misaki and Lazhira were conversing nearby just outside the crowd, having also evidently been drawn to the merchant's tent. Novak made his way through the bustle, holding tightly onto the bag that he had been gifted. Eventually he made it out of the bustling congregation and was able to reach his friends.
"Hello, Misaki, hello Lazhira," he greeted them. "Things certainly seem a lot more busy now. I take it that this...Lady Mie is that traveling trader you mentioned?" he asked, glancing back at the tent. The more important matter at hand would be trying to help with this problem with the Kyrinth, Novak was curious as to what Lazhira knew about this enigmatic fox-eared merchant.
What gave Nobunaga immediate pause was the sight of the woman, wearing rather familiar armor. She supposed it was to be expected that such things did exist in this world, given the weapon she had acquired shortly after her awakening. But she hadn't expected to see someone in such armor so swiftly. This place hadn't resembled her homeland of another world, so even if she was aware such a land existed... she simply doubted that she would see any sign of it so soon.
It seemed that she was mistaken.
Undoubtedly, she wished to know more about that person.
".. .I must admit, I share Misaki's curiosity," she said. "Who are these visitors?"
An oni woman in armor who just walked off? There was another woman with fluffy tails? Wait, Lazhira like fluffing fluffy tails? It was all so strange, and yet the garb of these visiting merchants was striking Japanese and Far Eastern in style. That much was apparent. Heck, compared to Misaki and Not!Nobunaga here it was an eerie similarity in appearance.
Hmm.
It made the catgirl slightly sour feeling to not have seen anyone else like herself thus far, though that one guard had also been wary of her in return. Was it concerning? Potentially. Did she still want to meat more of her own kind at some point under good circumstances? Of course she did! Though if the Japanese duo wanted to be co curious, maybe they should just go with these mysterious strangers. Or perhaps she was being a tad irritable and a little jealous for a moment here. Probably that. Blargh.
"Will definitely not ask to fluff her tail. But I'm not sure any of us have money either, ah, so not sure how we'd shop though...," the catgirl said, letting out a rather small sigh as her tail swished slowly behind her, before looking to Narcissa and back at Lazhira with a smile, "If these two wish to learn more about these visitors, however, then I don't want to hold them back. The rest of us could go to see the temple if possible, or if you wanted to shop a bit, Lazhira, the rest of us could tag along to see at least."
Did she want to go to the temple more so? Yes. Definitely yes. She'd in the end kind stick with one or the other depending on whatever Narcissa piped in too, though, and after seeing how Lazhira wanted to do things. She didn't want to be rude, at least to Lazhira and Narcissa here, but at the same time didn't want to get bogged down in what a certain other pair seemed to want to obviously do. If three went to the temple and two stayed behind to talk, then maybe it would be a win-win in the end?
Narkissa eventually meandered out to the commotion along with the rest of the girls. The crowd was certainly nothing compared to what she was used to, but the garb of the people was something that she still had to get used to. With only the better part of a day and half in this world, it still felt like every moment was spent living in a fantasy film.
Even among the various attire, though, some other figures definitely cut an imposing, and unique appearance. Armored with dual blades, and striking horns on her head, the woman was definitely… eye-catching. If Narkissa had to guess with a familiar analogue, she looked far-eastern, with that sort of armor, although she couldn’t quite pin the culture. Maybe she could ask the resident Japanese warlord if she knew about it. Either way, it was interesting that culture seemed to develop somewhat similar to what existed previously… although it seemed like a good many of this world’s denizens had extra appendages in some place or another.
Which, funnily enough, she was reminded of again when Lazhira finally bounded into earshot, with something about tails. “Who is Lady Mie?” she half-muttered, her attention still on the visitors and commotion, despite Lazhira’s return. She would have asked the more pertinent question of who they were, if everybody around her hadn’t already asked. If they were there to peddle wares, Narkissa definitely wanted to see, and she found herself agreeing with Leannah on what a shame it was that they didn’t have money.
Wait, what even counted for money here?
That wasn’t a question that she wanted to blurt out and let slip her ignorance, so she found herself even more interested in having a look, just to acclimate and see for herself. That is, if they were actually trading or selling over there.
“Well, the temple can wait. It’s not going anywhere, but the curiosity in front of us will, sooner or later, so let’s have a proper look, shall we?”
Though he had in truth been hesitant to leave the other to wander off into a storm, Don ultimately knew that parting ways was for the best. The way Augusta and Isidore had glared at him only gave him further confidence in his decision. Even if he wasn't sure letting them leave with the demon seed was a wise idea, but he'd have to trust their judgement for the time being... Even if their judgement wasn't what he'd like it to be. Regardless, Don was rather surprised to see Nick join him on his journey North, he'd been convinced the lad would stick with the others. "Aye dunno when we'll get tah see Kyrnith again, but when aye do, aye'll be sure tah put in ah good word."
Don was quiet for much of the trek, the severity of the situation weighing heavily upon his shoulders.
It wasn't until Nick's comment about the sand that he said his first words since parting with the others, "Not one much fer beaches eh? Cant say aye blame ya. Any time me an' the wife took our kiddos to th' beach sand would end up all over th' car." he chuckled in reminiscence. It almost seemed like yesterday that his children were just wee kids. How were they faring without the presence of their old man?
Don shook his head. He was certain they were fine. They were raised well, and brought up smart. They'd be fine.
As the men drew near the village Don paused for a moment, his ears perking at an unseen voice.
"..."
He turned to the woods just in time to see a young girl, covered in tattoos burst into the open. For the briefest moment he sensed something... Something similar to the divine energy of his badge. Don leaned toward Nick, and spoke in hushed tone "We're here tah save this place from a god gone mad. Aye shoulda told ye th' details on the way-- but aye think weh just found our first lead. Aye'll explain when we get a quiet minute and ain't in the open-- c'mon lad."
