Upon hearing Mie's explanation with regards to the ores present in her shop, Misaki took a few moments to consider what the shopkeeper's words meant with regards to what information she had to bargain with. The furnaces she had seen thus were far from able to create the temperatures necessary for steel production, and that process was inherently slow as it was... But 'some time' by these standards could take anywhere from days to week. That part, she couldn't quite change—not unless a high enough temperature could be sustained and kept constant for hours on end. The presence of steel, though, meant that Chagawa had at least accomplished some form of small-scale manufacturing process. Even so, the sale of low-quality iron ore meant that they might have at least enough excess iron in the first place to be in a position to do so.

"Hm... Maybe...? No, but that doesn't solve the issue of speed..." she mused quietly to herself, taking note of Mie's general attitude as various images from textbooks periodically flashed through her mind. Luckily, the foxgirl had some more time to herself to consider the possibilities as the shopkeeper seemed to go check on whatever commotion was going on outside (which, in all likelihood, probably involved them anyways).

Once Mie returned to her seat, though, Misaki had come to at least something resembling a suggestion in hand. Whether or not it would be enough would be up for debate, of course, but given that their ultimate role in this world was to try and get everything to be a bit less ancient...

Well, maybe there was some leniency to be had on her end.

"If we're speaking in regards to time efficiency, then what comes to mind for me is that the production of iron is in... Well, batches, so to speak, rather than being continuous," she began, gesturing slightly towards Mie before continuing. "There are ways to automate some of the processes—for example, heating the metal to the point of melting, then using ways to drain both the metal and the runoff—but again, I would recommend someone more versed in metallurgy to confirm my thoughts. With that said, provided my ideas are sound, I could offer test schematics for a smaller-scale version. That aside, I also have basic ideas for pulling iron from certain types of sand, but I assume that such processes are already available. I haven't actually spent much time looking into these things until a few years back, truth be told, and it is not as if I was able to visit forges as a child, but compared to what I have seen here..."

There were, admittedly, bits and pieces of the truth scattered about in her closing statement to Mie; hopefully, that excuse would be enough to excuse her lack of knowledge on how technologically advanced Chagawa as a whole actually was. But if a proper blacksmith was on hand, then the only real loss would be the time spent to make the furnace in question and all the fuel burnt in the process... Provided she wasn't shut out completely in the process, of course.

@Rune_Alchemist

“Find anything from the maid? I talked with a few of the locals...apparently the witch we’re looking for was a kid that isn’t even human.”

"Nothing much on my end, either." Nick sighed, a bit ashamed. "Just that there's a reason for covering her eyes. Although, I think it's obvious that she's more than meets the eye. Err, no pun or joke intended." So the witch would be a child in appearance? But they were also not human... how? Will the witch have obvious inhuman features or will they be human-looking? Like Augusta, his Elven acquaintance.

But enough of that, it's time to meet with Viorel. Hopefully not for the last time.

“Hm? A light? Oh, certainly. Here we go. I don’t think the torch will last you long out there, especially if it gets windy. I’d keep the lantern lit, too. And...if you don’t mind me asking, how do you plan on getting past the Undead?”

“Good question. If it were just me I could just mow them down, no problem. But this cute guy here’s tagging along and I’d rather he not be zombie food.”

Nick agreed that it was a good question. Maybe it would have been better to have just stayed behind, but he had already made his decision. He looked to his lit torch as he knew what he needed to do to defend himself. The question was: Could he actually do it? "Thanks, Viorel. Actually, I have--"

But before he could finish, Viorel had already gone to Cynthia who gave him an item which he then brought back to the duo.

“Here, just a small protective charm. Should help you remain undetectable to most undead.”

It was a cross, plated in silver. It was like a rosary, an Earthly one, except there was skull on one arm and a rose-like shape on the other. Another similarity, Nick noted. The charm even made its wearer undetectable to the unholy creatures outside, like a stereotypical holy item. Nick stared at the cross, ruminating at the coincidences and missing Viorel and Elisette's exchange before he snapped back to reality. Really, this was not the time. He had a job to do.

“You should get going, I doubt you want to be out for long at night.”

“Well, alright then. How do you wanna do this, Nick?”

Nick thought for a moment. What was the best way to take advantage of Viorel's little gift? "Hmm, I'd say we can do a little divide and conquer." He replied to Elisette with a suggestion. "You can take on mobs of the zeds which means you can draw their attention the most. You can distract most of them while I sneak behind and look for the witch." There's just one problem with that plan. "Of course, once I do find the witch, I'll have to throw down with her... which might likely end poorly for me." Unless he can stop the witch without violence.

"Or we can reverse roles. I'll be zombie bait while you use the charm to look for the witch undisturbed." Nick offered. "I think I've got a way to defend myself from zombies, so long as their flammable. But... please be fast if we're going with this."

@Rune_Alchemist

Despite his denial, Narkissa couldn’t help but to frown. He still couldn’t be trusted… but at least he wasn’t speaking in riddles anymore.

So that was it, then. She recalled Leannah’s explanation of her understanding of the situation. The goddess Delphiti was the goddess that brought them all here, and also happened to be the god that Narkissa had prayed to in the temple. As it happens part of her, the aspect of Conflict was sealed within the village, and it would be terrible news if she was unleashed.

Right then, if this ‘auntie’ of his was sealed beneath here, then that was her. Perhaps it was because she had summoned her, and she also had prayed to her, but Narkissa felt reluctance to actively mess with the goddess so. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, and all that, and it would be a big betrayal if she turned around and stabbed her in the back.

On the other hand, if what she knew was true, then the part of her that was sealed under the village needed to be dealt with. Also, gun. That in itself was important, because she really wasn’t the best at sword fighting in this hostile world.

She clicked her tongue. It still felt like she was operating partially in the dark, but she knew something had to be done, even if her gut was telling her to get the hell out of town and drop this entire matter like the hottest potato known to man.

“Fine. But only if it’s limited to this scope, to the part of the one sealed below,” she hedged. “I’ll need money and supplies to make what you need,” she added.

---

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin

Donovan MacConaill was a patient man, but he could only tolerate so much horseshit when lives were at stake-- and he was coming damn close to the limit.

Though the snide remark from the second hunter was something Don would normally write off as the young man; who couldn't be older than his mid twenties, as trying to sound brooding and cool.

Needless to say the lad's snide remark had very much gotten Don's attention... And not in a positive sense.

The large man glared at the hunter as he raised his hand; ready to beat some sense into the damn idiot. Despite his clear disgust for how casually the hunter had made a snide remark regarding nearly getting an entire village butchered-- Donovan hesitated just before he could deliver a backhand hard enough to make even a pimp shudder. Slowly turning his head toward the fog, the man's hand lowered slowly as his eyes carefully surveyed the sealing grounds. Had he actually heard something? Or was the stress playing tricks on his mind?

Novak would speak up while Don was staring off into the dense fog, arguing once more for the hunters to consider co-operation. More importantly-- that one of the hunters claimed that the Illuminator's following was responsible for protecting the seal. Donovan would give a slow nod as he digested the information. If the man's dying claims were indeed truthful, than that meant his own suspicions about-

There it was again.

Donovan heard the whispers just beneath the ambient sounds of the forest. Almost like how one may hear someone calling their name in a crowded room, only to find nobody there. They were loud this time, or louder than any he'd heard before at the least. The whispers; though Donovan couldn't discern any actual words, sounded almost as if there was an urgency in their tone. A cold sweat would form on the old architect's forehead as he stared into the depths of horrible fog... It wasn't guidance, it was a warning.

"Dammit!" Don hissed under his breath, "We're runnin' outtah damn time..."

Turning to Akando, Don placed a hand on the man's shoulder and spoke in hushed tones, "Akando. Aye need tah head back tah town. Jus' got ah warnin' that th' seal's crumblin' faster then aye thought so aye need tah get shite readeh soon as aye can. Help these two finish up ere' an' make sure yah take th' hunter's means tah traverse tha fog so they'll be delayed. When yer done ere, meet meh south ah tha village at th' cliff with tha obelisk... Aye'll tell yah what tha plan is there."

Donovan would give the veteran hunter a pat on the shoulder "Godspeed lad."

As the hunters moved their attention to Novak, Donovan carefully stepped behind a tree to break line of sight; attempting to slip away without the captive hunters realizing. The moment he was completely out of sight and hearing, Donovan broke into a mad dash back to Dawn. He was going to need carts, and something especially strong to pull them... Good thing he had some money eh?

---

Leannah allowed herself to follow along as Mie had a guard escort them back to a rather nice empty tent. A good read of the situation overall, though Leannah hadn't much thought about talking out loud as she had. No wonder the fox had been angry...might be Lazhira and anyone else in there too. Blargh. Howewver, she didn't have the luxury of time either. No time to fully rest, as already The Illuminator was making moves it seemed. Whether it was one part of the Frankenstein'd deity's psyche or another, as that was something else to suspect about the conflicting information he gave, or something else altogether was not the main focus at the moment.

Theorizing would continue, but right now she needed information. This guy was part of whoever was trying to get Lazhira back there, and she wanted to get answers and whatever else she could get. Since the man was already burnt and his leg was stomped on, she had ample reason to believe he wouldn't be moving. A little rope being used to secure him generally to the tent pole, however, was still something she'd do. Nothing tight or restrictive, but just enough that if someone tried to come grab him it wouldn't be easy.

Not that he would be anything but left behind at this point, but it helped to be precautionary.

"Alright! You seem to be in a hell of a state, I'm supposing the burns are from your attempted quarry back there?"

Leannah spoke to the man as she sat with her legs crossed a couple feet from him.

"You see, I never have been around other Bastelians. But we seem to have quite the reputation for savagery. As for me though? I only get savage when you mess with those I care some about.

So your leg back there? That was for trying to kidnap Lazhira."

The catgirl stared the pained hunter in the eyes, learning forward a little as she spoke. She did her best to put on the show of being utterly casual in the face of what she'd done to him so far, trying to play a bit more into that 'Bastelian savagery' slightly to try to put some fear into him. She even reached out a hand, turning the man's face to get a better look at his burns before roughly dropping her grip and letting his head fall back down.

"I'm sure it isn't the only pain you feel right now, but I believe we can be 'civil' about this. You and I. I might even be able to get you patched up. You see, I was raised by humans, so I am not a total savage....

...But it simply depends on what information you are able to give me, and if you can provide enough of it quickly enough to satiate my interests.

And indeed, I need something. I need to know everything you have heard and know about The Illuminator's plans for this village and Lazhira, and about your little cult of followers who adhere to him."

Using her other hand, Leannah gently drew her claws along the other side of the man's face, not hard enough to draw any blood or make scratched but enough to leave a light tingle along the man's skin that belied what those claws could do. She also had to pretend she knew some things, but assuming two of these guys were involved in a kidnapping it would not be hard to assume there were a number more who were adherents to the mad god's will around here.

"So will you tell me all you know? Or will we have to move on to the other leg first? Your choice~"

...Part of doing this made her feel phyiscally sick, but at the same time she had to swallow the tough pill in order to get what she needed. The villagers? She'd hoped to get to know them more in time, maybe, but the first thing in priority was the safety of those here and Lazhira. The goddess was right, sometimes force was needed. Even if she had to use the Bastelian stereotype as fodder for her interrogation right now, she'd do it. Things were developing to the extent she needed to be ready, and to be ready required information and action both. Not just one or the other.

That much she'd, most ironically, also learned back within the Illuminator's divine realm. Those trials tested her mind, but also her capability to navigate them through action.

Warlord and a Skill Seeker

---

@Crimson Paladin@VitaVitaAR

---

The group of cornered hunters would fall silent, Novak’s words at least having seemingly placated them somewhat. A tense few moments followed. Silence, as Donovan would consider beating some sense into them...and then as he would whisper something to Akando and flee, the other hunter would give Donovan a frown and a furrowed brow.

“The old...Alright. I’ll meet you there.” The hunter would turn his head towards his former compatriots. “...You don’t trust them. I didn’t either, and to be honest, I still can’t say I understand or believe what is entirely going on here.” The hunter would speak, taking a less hostile glance. “But...we’ve always survived by working together. Hunting together. Helping when one of us had been wounded...when I was lost in the forest as a child, he’s dead now, the older hunters all helped me. They might be outsiders, but they’re only trying to help. We can’t live if we just shun all outsiders just because they’re not from our village.”