Casually, Donovan followed the tatooed girl toward the large gathering of townsfolk. He would have continued tailing her, if not for the fact that his eyes rest on a familiar looking head, one that happened to be coming out of a large tent. A large hand landed heavily on Malphas' shoulder as a wide smile beamed at the strange little man "Not causin' no trouble are ya?".
Humming to himself as he exited the tent, Malphas clutched his now useful bow tightly, excited to finally use it. Overall, he seemed pretty happy with the arrangement. Fetching things in the woods sounded like a cakewalk! Granted, Malphas had never stepped foot in the woods in his past life... Oh, what's there to worry? He's the Goddess's chosen, after all!
A sudden grasp on his shoulder, however, was more than enough to cause Malphas to stir once more. The last time he was grasped in such a matter, he was given a strange stone and an unsettling memory. Malphas was not keen with dealing with that hag again, not while he was in such a good mood! Grasping his new bow with both hands, he shoved the long end of it roughly towards his supposed assailant!
To Donovan, it seemed that Malphas was paying him back for the gift he had given him the day before... Sadly, it seems his payment was also deposited to the same place as last time, as the end the Malphas's bow is shoved suddenly towards Donovan's Donovans.
Leaping back into an exaggerated stance once more, Malphas looked into the eyes of the hag with a fierce expression before realizing that the hag was not actually a hag...
"Donovan?! You have survived unscathed! Oh, what a joyous day, this is!" Malphas exclaimed, hugging his old friend fondly. "I have so much to catch you up on! Oh, but you and your friend must need rest, right? I have to run an errand, and time is of the essence, but if you need a place for respite, I know where you can rest your weary souls!" Malphas exclaimed, giving Nick a friendly wave of acknowledgement, before giving the both of them directions to a certain hut where he had spent the night. Surely his one-time companion wouldn't mind orienting an old friend of his, wouldn't they?
Whether they took up Malphas's offer or not was up to them, as Malphas continued towards the woods. He definitely would continue their conversation later, but for now, he mustn't keep that capricious fox waiting.
As Novak accepted the pouch of coins, opening it would reveal a rather hefty seeming sum. Thirty smaller bronze coins, ten silver coins with a square hole in the middle, and two more oval shaped gold coins with some sort of seal imprinted on them. Whatever she intended by giving him such a sum was left to his imagination.
“Ehehe~” Lazhira laughed sheepishly in response to Misaki’s comment. “I just like fluffy things. Also foxes are just cute.” The native glanced over to the masked woman. “They’re from Chagawa. I’ve only heard about it from Lady Mie, but its a chain of islands off to the north west somewhere, apparently there’s this huuuuuge tree” She made a motion with her arms trying to emphasize the exact scale of ‘huge’ that the tree apparently was. “And its got a lot of uh, mines where they find raw ore and stuff, and since she owns some of them she likes taking the excess and trading them to villages like ours.”
Lazhira glanced towards the sky.
“Uhm, that said there’s probably not time to do both today. It’s a bit of a trek and it’d probably be getting dark by the time we get back. I’ll take whoever wants to go but we should probably get moving soon.” She smiled. “Don’t worry about money or anything either if you do go. She doesn’t mind if you just look, and if you ask she might trade a bit of labor or help for something.”
Lazhira would let the group decide who went where. Whenever they finished, Lazhira happily took whoever went with her to the edge of the village and into the forest. It was an oddly peaceful place, a number of small animals running about. They couldn’t shake the feeling they were being watched by something as they ventured deeper. The trees starting to grow closer and thicker despite the wintry weather creating a shady, cold and gloomy atmosphere. Eventually after a bit of a walk over uneven, snowy ground, they would eventually reach the top of a small hill. Thankfully they hadn’t run into any trouble in the form of wild animals or otherwise.
In the distance, a large, snow covered stone structure could be seen barely peeking through the top of the trees. The ground below them was covered in a thick, fog like mist, obscuring the ground and likely would cover their entire vision should they decide to delve into it.
“Aha, there it is!” Despite the long walk, Lazhira didn’t look like she felt tired at all. “And the spooky fog...its oddly kind of beautiful, isn’t it?” She grinned. There was something deeply unsettling about the fog, but no one could quite put their finger on it. “So what you wanna do? You can stick close to me, oooor...”
Lazhira put her hands in front of her, taking a deep breath. The same orb of light that she had manifested earlier popped into existence.
“You can try it yourself! Its a bit different, but its nearly the same. The fog doesn’t seem to like sources of light very much.” She nodded energetically. "Just uh...don't go in there without it. Trust me on that one. You'll be walking around for an entire day before you find your way out..." She seemed like she was talking from experience.
Merchant
For those who decided to meet the visitors from seemingly west, they would be welcomed easily into the market the proprietor had set up, though whether or not it was easy to move about was another story entirely. It seemed like almost everyone in the village was here, moving through the various stalls, tents, and tables set up by the foxy merchant.
Sights familiar to Misaki and Nobunaga would pass them - or at least, give the impression of familiarity. Several men clad in what could easily be called samurai armor, though primitive. Notably however, the only one wearing masks like the woman from earlier also seemed to be horned individuals, though not all wore armor and some seemed to be just general workers or other hired help. They mostly seemed to keep to themselves, and kept to others of their own.
The Merchant herself was currently counting some silver, bronze, and gold coins behind a desk. Taking a stack, she placed them into a lockbox and handed it to one of her retainers. She then immediately sat in a chair, grabbed a bowl of what smelled of booze, took a long sip and let out a mildly languid sounding sigh as she waved over one of her retainers.
“Haaa...go tell Ayumi to keep an eye on him. Quietly. And if he tries to leave without paying, well...tell her to use her imagination. I have a feeling he’s going to be trouble later.”
Of course, they were free to do something entirely else, too should they desire. That horned woman that had been watching them could be a good place to start if they wanted information with less hassle - though she seemed to have walked off somewhere else and was conversing with another pair at the market now, too.
As Malphas left, he was vaguely aware of the fox girl shouting after him something along the lines of 'Be careful about using that charm' but he wasn't sure of the exact wording. More importantly, what he was looking for was a rather peculiar plant that she said grew around an old temple in the forest. White petals with purple splotches that gave off the faint scent of rot. She made it extremely clear he was not to touch the plants with his bare hands - they were extremely toxic and even a single touch could cause extremely painful irritation for weeks if he were not careful.
What she wanted with such a plant, she didn’t say.
Assuming Malphas wasn’t going to cheat her and if he was going to head into the forest to seek out this temple the hag mentioned last night, he would then head into the forest himself.
The trek would be easy enough, the cold snowy ground proving at least somewhat easy to traverse as long as he was careful. Some distance into his trek through, he would become increasingly aware that something was following him. Animals, slinking just around his peripherals. Some were jumping from tree limb to tree limb, seemingly intending to jump him from above. How long they had been there and how exactly they crept up on him he hadn’t a clue, but they were there now and he couldn’t tell how many there were.
One suddenly hopped from a small hill in front of him, landing directly in front of him a few feet and cutting him off. A large, bird like creature about half the size he was. Its wings seemed too small to fly, more for gliding and climbing, with longer legs obviously designed more for speed than perhaps its more avian cousins. A long, thin tail extended from its backside. Long claws adorned the ends of its wings, with similar claws on its feet. Its body was covered in many colorful feathers, having a large feathered crest upon the crown of their head. They almost looked like small, feathered, wyverns. Though it was crouched low to the ground, it was easy to tell if it stood it’d be about half as tall as he was.
Several more now had positioned themselves behind him.
Ah, he was surrounded by about five of these creatures. They weren’t attacking him yet, but it was clear these were likely predators of some sort.
As Donovan and Nick traveled through the village, just as he was tailing Lazhira until she went in an entirely different direction, it would seem someone was tailing the two of them. The horned woman from the shore was following them a short distance away. It wasn’t until after Malphas had left did she finally speak and acknowledge them.
“...Dawn. T-the name of the village, that is.”
She quietly said to the two of them.
“Forgive my impudence for speaking out of turn, but you seemed curious so I thought to be of help.” Despite her somewhat intimidating visage, her voice and mannerisms were anything but. Uncertain, a bit of hesitation and mild nervousness tinged the sound of her voice. “And if I have not offended then perhaps I can be of service in some manner?”
Taking a moment to tend to Octavia, Augusta used some of her healing flame. The pup seemed to whine quietly, but otherwise seemed at least a little warmer. So Isidore and Augusta advanced towards the seeming source of warmth. What awaited them at the top, was a small campsite. It was situated on a small outcrop some distance up, so whoever was there could have a good view of the lower lands in any other weather. A fire was going, seemingly very recently tended to. The meat of some animal, what seemed to be some fairly large species of lizard was skewered over a fire.
And laying on the ground in a small pool of blood?
Two humans, clad in armor. Thick furs over a fairly typical leather and cloth armor. One had been seemingly taken by surprise near the other side of the outcropping, stabbed in the back. The other had his throat cut open, and was laid to rest near the fire. A quick check of their bodies would reveal both used swords, and a single plain metal shield. Their pockets possessed a few silver coins.
And standing not far, against the opposite wall, was seemingly their unlikely killer.
She was dressed in a dirty cloak coat that had seen significant wear, being frayed near the hems. She had been rifling through the pockets of the deceased, but at the appearance of Isidore she shakily stood, wincing as her small hands produced a dagger from under her cloak, holding it towardsIsidore. Several cuts and bruises adorned her face, blood mixed with dirt having long since dried on her face. One of her eyes slightly swollen, a bruise clearly in the middle of forming
“Y-you...s-stay over there!” She did her best shot of a hostile glare, but it fell short. “J-ust...l-leave us alone, p-please....” A labored, pained breath as she unsteadily took a step away from him. Augusta’s sight would make it clear she was not doing well.
Name: Leuca Whelani Race: Elf (Sirithen) Physical Attributes: Weaker than you Magic Attributes: N/A Weakness: The Sirithen elves typically possess no glaring weaknesses or strengths aside from what typically ails mortal flesh. Abilities: Léargas Sinsear (Minor) - When Sirithen elves come of age, some opt to undergo special training and meditative processes to connect with their ancestors and what they perceive to be the ‘flow’ of the world. While few partake of this, and fewer succeed, those who succeed, in turn, are able to enter a trance and gain supernatural strength, reflexes, and perception. Often they become renowned warriors and it is required for any leaders to possess this ability. Special attributes: Ancestor Geas - Leuca was born with a particular Geas placed on her bloodline by her ancestors. While it gives her a strong connection to the ‘Flow’ and her Ancestors, she is required to carry out some task given by them or suffer misfortune.
One of those of the Sirithen Elves, the oldest and progenitor of the other Elvish species that dot the land. Her name is Leuca. She is a child. She is hungry, causing weakness. She is scared. She has several fractured bones, notably her wrist and a rib. Lacerations and bruises on her arms and chest. She is bleeding. Medical attention suggested.
Two dead men and an injured girl with ears as long as Augusta’s. Isidore gazed over their weapons, their fine clothing, then to the destitute appearance of the child, before narrowing his eyes. Assumptions came easily, and though he guarded himself against it, there was still a pit in his stomach that burned. Even when he was young, stupid, and thoughtless, he hated this shit, and now that he was an old man in a young man’s body? Isidore’s heart pounded hard, and his blood ran hot.