Akando echoed much of Novak’s own sentiment. And perhaps, after hearing it from one of their own, another of the hunters would begin slowly.

“...We...don’t really know much.” He would slowly begin. “But the old man found some of us one day while hunting. He was the one who first showed us the fog and the old temple.”

“Told us that there was a sleeping goddess of some sort sealed here in the Moonless era.” Another would speak up. “Said that if it was allowed to wake, the sea would swallow the village. As proof he...showed us what he meant. All of us had nightmares for a week after that, like we were standing right there when it was sealed.”

“Didn’t tell us who was responsible, or how.” The third would grunt. “We were in no position to question a god, were we? Game had already become scarce, and with the fog making animals more violent...he gave us the solution of just simply hunting the Kyrnith’s deer. Made the deer angry, but he had never really decided to help us.”

“Made it angry, but...we didn’t care. We still don’t really know much. We started coming up with a plan - if someone was breaking it, then we just had to find them. Soyala narrowed it down that it could only be Lazhira that was responsible...but well, we were hesitant. She’s barely old enough to go into the forest by herself even if she does it. She said hunting the deer would help throw off whoever was causing it. The Illuminator only said that recently Enli would just be a scapegoat to make the village fully believe in him and draw out whoever the culprit was directly.”

They would fall silent, not sure how to proceed or if they seemingly had any more relevant information.

---

A little secret
@Crusader Lord

---

The man of course, wasn’t in any position to really resist his feline captor. The burned and injured hunter would groan in pain as he was dragged through Mie’s camp and then hoisted up against a tent pole then subsequently tied up. Thankfully for Lazhira, he also wasn’t going to be stupid and resist further either at the threat of a broken leg.

“I-I don’t know much!” He’d say. “Just that we were followin’ orders! Soyala thinks that Lazhira is the one causing all this! I don’t know why, but we’re not gonna question a God if he says to do something, are we?!” He’d shout, the only bit of self defense he had right now. “A-all we really know is that if whatever is sealed in that old shrine breaks free, Dawn is going to be destroyed! We would have moved sooner, but...well, we didn’t want to make Akando our enemy - he could throw a wrench in our plans since well, he and Lazhira sort of grew up together somewhat...” He’d calm down a bit, breathing becoming a little more even. “I-I think I heard something about a key from the Old Man. Two, actually. One being hidden, and the other just...being in Dawn somewhere. I don’t know more than that.”

Leannah would be vaguely aware of sounds of movement outside of the tent. Seems like the Oni had positioned themselves outside a bit to help give her a bit of privacy. Perhaps it was a bit curious he didn’t mention the Hag, and rather the Old man.

---

@PKMNB0Y

---

Mie would listen to Misaki’s explanation with rapt attention, not taking her eyes off the other Kitsune as she’d speak. As she did listen, her face would slowly turn from mild disinterest to one of disbelief and curiosity. She would fall silent a few seconds before energetically leaning over the table with an excited grin.

“You’re telling me you know a process better for refining metal and ores!?” The fox would giggle lightly, sitting back and grinning. “Ahaha, if I had that I could rul-ahem - become the richest little fox in Chagawa, pfft, ahaha! Not even my dumb stupid kinsmen could deny me then, ahah!” A few more fits of giggles as Mie would realize she was being a little too emotional, and with an embarrassed cough would collect herself.

“Ahaha, sorry I got excited~” Mie would fold her arms across her chest. “If you’re being honest, Misaki, my lovely little kinsmen...despite my ahem, earlier excitement, I am of course skeptical of this claim. If you can give me the details...I can have one of the Oni attempt making it and test this claim of yours.” She’d smile. “And if it works...well, Misaki, I can guarantee you the both of us are going to be rich.”

Her Majesty

---

@Click This

“Ahah, don’t you worry. Auntie won’t hate any of us! If anything, she’s laughing at us lesser beings.” He’d chuckle. “The only thing she hates is a boring story, ahah!” He’d hand her the blueprints properly now, and whenever she’d take them from his hand he’d forcibly grab hers, giving it a rather vigorous shake to seal their little deal.

“Keep it! For now, anyways. Not like you’ll be able to make it anytime soon.” He’d say, almost sounding a bit confrontational as if he’d be watching how long it’d in fact, take Narkissa to make it. “Now, then...as for your supplies. Give this to the little fox of a beast.” He’d secondly pass her a note. “Don’t open it! Her eyes only. We have a little...deal, currently. She’s holdin’ on to something special for me. Mutual friendship and all that. If she can’t hook you up, then no one can, ahaha!”

He’d clasp the cane in his hand, turning to leave.

“If there’s nothin’ else, I’d suggest you go visit her sooner rather than later….ah,” A pause, looking over his shoulder. “We’d need a real big power for enough oomph! Make it special, you!” And then he’d walk off, not bothering to explain or tell anything further.

Concerning the blueprint he had handed her…



A Traveler
@PaulHaynek

---

“Ahaha, why would I put a cute little thing like you in danger.” Elisete would giggle. “I think its better if I draw their attention. I know there’s a lot of them, but it’ll take more than a few undead to take me down.” The warrior woman would offer a toothy grin. “Not nearly strong enough to, hehe.” She’d pull open the door to the church, letting Nick walk out in front of her before she’d secure it behind them. It wouldn’t be long before Viorel’s barrier seemingly had been put back up.

“I shouldn’t be too long, hopefully.” She’d say, walking towards the edge of the village. “Uhm...also, be careful. Viorel keeps talking about something really bad being out here at night, but we don’t know what that is or where it comes from. Might be a good idea to try and find some place to hole up if night gets here and we haven’t finished yet. Anyways...here I goooo! Try not to become zombie food!~”

And with that, Elisette would bolt off into the snow field. It wouldn’t take long for the zombies to rise from their snowy tombs, clawing their way to stand as they’d start honing in on Elisette...but it seemed she wasn’t concerned now that she didn’t have to look after Nick. The warrior wouldn’t even make an attempt to avoid the first one, rather running right to it.

Her blade was drawn, and in an instant the head of the first zombie would roll across the ground.

“Alright ya dummies come to Elisette and die!~”

More and more seemed to be slowly converging on her, but it at least, would offer Nicholas free reign to move towards the forest in the distance.

The Roma Mob
@ERode

---

“Knowing thine enemy is always prudent.” She’d assert in response to Isidore’s comment, but didn’t linger on the subject, smirking lightly as Isidore made his demands. “A hundred is a bit steep, don’t you think?” She’d say, raising a hand. A few of the guards would grumble about Isidore’s disrespect but none moved to say anything. “Fifty. Upfront should be enough to pay for anything needed to solve this issue...of course, if you run into unexpected problems I will help where I can. Information of course, is something easily provided. I can have my son fill you in on the particulars, or you can find Rullphana. I’m sure she would be happy to discuss such subjects at length. A time piece...I shall send one to the gatehouse at the entrance. More monetary reward shall be given upon completion. Is that agreeable?”

If he did agree, the queen would motion for the same guard that had offered him the ring. He would silently move away from Isidore and off somewhere as he’d inspect the ring.



“If you want, Isidore.” The prince would say. “I can tell you what I know while the guard returns with the money...I’ve been to Old Naraheim myself a few times.”

---

The Builder
@Guy0fV4lor

---

Donovan would dash back through the forest, thankfully his skills making the trip much shorter than it would normally be. He’d find himself at the edge of the village in a handful of minutes, and soon he’d be on the outskirts of Mie’s encampment. From a glance, it seemed like Mie was packing lots of things up, getting ready to move in only a few days' time and ensuring all her goods and supplies were all secure and ready to go.

It also seemed like she was busy.

“The Market is closed and Lady Mie is not receiving visitors right now.” One of the Oni would inform Donovan as he’d approached the center of the camp. “Do you have other business here, human?”

“A pleasant gift is preferred over coinage upon matter’s end,” Isidore responded curtly, coyly. In this world on decline, with expectations of far-reaching travels, a monetary reward was only an anchor, after all. “I accept.” How much was 50 silver? Instinct told him that gold was valued higher than silver, and jewels were valued higher than gold, but perhaps they simply lacked gold veins here, or lacked the technology to mine them. His gaze briefly shot around the grand throne room, searching for signs of that golden luster. He should’ve asked Sorcha about the currency here in more depth or gathered that sort of information from Otti.

Well, it mattered not. After rolling it over his knuckles briefly, the dark-haired youth slipped the Dusk Ring onto his left pinky finger, clenching and unclenching his fist to get a sense as to its fit.

“A conversation,” he spoke, turning to face Nesherit once more, “with Rullphana will take the entirety of these three days. Continue, Prince.”

They say that good things come to those who wait.

Indeed, after Nomura had thanked Bolcha for the information, he elected to wait for Donovan's return instead, standing just at the outskirts of the village towards the old temple. If he were a braver man, he would have ventured forth to find Donovan himself. Of course, such a notion was impossible for the man that Nomura was behind the mask, a fiend wanted by a group of fanatic hunters and a supernatural entity. So instead, he waited. Nomura almost thought of actually getting those fishes he had owed a certain fox to pass the time, but instead, he glimpsed at a rather familiar-looking man making his mad dash towards Lady Mie's encampment.

Nomura sighed as he recognized Donovan, not sure if he should feel displeased that Donovan chose to make his job a bit too easy.

Still, Nomura wasn't the type to let an opportunity pass itself by. Making his way back to Lady Mie's camp, he would bow to the Oni meeting Donovan respectfully.

"Ah, don't worry. I'll see to this foreigner myself. If he has any important business, I shall let Lady Mie know personally." Nomura stated, before putting an arm over Donovan almost too familiarly so. _{"Just follow my lead, Don."}

Whether Donovan chose to react or not, Nomura suddenly yanked him away to where they are both just out of earshot of the encampment and, more importantly, the other villagers, using a bit of magic to make his leave swifter. Once that was done, he turned to Donovan with a flourish, removing his mask.

"Ta-da~ It is your trustworthy friend from yesteryore, here to greet you once more!" Malphas almost sung, bowing with a smile. "I'm currently a part of Lady Mie's troupe, with a new identity to boot! I don't wish to bore you with the details of the 'hows' or the 'whys,' but it seems at this very moment, we can help each other.

"If you have business with Lady Mie, I'm sure I can make negotiations between the two of you to your liking, hm? In exchange, I only ask for a simple trade: a fragment of metal with a peculiar engravement on it. Valuable to me, but likely garbage to you. It's traded many hands, and from my investigations, it may be in yours. If you have such an item in your possession, I'd be happy to relieve it of your person. If not..."

Malphas was still unsure if it was Donovan that possessed the item in question or not. He has not heard from that irritating fox, either. Either way, it would be good to cover both bases. If Don did not have the shard, then it would mean the other foxgirl had it, and he would be going towards that direction regardless.

"You seem to have built more rapport with these villagers than I. Perhaps you can fetch me two fishes, instead? Of course, that is assuming you don't have what I'm looking for."

An opportunity to delegate others to do his own tasks is an opportunity Malphas would never shy from.

Elisette made the decision to distract the zombies while Nick slip away and find the witch, reasoning that she could not put the latter in danger and that she could take on more zombies than Nick ever could. The young man nodded, and heaved a breath as they exited the church. He felt nervous and scared again, but if he could live through the crazy stuff that happened to him mere days before then he could live through this too. Right?

“Uhm...also, be careful. Viorel keeps talking about something really bad being out here at night, but we don’t know what that is or where it comes from. Might be a good idea to try and find some place to hole up if night gets here and we haven’t finished yet. Anyways...here I goooo! Try not to become zombie food!~”

Oh yeah, there was that unknown being that slaughtered people in their houses at night that Viorel mentioned. Oh boy, this just got more complicated. Nick sighed as he watched Elisette running off to the distance, rousing the dead from the snow and tearing through them without effort. "You watch yourself, Elisette." He muttered under his breath.

The warrior woman was doing her job, and it was time for Nick to do his. While he had Viorel's charm on, he still moved carefully and silently through the snow, keeping away from the undead as much as possible. Nick made for the forest in the distance and would be on the lookout for any caves or inconspicuous shacks where the witch could be residing in.