But that was only on the inside. From the outside, his posture did not change, and he did not approach.
The dark-haired man thrust his sword into the snow and turned his palms so they faced the child. “You’re injured. Tell us what happened, and we’ll heal you.” He gestured briefly at the ragged state of his clothing, the bloodied boar skin that Augusta held, their general lack of possessions. “We’re not with those men.”
His gaze left the bruised waif, then scanned his surroundings slowly, methodically.
If this had been yesterday when she was still in Italy... The sight of these two corpses might have left her a little queasy. Now, though, well... Perhaps it was the gift of the goddess, or perhaps her experience in the dungeon. She didn't feel much about seeing these bodies. Pity, perhaps, that they were killed by a small girl. Hmm. She needed this girl to rest. "Octavia, dear, go rest in warmth, I'd rather you not get frost-bitten." She told her demon dog companion.
With her pup otherwise distracted, she started to walk closer to the small elf girl in front of her. "Now, Isidore here is right. You're injured and I can help care for you." The woman said, bringing her healing fire to her hand again. To show that she wouldn't catch fire, she put it up to her face and noticeably didn't catch on fire or burn to a crisp.
"See, it's safe. Please, let me heal you. It'll be slow but it will only get worse if you don't let me patch you up. I can see many things about you and one thing is your injuries. Your wrist and rib is especially bad." Augusta mentioned, taking a step closer to the girl wit her hands up as if she were being held at knife-point, though it likely occured to everyone present that the girl wouldn't be able to win a fight here.
Searching for a plant was a simple enough job, especially given its location. This meant Malphas would be killing two birds with one stone, assuming this temple was the very same place he needed to go to. In other words, this was more or less a breeze across these snowy woodlands, the softness of the snow allowing for a rather unimpeded journey. Malphas hummed a nice traveler's song to himself, enjoying the wonders of nature.
Of course, this meant that he would actually not notice his pursuers until it was far too late.
Realizing these strange, feathered raptors surrounding him, Malphas froze in his tracks, caught like a deer in headlights. His smile became increasingly more awkward the more he realized just what sort of position he was in, his eyes landing on each of them as if he were taking count. One or two would have been doable, three would have been a fight with some chances, and four would have been a rough time... but five? They didn't seem well engaged on him, yet, so perhaps Malphas could just ask these lizard birds to go away?
Malphas took a deep breath, but before he filled his lungs with the same magical energy he had done so earlier, he recalled the fox merchant's words once more. Ah, perhaps such charms don't work against animals as well? Or perhaps whatever he would say to them would have some unintended consequences. In any case, Malphas resolved to do something else with his held breath...
"Look over there! Is that a bear?!" Malphas shouted as he pointed his finger at a certain direction. He wasn't sure if these beasts would fall for such treachery considering his lack of experience with animals, but it was still a chance he needed to take. Whether they leaped back from his sudden loud voice and movements, actually turned around, or just got angrier, Malphas would manifest his wings of faith once more. He would then fill his legs with magical energy, leaping into the treeline!
Hopefully, these raptors were bad climbers, and hopefully, their wings weren't as suitable for flying...
“I just like fluffy things. Also foxes are just cute.”
...The catgirl could not help but take a look over at Misaki for a second after the human girl said that. Yet just a quickly she caught herself and quickly turned her head back toward the eccentric girl. No, there was no need to overthink it. Just a girl that liked touching fluffy tails was all. Besides, the description of Chagawa was even more interesting in regards to their seemingly level of advancement as compared to here. Trade, metal ore, giant tree, all felt just about right for an anime setting or something of the sort. Not that here seemed void of things, just that-...mmm, perhaps she'd better just quiet her own thoughts for the time being on that matter. She could geek out about ancient trade routes and the Bronze Age for that matter, or at least how this all reminded her of it in some manner at least.
More importantly, the catgirl readied herself and followed after Lazhira as the human girl led them to the temple. As much as the traders were interesting, she was more captivated by the chance to visit an ancient temple filled with who knew what! Maybe they'd find a tomb, though considering how this world was so far a real 'mummy's curse' was a possibility. Hmm. Again, she was overthinking things, but in truth all she had was the background history of Earth that she knew about to compare things to.
Overall, however, the walk was rather 'peaceful' if she had to pin a word on it. Other than the odd feeling of 'being watched', and though it was winter she felt perfectly comfortable in her attire among the snow-laden trees that got thicker and thicker as they went along. The snowy ground as it became uneven proved to be a bit tougher, but without other excess troubles they had seemed to arrive in good time. In fact, the peculiar structure in the far distance, hidden by strange, deepening fog they stood at the precipice of, got her blood pumping for some reason. Sure it did have its...ah...not-very-settling qualities about it, but she did feel Lazhira had a point about it being 'strangely beautiful' in a way.
However, getting lost in strange magic fog was not something she was a fan of.
"I think I'll stick with you, Lazhira, with my own light as well. Safety in numbers and all of that!"
She has mighty fists, but Lazhira was the expert here out of the lot of them. If she was going to deviate at all, it would be on the safer side of things rather than deep in there. Well, unless they got jumped by a monster, approached by some demon or deity, etc. She wouldn't assume, but if a God of Knowledge was associated with here it would undoubtedly be a place filled with tricky things and likely traps.
With that, Leannah put out her hands and cast the magic she'd learned to control well enough last night.
Leannah has cast "Sunlight (Lesser/Restricted)"
Wait a second. After she'd cast the spell to conjure the orb of sun-like light, albeit not the dangerous kind like she'd accidentally done last night before all the practicing, the sight of the orb of light brought a question to mind. Like a lightbulb came on out of the blue, or an inkling that had suddenly connected the two dots or something, bringing a new theory to her mind.