---

Despite having little experience in the way of negotiations, Misaki could quickly tell that Mie’s mask of being an ineffable merchant had shattered the moment that the implications of her suggestion had come to light. Of course, this bit of information was soon followed by the merchant’s own (rather apparent) desire for vengeance. While what she knew about Mie already made that less than surprising, allowing her to run amok with mass-produced wrought iron or steel equipment seemed less than prudent.

At the same time, if she was interested, then making use of her greed was probably in her best interests. But that had requirements all its own.

“Well, that depends on if you have what is necessary to create it. It’s not as if I am unaware of the implications that an advancement like this would have, either,” she began, crossing her arms as she frowned. “But the former comes first in this situation. If you have the heat required to melt iron outright rather than simply make it a molten blob of metal, I can work with someone to set up what is necessary for production.”

Here, though, the foxgirl would pause and smile wryly at the woman opposite her.

“Of course, if you don’t, then there is no point to this conversation, and you will simply have to accept something else in exchange. Whether or not they are on the same level as this, though, remains to be seen.”

“Heh, for better or worse, such advancements would come eventually.” Mie would offer Misaki a grin. “Far be it from us to deny such a thing, and far be it from me not to use it to make my own life more comfortable. I doubt I have everything you’d need here at this little camp in this middle of nowhere village, but once we get back to my home, well, if I don’t have access to what you’ll need I can guarantee you I will be able to find it.” The merchant would lean over the table slightly, obviously still enthralled by the idea. “I understand if you aren’t comfortable telling me these plans though. We hardly know or trust each other, so we could approach things one step at a time? Or perhaps you’d like to have an independent party take a look at your plans first to ensure I don’t run off with them?”

“Honestly, I’m not so much worried about the enrichment someone would gain from proceeding with this,” Misaki responded, shaking her head, “but rather the inevitable results if this sort of idea fell into the wrong hands. An early monopoly to establish initial production would be the least of my worries, but what the holders might do with it leaves me more cautious.”

At this point, the foxgirl would lean back slightly in her seat, thinking to herself for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. With Mie’s interest still apparent enough to not fear any sort of withdrawal of terms, it only seemed right to attempt to continue leveraging it in her favor.

“But, well, I have already stated what the minimum I need to begin creating prototypes; whether or not I want to give you everything out of hand is another matter entirely. Of course, if you were to act as a patron or partner, then there might be something else to be said about the matter…”
“Hmm...” Mie would hum lightly, tapping a finger against the table as she’d consider Misaki’s words. She didn’t seem overly invested in the other fox’s concerns, but perhaps that was expected given what she had observed of Mie so far. “Well, if you have no concerns such as that, I would be happy to provide both funding as well as any other materials if needed. As I said, I may not have everything on hand at the moment, but once we return to Chagawa, I am certain I can find anything you need. Now, if I may ask,” She would fix the other fox girl with a look of suspicion. “What do you get from this? Not that I am going to press the issue, but clearly you’re offering this more than just me jokingly saying you need to buy something. You could develop this in secret and have the sole of it yourself. I’m sure you could easily find where and how without my help. Is it just money? Or is there something else?”

There was, of course, truth to Mie’s words; developing everything that she was currently proposing was possible on her own, and finding someone else to take her up on the offer would not be difficult… Had they not been here, of course.

“Well, if we were to speak with regards to what I gain… It is a bit complicated, but in short, my ultimate goal is to bring everyone to a higher standard of living. Money would obviously be helpful, and I’d be lying if I said that I wouldn’t mind having some on hand, but, well…”

Misaki trailed off as she glanced towards the entrance of the tent, the snow-covered scenery of their surroundings passing through her mind’s eye for a moment before she turned back towards the merchant.

“...Yes, that’s about it. I could do something like this myself, yes, but I am not foolish enough to undertake attempts at massive technological advancement on my own, much less spread them around; even if I did, nothing could stop it from being used with reckless abandon by people with darker inclinations. I may be an idealist, but being an idealist doesn’t mean that I don’t understand what might come about as a result of that idealism, for better or for worse.”

At this point, the foxgirl would sigh and shake her head, glancing towards the top of the tent for a moment before continuing.

“Of course, something like increased production of iron and steel would naturally lead to unrest, especially with how useful and valuable they are. But… Well, I’d like to think that stable profits and an empire of coin would be more useful to you than raw military might. Besides, I have other avenues of research that might be of use to everyone, and an unstable nation is far from suitable for such things to be developed in my opinion.”

It was likely that Mie would have other plans in mind for whatever amount of metal was produced, of course, but Misaki would much prefer not having to throw herself into the middle of a civil war if she could help it.

“Pfft, hahaha!” Mie would chuckle loudly, leaning back in her seat and glancing briefly towards the roof. “Sorry, you reminded me of an idiot who said someone similar once. While it's true I do think all the fighting and clans back in Chagawa are useless warmongers, I can’t deny that having a strong military is a good thing. Without a strong vault, amassing wealth is meaningless if you can’t protect it….besides, I can’t say selling to certain more...violent factions haven’t earned me a pretty penny and some favors here and there. That said...” She’d take a more serious tone as she’d glance at Lazhira. “What do you think?”

“E-eh? Me?” The native girl had been quiet for the most part, content to let the other two talk their plans over and let the negotiations proceed without her input. Nothing much she could really do to add here, after all given her limited actual life experience. “Uhm. Well… Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone could live more safely? Without having to worry about whether or not some neighboring tribe would come and steal things?”

“Hmhm, of course you’d say that.” Mie would sigh, one of her ears twitching in perhaps, mild disappointment of some sort. “Obviously if you tell me how this is done, I will make whatever gets me the most profit with it, no matter what it is. I won’t lie. But...if you intend to see this idealistic suggestion of yours to fruition, no matter what it would take,” She would say, perhaps a somewhat cryptic question as she’d lean across the table, extending a hand towards the other fox. “I might not mind being a partner in this little endeavor of yours.”

Seeing that hand extended, though, Misaki would pause, taking in Mie’s words as she closed her eyes. There was something ominous in the merchant’s phrasing, but in the current situation, making any definitive statements felt… Off. She had lived in a world where courts of law settled disputes, where verbal agreements were motions of trust. And so, to be left uncertain about whether or not to take this deal in the first place…

Well, that simply wasn’t all that pleasant to begin with. But even so, when the options left were to travel on her own or to fumble about in hopes of finding something useful as opposed to having a backer, the answer was obvious, loathe as she was to admit it.