"...Before we head in, Lazhira, I just wanted to ask: Is there a sun god or goddess in this world? Not that it's a big question at the moment, but I simply wanted to check real quickly before we head in."
Spur of the moment question, yes, but not one she wanted to forget to ask. Egypt in ancient times revolved around Ra's trip around the sky, and then the god's resurrection each morning. At least, that was putting it very simply and to-the-point. But what if her gift was pissing some deity off, and now caused the trouble she had with all of this? Seeing the small sun-like but safe orb of light, at least outside of the training mindset of last night, had finally made this train of thought click in her mind.
But once the question was answered, one way or the other, she'd follow Lazhira in without another word beyond giving a nod of affirmation to whatever answer she got right now.
"We're here tah save this place from a god gone mad. Aye shoulda told ye th' details on the way-- but aye think weh just found our first lead. Aye'll explain when we get a quiet minute and ain't in the open-- c'mon lad."
"A god gone mad, huh?" Nick was already intimidated. "I'm sure this'll be easy..."
Donovan then met with a beautiful and effeminate, fair-skinned man with long and flowing hair. Apparently, he and Donovan knew each other. From what Nick could infer, it appeared they had been together not too long ago and were in trouble of some kind. The beautiful man's name was not revealed to Nick and he appeared to be in a hurry, offering Donovan and Nick rest with rather flamboyant language. He then took off and Nick noticed he had a bow in his hands.
"I take it you know that Fabio-looking dude back there?" Nick asked Donovan. "He looks giddy with that bow of his."
Nick was following Donovan the entire time and it appeared they were following the girl they saw earlier, but then they were stopped when a voice spoke to them from behind.
“...Dawn. T-the name of the village, that is. Forgive my impudence for speaking out of turn, but you seemed curious so I thought to be of help. And if I have not offended then perhaps I can be of service in some manner?”
It was the horned woman and now that she was up close, Nick could discern the details of her appearance. She wore what appeared to be feminized samurai armor complete with a pair of those Japanese katanas on her hips. She also had one of those Japanese demon masks, completely hiding her face. But not her very noticeable reddish horns that protruded from her forehead. "Thanks. Dawn, huh? That's a nice name. Although, this village might not be seeing one very soon."
"I'm Nick, and this is Donovan." He introduced the two of them before explainig anything. "We heard from a deer that this place is about to go belly up. Know anything about that?"
"Nice horns, by the way. My little sister has them too, although only I could see it." Nick could not take his eyes off the woman's horns. It was enchanting for him, to say the least. They looked so natural, and Nick knew they were. But at the same time, he was not used to seeing horns on humanoids since there were none back in Earth.
The fact that Misaki hadn't realized that Novak hadn't rejoined them the night before was more than a bit embarrassing to herself, even if she took into account the relative lack of space in Lazirha's house during their overnight stay. To that end, the foxgirl found herself unable to do much more than smile and wave in response to his morning's greetings, at least for the moment; the embarrassment was almost wholly internal, at the very least, and it would go away in due time.
The young woman's attention was quickly brought back towards Lazirha, though, as she mentioned of a land to the west by the name of 'Chagawa'. Misaki's first instinct was immediately to try and internally assign kanji to the name mentally, but after a few moments she realized that it wasn't necessarily a guarantee that they would share the same language (which would thus make the action completely meaningless)... Even if the apparent merchant of the hour seemed to have what could pass a Japanese name. What was more noteworthy to her, though, was the mention of a prevalence of mines... In an archipelago, of all places. Of course, Japanese arms had been created to make up for the fact that they had access to precious little metal in the first place, and so to hear that some sort of culturally similar analogue for her nation of origin...
It would have been a lie to say that she wasn't curious to see how exactly they had come to similar developments despite having enough of an abundance of resources for metallurgy to export in the first place.
"Chagawa, was it...? I can't say I'm not interested..." Misaki trailed off before the mention of visiting the temple came up. As much as she wanted to resolve the issue at hand, it was obvious that she was most certainly still ill-equipped to do much of anything. Of course, window shopping still didn't quite sit well with her, but if this supposed 'Lady Mie' was willing to speak at length...
Actually, did she even need to worry about anything beyond that? A traveling merchant was already a major source of information, even if she refused to talk beyond wares. A lot could be learned simply by examining and learning about those, after all.
"...All right. Well, in that case, I think I'll pass on exploring the temple for today," she said, nodding towards Lazirha before glancing once more at the bustling marketplace. "It'd be rather dangerous to go in with empty hands, so I'll stay behind. Good luck."
With that, the foxgirl took a deep breath before walking into the crowd. How hard could it be to navigate a place like this?
As it turned out, the marketplace was only slightly less suffocating than a Tokyo sidewalk during rush hour, and the foxgirl was not having the best of times weaving through the people milling to and fro to catch a look at whatever stalls had been set up. The glimpses of armor that she could catch as she passed through were rather interesting, if only because she could only now get a closer look at them. Other than the rather detailed masks worn by what she could only assume were other oni, though, Misaki found that the pieces of armor were actually rather reminiscent of late Kofun era pieces, rather than the more ornate (and rigidly structured) armor that started appearing during the Heian period. It was a start, of course, but the only thing to be done from here was to actually examine what goods were in stock and ascertain the level of technology that they were using to make it.
With that thought in mind, Misaki slowly made her way towards the main tent and, after reaching it, slowly poked her head inside and glanced around before entering.
Who knew what sort of goods were present here, after all...?
Novak chose to accompany Lazhira to the temple. He wasn't sure he needed anything from the market at the moment- he already had a decent enough sword, and a set of armor was currently being made for him. If he needed to buy anything, or wanted to ask anything about the foreigners, he could always ask Lady Mie later that evening. It wasn't clear if they'd be able to accomplish anything on this trip, especially with Misaki having decelined to come, but they could at least obtain some familiarity with the temple for future trips. Besides, Lazhira seemed to know what she was doing. In the very least, she seemed confident in what she was doing.