“...There is a line that I will not cross, but I recognize the necessity of protecting yourself and your assets,” Misaki began, opening her eyes and looking straight at Mie, “just as much as I do the importance of handling matters behind closed doors. With that said, I suppose that you will be putting yourself in as much danger as I am if people catch wind of these methods, assuming that they work. So…”

With a sharp gaze, the white-haired girl would take Mie’s hand and shake it with as firm and as curt a grasp as she could.

“...Very well. Though, if I might ask: could you bring those I was with initially as aides? Of course, this would be up to them, and you have already negotiated with one to bring them along as far as I am aware, but I do believe that their presence would be useful in the long run.”

She could not speak with regards to Narkissa—not beyond being aware of her knowledge of history and ability to help reconstruct things from memory—but Novak at least seemed like he could hold his own, and Nobunaga…

Well, given the mention of warring clans, it would be incredibly foolish not to attempt to bring her along, regardless of how problematic the warlord could be in theory.

“Aides? I believe I already promised that Kippoushi fellow that I would allow them to travel with me back to Chagawa. As for the other...Novak, was his name? I already asked to meet him. I have a particular eye for talent and was going to offer him training in return for work and a place to stay...so I see no issue with this request.” Mie would say, shaking Misaki’s hand lightly and then sitting back down. “So, unless you want to go ahead and make a verbal agreement, we can wait until we return to Chagawa where I can write up an actual contract of sorts unless you have another suggestion or want to go ahead and get started.”

@Rune_Alchemist @PKMNB0Y

“Hey!” Narkissa nearly barked back as the god more or less shoved the blueprints into her hand and shook them. “Both of us know very well just the blueprints are about useless to me. The payment is the device itself!” She had specifically noted it earlier on in the ‘negotiations’ anyway. She wasn’t just going to take a silly blueprint when she could make one herself. Barrel, stock, flintlock trigger, flash pan? Easiest thing in the world. Making it? Hardest thing in this world.

She and this god were going to have to have to another nice talk when they next met.

She glanced at the blueprint and note that she’d been handed. The rifle blueprint… thing… was actually kind of clever, now that she looked at it. The script was completely illegible to her, so she couldn’t know the exact dimensions of the thing, but from a modern perspective, it was easy enough to see how it worked at a basic level. It still seemed kind of strange, though. Not how she’d make such a thing.

The god had told her not to look at the note that was apparently for Mie… but with how unreliable he was, she decided to take a peek at it anyway. Not like it had a seal on it… and as far as she could tell, there wasn’t a trap or anything attached to it if she opened it.

She flipped the envelope open and read it with a deadpan expression.

Who’s a dumb clock worshipping lunatic? They had clocks in this world? Wait, wasn't she the only person with a watch in this world?

Shaking her head and filing the rest of the information in her head –especially about the hunters—she carefully returned the note back in its place and headed over to the fox merchant. It seemed that was where the commotion had been, anyway…

Well, she had been expecting that, but it seemed that had sort of… gone away, by the time she reached Mie’s place. A very angry Leannah and some strung up men aside, which she strategically avoided for the moment. Instead, she caught the tail end of a conversation between the fox and Misaki. Oh, Lazhira was there too, so she was safe.

Coughing, she entered. “Ah, am I interrupting something? I have a letter to deliver, and some supplies to request…”

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Cu Chulainn

The large man held back a string of curses as the guard informed him that Mie wasn't available. Of course that damn fox was busy the moment he needed her more than ever! Regardless of whatever that conniving trader was up to this time, it wasn't that easy to dissuade Donovan from at least trying to get ahold of the lass. Knowing he didn't have any sure means of getting Mie to see him, Don decided he'd try the next best option-- bullshit the guards.

No sooner than Don had opened his mouth to speak, would a familiarly-voiced man with a bird mask suddenly interject before hastily dragging the larger man away and off to the side. Though he would normally protested what seemed to be a blatant attempt to shoo him away under these circumstances, this 'Nomura' fellow seemed awful familiar... Not to mention the odd sudden feeling that Don had to keep his family jewels protected at the masked man's approach.

Donovan would chuckle as Malphas revealed himself to be Nomura, "So that's where yah been lad! Aye were startin tah wonder!"

Despite the ever-tightening timeframe, Don would patiently listen to what Malphas had to say; hoping to hear something that might help deal with the current roadblock on his path toward saving Dawn. When the shard was mentioned, Donovan raised a brow. Rather than refer to the payment for Enli's assassination as a whole-- Malphas had asked specifically for the shard.

Had Mie enlisted Malphas' help in locating the shard? Why ask only about the shard rather than the full payment? Was this shard more valuable that the gold that had accompanied it? Regardless of what the shard actually was, Don was certain of at least one thing...

It was a valuable bargaining chip.

After a few moments of quiet contemplation, Donavan rubbed his chin and put a proposal of his own on the table, "Tell yah what Malphas-- aye got tha shard yer lookin for, an' aye'll happileh give et over to yah without fuss..."

Donovan paused, and raised a single finger. "But tah make sure that foxeh little boss ah yers don't try tah cheat meh-- yer gonnah do somethin' fer me first... All aye need is two damn sturdeh carts, some strong beasties tah pull em, a bit ah sturdeh rope, some large covers, few sheets ah that wood paper shite, ink, a quill, an' tah borrow th' dwarf lass that still owes meh ah favor... All ah which aye'll return tah Mie by sundown tomorrah. Aye get done what aye need tah, Mie doesn't get th' chance tah try nuthin' shadeh, you get tah take credit fer findin' the shard, mebbeh even make Mie ah decent bit ah coin on th' side, an most importantleh-- th village survives this whole damn mess... I ain't got th' time tag haggle or nahgotiate with yah at th' moment so yah gottah take et or leave et."

The old architect extended his hand to Malphas, "Weh got ah deal lad?

With a firm handshake the deal would be struck-- with the added condition that Donovan provide Malphas two fish when all was said and done. Without any further delay, the two men would gather the equipment that had been agreed upon at the edge of the camp before Donovan would give a final hollar into the camp to procure the last item on his list, "Oi Eirhild-- aye need yer help fer sumthin' lass!"

Novak pondered what the hunter told them. It was a lot to take in.

So, if this goddess gets free, this entire region will be swallowed up by the oceans. Novak was rather unnerved by this notion, and by the hunter's claims that the Illuminator had tormented them with nightmares. If I were put through an ordeal like that, I'm not sure what I'd do.

It seemed they believed that Lazhira must be the one who was eroding the seal. Novak wished he could disbelieve it, but after everything he had seen of the mysterious girl...it made a lot of sense. Novak knew that she knew more than she let on, and that she had powers of some sort. Furthermore, shortly after she visited the temple, the fog became more widespread, implying that the seal had weakened even further. It was always possible, he supposed, that someone else was behind it, using Lazhira as a scapegoat, but the fact remained that this seal was weakening and there was a good chance that someone was behind it.

Lastly, the hunters mentioned that Enli's death was to turn the rest of the village back to the Illuminator, and to draw out the culprit behind the seal's weakening. Perhaps that was why the Illuminator was antagonizing the Kyrinth, to drive the people away from it and to him.

"This sounds pretty serious, Nobunaga," Novak said to his companions. "If this seal is at risk of breaking, it's not just the village that'll be in danger."

He didn't want to reveal his connection to the Illuminator, not under these circumstances, but there was information that it might be useful to share.

"I didn't want to say this, Nobunaga, but the hunters' suspicion of Lazhira isn't unjustified," he spoke up to his companion, visibly worried. "When we accompanied her to the Illuminator's temple, it became very clear that while she tries to hide it, she's not some simple village girl. She appeared to be familiar with the temple's layout, almost as if she had been there before. She has knowledge of past events that transpired there. And I'm fairly certain she has supernatural powers. And..."

Novak hesitated to speak, unsure how everyone present would react. He glanced at Nobunaga, at Akando, and at the captured hunters.

"...I think I know what she's up to. She seeks an orb that used to reside in the temple, which from what I have gleaned is a key to the seal. I've also learned that the Illuminator doesn't want her anywhere near it."

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

Warlord and a Skill Seeker

---

@Crimson Paladin@VitaVitaAR

---

The hunters would remain mostly silent, unease overcoming them as they’d wait for their captors to decide what to do from here. Akando though, would listen to Novak with mild confusion.

“Lazhira? She has something to do with this?” He would question. “...I get that she’s a bit of an oddball compared to the rest of us, but she’s always been one of the nicest people in the village...” A deep frown would overcome his visage as he’d shake his head. He needed to meet up with Donovan soon if he needed his help with something.

“Can...can we go now?” One of the other hunters would ask Nobunaga and Novak. They had been disarmed, certainly...but who knew what they would do if they were allowed to leave. They didn’t seem remorseful or believed themselves to still be in the wrong.

---

Her Majesty

---

@Click This

“H-hey wait I said she’s busy!” The Oni that had also stopped Donovan would say as Narkissa would disregard him and instead just walk fairly easily into the Foxes’ tent.

“Ah? No, not interrupting anything...its fine, she’s a friend.” Mie would say to the Oni that was making a move to intercept Narkissa. He’d give a gruff huff before shrugging and going back to whatever it was he was doing before. “A letter and supplies, though? I’m afraid I’m not really open for the rest of my time here. Everything is getting packed up to be moved.” Assuming Narkissa would hand over the letter, the fox would accept and open it, blinking in mild surprise as she’d read its contents.

“...oh, I see. I see. Finally making a move, is he? Well, that’s fine.” Mie would stuff the letter into her coat. “If there’s nothing else you need immediately, Misaki, I have something to attend to with Narkissa here now.” Mie would say, standing up and supposing Misaki no longer had need of her, would motion for Narkissa to follow. Once they had left, Mie would turn to the human.

“Tell me what you need then. As for the other thing...Come back tonight. Alone. I’ll give it to you then. Its not something I can just wave around out here.”

A Traveler
@PaulHaynek

---

Nicholas would move through the snowfield, towards the forest in the distance. Undead would climb out of the snow, their frost bitten bodies would crack and jerkily move towards the source of the commotion in the snowfield - that is, Elisette. The charm seemed to work thankfully. Though some would cross his path, it seemed as though they didn’t pay any attention to him, stumbling across the snowfield towards Elisette where they would promptly meet their end.

Of course, it would seem that no matter even if she’d cut them down - some would eventually get back up. Seemed whatever magic was keeping them alive was particularly pervasive. Still, aside from having one literally bump into him there wouldn’t be any incidents, and soon he was at the edge of the forest.

Unlike the one that was full of life and vitality back at the village he had seen first...this one was a stark contrast.

The trees were frozen, dead. A cold wind constantly pervaded the area, and the entire forest felt...somber. Lifeless. As though he was looking at the corpse of a forest, rather than a living place. Considering this worlds climate though, perhaps all of this was just natural.
However, as he’d walk, he’d soon see something in the distance.

What seemed to be a figure in a red cloak, walking along the path some distance away. They didn’t seem to notice Nicholas, but before he could give chase, however, a loud howl would pierce the silence as several undead hounds would leap into the path in front of him. He wasn’t surrounded - there were only three of them but considering they had noticed him despite the rosary they likely were more powerful undead.

They were barking and snarling, teeth gnashing as they’d slowly advance before one would leap, fangs bared, towards him.

The Roma Mob
@ERode

---

“Heh,” Nesherit would chuckle. “You’re probably right about that. Anyways, Old Naraheim is...an odd place. We don’t know much of the demons before the Moonless Era, and Rullphana could likely tell you more - but from what I’ve seen myself its a realm that’s uncharacteristically hot.” He’d assert, folding his arms against his chest. “Its hard to describe - Molten rock and roots of a massive tree, intertwined with massive steel and metal structures half submerged in the ground, if you can believe it. Geysers of steam from iron roots of metal trees permeate the area, too. Not to mention dangerous. Demonic beasts of all kind call the place home...thankfully we haven’t seen a high demon there in ages, but demons can be...crafty.” A fairly rudimentary explanation, just giving Isidore enough to know that it’d probably just be hot and dangerous. The guard wouldn’t be very long on their return either, and soon after the Prince had finished his explanation he would return with a pouch full of coin, fifty silver exactly if he cared to count it out.