Novak was on edge throughout the trip through the forest. After the encounter with that beast, he was worried that they'd run into yet another enraged, partially-metallic beast. Fortunately, no such attack came, even though it almost seemed like they were being watched. Perhaps Lazhira knew how to safely navigate these woods, he thought. After all, she seemed to have had no trouble exploring the area yesterday. Or perhaps she was simply a naïve girl with no understanding about how dangerous the world is. For both their sakes, Novak hoped it was the former.
After quite a bit of hiking, they reached a vantage point where they beheld the temple further into the forest, enshrouded by a thick fog. Novak felt uneasy at the sight of what lay before them. There was something strange about that layer of fog, and there was no telling what could be concealed within it. Lazhira remained as calm as ever, however, conjuring a magical light and explaining that light repels the fog. Leannah, the cat-girl that had joined up with them, also cast a light spell. It was only after both spells had been invoked that Novak realized that he chould've used his power to copy the spell.
Oh well, I can always do it later...
Novak stayed closely behind Lazhira, not wanting to get lost in these dark mists without a light source or any other form of guidance. He would need to trust that she could safely guide them through.
"I have a question too, Lazhira," he spoke up after Leannah had asked her question. "What do you know about the deal or covenant that your ancestors made with the kyrnith? Do you have any ideas what might have spurred it to anger against your town?"
Although Narkissa had voiced her desire to stay and watch the market proceedings, the tide of activity moved against her, and Lazhira ruined her dreams by informing her that they did not, in fact, have the luxury to do both activities. Despite the fact, however, she had gotten some useful information, just from Lazhira. As surmised, the people were from some vaguely oriental culture from far off, but interestingly, they were from some mine-abundant archipelago. While that didn’t really square with how her limited understanding of geology went, the fact that there was an overseas trading route was very intriguing. Very intriguing indeed.
Narkissa also found it hard to disagree that foxes and fluffy things were cute.
Waffling for several moments on whether she wanted to stay or not, she decided to accompany Lazhira and Leannah to the temple. It was a difficult decision—she sorely wanted to probe how business was conducted and their trade, but Lazhira and Leannah were the two people she found herself the most comfortable with at the moment. Although they had spent some time together, mistrust begets mistrust, and Misaki had hardly been open… and the strangeness and potential danger from an apparently female Nobunaga was another. Certainly, she enjoyed the company of the catgirl and villager far more at the moment.
Maybe she would try prying information from them about their market trip when they returned to the village.
Parting from the market didn’t stop her from asking Lazhira about it, though. She had plenty of time to, after all. It really was a long walk. “Lazhira, about earlier… So, they sailed from those islands to your village? What sort of ships do they sail, junks? They don’t happen to be staying for longer than a day, would they?” She plied the girl with a few more questions along this line, such as where they were docked, and what boats the village itself liked to use.
Eventually though, they were at their destination, and Narkissa could feel the environment beginning to change. A thick fog had formed around them, giving off an almost oppressive aura mixed with an unsettling feeling that she really couldn’t care for. She didn’t say it aloud, but she decided it was better to err on the side of caution and stick to Leannah and Lazhira both. Happily lapping up the new magic tip, she gladly obliged, trying to form the same light source in her hand.
It was easy enough for Narkissa to form a small ball of light. Unlike Lazhira’s and Leannah’s however, her’s was far more normal. Instead of a bright sphere of pure white light, or miniature sun, hers was like a small ball of light with a small ring of rainbow-colored light around the outer edges.
“E-eh? You don’t know?” Lazhira seemed surprised. “You...really don’t? And you’re a...huh. Well...that may explain a few things.” The human said with a thoughtful hum. “Jeez, you’re using that sorta magic without even knowing where it comes from. I’m surprised you haven’t just been turned into a fireball already.” Lazhira smiled, starting to head into the fog. The fog hissed lightly at the touch of the light from the three girls, receding in their presence. Notably, Leannah’s ball of light seemed to repel it much more than the other two.
“Well, I’m not sure what you mean by ‘this world’, but yes. Auset-Kythet. I dunno much about her, only a handful of Bastelian ever cross the southern mountains. But from what they tell me she doesn’t get along with the other Gods very much. Especially the Delpith and the Lord Illuminator - er, the God of Knowledge, I heard one time he stole her Sun Crown to make a replica of it for himself.” She laughed. “I bet her expression was priceless, hehehe-ahem. A-anyways,” She shiftly glanced to the side. “Yeah, there is one.”
Thankfully it seemed like nothing was going to be bothering them here in this fog so far, their progress proceeded unimpeded across the dimly lit ground, the fog receding around them as they continued. Novak’s question though, caused Lazhira to pause, frowning and shake her head.
“Oh that...” She glanced to the side. “Well...I’m not sure of the specifics, but the Kyrnith asked our ancestors to completely abandon the temple here and to cease worshipping the Illuminator.” The girl sighed, brow furrowing with a troubled expression as they traversed the fog, mumbling something under her breath but not really at an audible level. “Really,” She shook her head. “Its not the Kyrnith. Please, believe me. I-it might not be a curse but he’d never hurt someone without reason...” Once again there was the distinct feeling Lazhira knew more than she was letting on, but even if she was bad at hiding it she didn’t seem to be open to talking more.