“As for the silk weavers...I went harvesting once because I wanted to see how it was done - their habitat is typically near where the tree-roots meet the earth. They make their homes in them. They look a bit like butterflies, and are fairly timid but don’t let more than a few of them linger on you. They’re carnivores and an entire swarm can devour flesh from bone within seconds.”

Octavia was seemingly getting a bit restless, rolling around on the ground and lightly pawing at the ground in a mildly anxious manner.

---

@Pyromania99

“If death frightens you, then you’ve already failed.” Sorcha said with a rather curt tone as she’d gaze into Augusta’s own eyes. It was clear she was measuring Augusta’s worth for herself, but eventually she’d merely let out a long, drawn out breath as she’d tell her to stand. “Follow me. You’ll likely miss the start of Rullphana’s lesson, but you’ll just have to deal with it.” She’d say, leaving the room. “Leuca, look after yourself. I’ll see you sometime this evening.”

“O-okay! I’ll do my best!”

“I suppose that’s true in a sense.” Augusta said under her breath as Sorcha started to walk off. “I’ll see you at Rullphana’s lesson later, Leuca.” The elf woman said with a happy smile as she walked off behind the strict sounding swordswoman. Really, she wondered how anyone didn’t fear death. Truthfully, she was frightened of being stabbed in the torso again. There was a small trauma about it, of course. As the two walked together, Augusta decided to break the silence. “So, I have to let go of any fear of death?” She asked, looking to the woman for an answer.

“Hm, I wonder...” The woman would walk, footsteps echoing in the silent halls as they’d walk through them. “There is no being in this world that can truly say they do not fear it in some manner...save perhaps, the Gods who have very little concept of it.” She’d chuckle, leading Augusta through one of the halls, down some stairs into part of the castle she hadn’t been to yet.

“The king has spoken to me at length about the Leargas, you see. It was something I had trouble understanding, back when we first met. He explained it as ‘Achieving Emptiness’ a sort of state of equilibrium with you and the natural energies of the world around you. When you take on the memories, experiences, and talents of your ancestors - you must also contend with their personalities, experiences, and emotions as well. You must have absolute control over your emotions or lose yourself.” She’d chuckle, a small smile. “Something I’d never be able to do.”

Augusta listened to Sorcha’s bit of information. It wasn’t a bad thing to have. If she learned one thing about her time on Earth, it’s that information was the key to everything. “Achieving Emptiness?” She questioned, thinking about it some. That was like… Buddhists? Or something like that. It was more enlightenment than nothingness she supposed. It wasn’t a subject she had great knowledge over.

“So it ends up a battle of personality where you have to control yourself. Fight years of experience while exerting yourself through sheer force of will, is it? Huh.” Augusta thought about for a small bit as they walked. “I wonder what my ancestors would say to me. ‘Don’t let yourself get stabbed again’. Perhaps.” She wondered aloud. “Ahh, but that aside, you wouldn’t be able to control your emotions?” She asked as she looked at the swordswoman. “You look pretty in control of yourself, though I suppose you can’t quite tell everything by looking at someone.”

“You think?” Sorcha would respond, a small smile. “We hardly know each other, now don’t we? I suppose you wouldn’t know this,” The swordswoman would stop, looking towards Augusta just in front of a large open field on the western side of the palace. Several shadow elves had already gathered in the outdoor training area. A few shot dirty looks towards Sorcha and Augusta both, but the former didn’t particularly seem to mind. “But there is a reason the Sirithen of Tamaln fear me.”

She would walk into the center of the field.

“Pick your weapon. I need to see your skills for myself.”

“You’re right, we don’t really know each other, though I wouldn’t be opposed to it.” Augusta said as she followed the swordswoman. She wasn’t exactly sure what Sorcha was wanting from her in particular. She was green when it came to the sword or spear or axe. “Just don’t leave a scar. I don’t know what a bride would do if her face was scarred before her wedding day.” The woman joked as she unsheathed her rapier. “My skills are a small bit bare.” She added, “Please teach me well.”

“Hm...perhaps, we could as we spar.” Sorcha would slowly turn to face Augusta. “And don’t worry, I won’t rough you up beyond any bruises. Now then...a Rapier” The woman would fix Augusta with a pointed look, followed shortly by her blade pointing in her direction. “A weapon, good in close quarters. Slightly flimsy, but good at stabbing and piercing. Good if you have a keen hand and eye to stab at openings in armor, but otherwise good for little else.” She would explain briefly. “Hope your hands are as sharp as your looks. If you desire to test another, there are plenty here to train with.”

Sorcha would breathe in, taking a defensive stance.

“The only rules here are no magic. Come at me, then.”

“No magic. Wouldn’t matter if I could use it or not I feel.” Augusta commented, though she knew why the woman had said that. After all, she wanted to see how the woman handled a weapon at base. She swung the weapon a few times to get a good feel for it’s weight. It was light for the most part. She took some fencing lessons when she was little but real fighting was much different from a couple of hits with a mostly harmless epee. With a small sigh, she took a stance similar to fencing though her knowledge from then was mostly tenuous.

Her focus was fully on this now, however, moving closer… Slowly, until she took a quick step forward and thrust the point of her weapon forward, aiming at an open spot on Sorcha’s body.

Of course, that was rather obvious opening move for a rapier.

Sorcha would rather effortlessly swing her blade upwards, catching the rapier upon the edge of ot as she’d completely deflect the other womans blade. Sorcha would say nothing as she didn’t move, seeming content to let Augusta make moves for now.

Augusta retracted her arm and took a small step back. Her face was like stone, unphased as she started to take her step back forward and starting to take a couple of swipes at Sorcha’s midsection, expecting them to be deflected again before lifting the hilt up, with the blade pointed down and going for another stab.

As Augusta had expected, Sorcha would easily deflect or parry the blows delivered her way. Clanking of steel upon steel filled the training area as a few shadow elves would look on in mild amusement. However, perhaps something she wasn’t expected. When she went for another stab, Sorcha would instead simply side step to Augustas right, the point of her own blade for Augusta’s neck.

The elf, for her part, would step to the left, dodging the stab and she would turn toward Sorcha taking her high up hand down, slashing at the swordswoman’s belly. Sweat was catching on her brow a small bit as she took a step back, giving a small distance between her and