“Mhm, no they didn’t sail. I don’t think there’s a boat big enough to, hehe. If there was it’d be the Mountain Folk who had it, and they don’t like sharing.” Lazhira replied with a giggle. “Lady Mie says she’s based on the coast of the mainland, and just has people ferry goods from the islands to her place there and just travels on land routes mostly between the scattered inland villages. We’re the last stop on her route, and she’ll probably be staying a few days at least-”
There was a loud chittering from the fog, interrupting whatever it was she was going to say. They had almost made it to the temple, but it seemed they weren’t the only ones that had gotten lost in the fog. Several large feathered creatures stumbled into the clearing their orbs of light had made. About half as tall as they were, if they were standing at their full height with wings seemed built more for gliding, with long talons seeming to be used for climbing trees.
There were four of them, and they didn’t even wait for the group to react before they attempted attacking. Two leaped towards Lazhira, since she was the closest, claws extended and ready to hunt their prey while the other two went for Narkissa and Leannah respectively.
“Weh?!” Lazhira was in front of the group, having been leading them, was the closest to the feathered land birds.
The sights within perhaps, while awe inspiring to the locals, was likely much less impressive to that of people used to the more advanced tech of earth. The large tent seemed to be divided into several sections so people could easily find what they were looking for. Raw ore, tools for working with such materials were situated in one section. A number of the villages hunters and craftsmen were already present, attempting to haggle down some prices, likely trying to buy up most of the foxes stock. Still...it didn’t seem to be particularly high quality ore and metals of any kind. It’d probably be considered low grade back on earth that would require quite a bit of processing to become usable.
Another section had been dedicated to textiles and clothing, both of the casual sort and more practical sort. The more practical sorts were what one may expect of a colder environment. Furs, thick warm coats, gloves and other manner of clothing that could keep one warm. They seemed reasonable enough, and seemed to be where most people were looking to buy things. The more casual sort though...well, while they were definitely eye catching and apparently were being passed off as ‘high quality and what all the well off wore in Chagawa’ Misaki and Nobunaga both could probably tell they were the equivalent of a knock-off brand being peddled as the real deal. Even for something made with techniques that would be far out of date on earth.
Seemed like at least the fox knew how to get maximum profits for as little work as possible. The rest of her wares were of similar nature. The few weapons she had on display were, while pretty, were definitely lower end items that while served their purpose, would likely have high level of impurities.
The preserved, salted foods were probably the only thing that seemed exactly as the label said with no amount of the fox trying to scam someone.
And the trader in question...had just noticed the two recent two arrivals. It’d be hard for the two to miss her immediate reaction. Her eyes visibly widened as they landed on Misaki. The fur on her tail visibly stood on end, her ears forward, towards the other woman, like a wary animal that had just been spooked or was on the lookout for a predator - but it was only for a moment. Her impish smile quickly returned, a lazy, lax posture returning as she stepped out from behind the counter she had set up and waltzed over to Misaki and Nobunaga.
“Eeeh~ I didn’t think I’d run into another little fox out here.” She greeted them in a friendly, lively tone. “And with such a curious looking traveler too. I couldn’t help but notice that’s quite the fancy sword you have there...wouldn’t be willing to part with it, would you?”
“H-huh?” The horned woman studied the two of them quietly for a moment. She seemed to not know exactly how to process any of the information she had just been given by Nick. Little sister had horns? Deer saying something about this village being destroyed? “F-forgive me Lord Nick,” She quietly replied, tone of voice almost indicating she thought her lack of knowledge might have offended in some manner. “I-I’m not quite sure what you mean...I don’t mean to intrude, but if your sister had horns that only some could see she is probably possessed. I would suggest an offering to the underworld for assistance with the ailment...”
There was most likely some misunderstanding here stemming from the fact Nick was from a completely different world. She glanced towards another pair of travelers. A fox tailed woman and a short girl with black hair that both looked as out of place as they were. The woman's gaze lingered on them again, but quickly turned back towards Nick and Donovan.
“...uhm, and if you’re concerned about the village’s safety, you could probably talk to lord Enli. Lady Mie m-may also be able to help. Though...” The woman’s voice fell a bit. “...I don’t think Lady Mie has any inclination to help with whatever is ailing Dawn.” She glanced to the side. “And uhm, forgive me for my inquisitiveness, but are you traveling with that short, black-haired girl with the fox-tailed companion?"
“You...really don’t? And you’re a...huh. Well...that may explain a few things.”
As the human girl talked, Leannah's ears perked up at the information. So a sun goddess who didn't get along with others? That was apparently a thing, one of which she was curious about the root cause of. Back in Ancient Egypt there'd been a number of gods, including one of the Sun and one of Knowledge. So it felt abnormal to her to think they had enmity, though the whole crown-stealing episode Lazhira mentioned did bring a light chuckle out of the catgirl. Deities and their antics were a thing even here, it seemed, when it came to legends. If that was one minute consistency between here and Earth, then it was a lightheartedly entertaining one to ponder for a moment.
But apparently this knowledge and deity were things known best by those of her own race, of which she'd seen none at all and was apparently far away from by a longshot. Likewise this was perhaps a big reason behind her issues with magic use...she was not in-touch with the very deity at the root of the race she'd become a member of. Or something. Could be the Illuminator being an ass as well, she had no clue to be frank. Plus hearing about something called Kyrinth, maybe that beast dead in the village or some other dangerous thing hiding in the woods for all she knew, and something about encouraging the humans of the village to abandon worship of the God of Knowledge? That was something that didn't sound like a good thing.
Yet the catgirl didn't get much time to think on things, before four monstrosities of birds emerged from the fog in turn. The catgirl reacted reflexively, grabbing Lazhira (who was right in front of her) and virtually throwing the girl behind herself as she instead moved toward the threat. She did her best to focus the flow of magical energy into her body, take that mental image of a river she'd used accidentally last night to make a 'boom' to mentally focus and imagine the magical energy flowing through her like blood. Flowing through her muscles, making them mighty. Flowing through her bones, making them stronger. Flowing through her tissues, strengthening them beyond their own with a swell of power and stamina.
Steady breathing. Controlled breathing. Bob to the side of the first bird, and aim to grab its long leg! Then channel the magical energy into her arms even more, and swing it around in a sweeping attack at the other two birds!
Was it a flashy idea? Probably. Was it stupid? Hell yes. But she wouldn't let Lazhira be attacked on her watch! She had to do something, and had acted rather reflexively but brashly in defense of another. Even so the situation didn't look good. Four big birds, probably predatory, as tall as them, and basically not stopping for a moment. It was bad. It was rather bad, even if they weren't a giant magical stone golem thing in a magic prison.
"What do I want? Simple. This world is dead. I want you to rebuild it. The people, humans, demons, and everyone else are scattered. Living in sheltered communities on this dead, frozen world. They have no future, really. Either hunted by the Elder Beasts that roam the wastes, forced to worship them for protection, killing each other for limited resources-"
..Yes, that was also right. She'd almost forgotten about that as well. It had been only just over a day since arriving in a new life, but since then so much had happened it was hard to remember much from that far back easily. Still those words from that mysterious goddess seemed to bubble up as her mind desperately ran over everything she knew to try to help her survive this.
'Oh Goddess Auset-Kythet, oh deity of the Bastelian people and she who lights the world and scorches her foes! I'm talking to you, praying to you, so listen up to this arrogant mortal's first prayer to you! I get you and the God of Knowledge here have some kind of bad blood and history, basically hate each other's guts! Well right now I and my allies are trying to uncover and illuminate the secrets of this temple of his, and whatever the hell is going on, so I pray to you for your support and for strength from this time onward!
Though while I don't truly know for sure what other being drug me and others to this world, though they probably went overboard and overstepped and pissed you off giving me whatever gift I have without your permission. Still, does that mean I cannot align myself to you? That I cannot seek ties with you, that on my path your glory might be magnified along the way to all?
If this world is the scattered, stagnant, frozen, dead world without a future I was told of before arriving here, then I want to change that with my own two hands! I refuse to let my path and those who stand with me be stopped by the likes of monsters and beasts and this crazy fog or other challenges ahead! This is why I pray to you and for your light forever, oh mighty goddess of the radiant sun!
Yet in the end it was a prayer shouted from the depths of a fool's soul, and a desperate plea and cry uttered forth to ensure they all didn't die here. It was a prayer for a 'dead' world, and an offering of herself to Auset-Kythet if she had to go to such lengths. Whatever it took. She would make her path wrought with her own hands, she would become a hero one way or another, but this time she wouldn't just sit idly by and let that path be cut off by some over-glorified ostriches during her first real adventure alongside her allies!
She seems awfully sure that the Kyrinth is not to blame, Novak noted as he listened to Lazhira's answer to his question. From the way she spoke of it, it almost sounded like the elder beast was her friend, which would certainly explain why she was unafraid of wandering the woods alone. Novak initially considered asking her about this, but chose to say nothing further on the matter.
I don't know if she's withholding something or if she's simply naïve, but in either case I'd better keep a close eye on her.
In addition to her answer to his own question, Lazhira also provided some useful nuggets of information regarding this world by answering the Leannah's question. The world's sun deity was named Auset-Kythet, who was worshiped by a race or culture called the Bastelians. Even if these tidbits of knowledge weren't relevant to their immediate situation, Novak was always glad to learn more about this world.
Novak followed directly behind Lazhira as they made their way through the mists, being unable to conjure a magical light like his companions did. If he had known beforehand how adept Leannah was in the casting of light magic, he'd have attempted to copy her invocation. As he followed, he continued to listen to Lazhira's answer Narkissa's question. Apparently Lady Mie and her people resided on the mainland rather than their home islands, and that this was her last stop of their trade route. She also made a mention of some "mountain folk" who didn't sound too friendly.
Before Lazhira could speak more about this topic, something made a noise from deeper within the fog, and a quartet of large birds emerged from the fog. These weren't the same as the birds that he had previously encountered alongside Misaki and Nobunaga- these ones appeared to be flightless, with vicious-looking talons. Without warning, the birds attacked, talons outstretched.
As Leannah reached for Lazhira and pulled her out of immediate harm's way, Novak drew his sword and stepped forward, intend on dealing with one of the birds that had charged at their village guide. Using the thrusting strike he had copied from Nobunaga, he stabbed at the feathered creature, intent on skewering the bird with the aid of its own momentum before its talons got too close.
“...uhm, and if you’re concerned about the village’s safety, you could probably talk to lord Enli. Lady Mie m-may also be able to help. Though... I don’t think Lady Mie has any inclination to help with whatever is ailing Dawn. And uhm, forgive me for my inquisitiveness, but are you traveling with that short, black-haired girl with the fox-tailed companion?"
"Okay, first of all, no more of this 'Lord Nick' thing, alright? It sounds weird and I'm not a lord of anything." Nick held a finger up before raising another. "And secondly, that whole sister thing was just a joking metaphor although I won't be surprised if she's actually possessed by an evil demon. And lastly, I should be the one seeking forgiveness for using slang that only confused you. So, uhh, sorry about that."
Looking over to the people the girl mentioned, Nick saw a long-and-black-haired girl with a snazzy costume that had a red cape and a military hat and another girl that had white hair, had a white foxy tail, a pair of white foxy ears and wore what seemed to be Japanese attire of olden times. "No, I don't know them. Are they outsiders too?" Nick observed them more and concluded that they looked several years younger than him. Though, they looked far... fantastical than him. "...They look like trouble though so I'll probably say hi later. I'll stick with you, for now"
"So anyway, about this village blowing up. Do you know anything about that or are you just, like, a guard around here?" Nick continued talking to this horned woman. "Who are you, by the way?"
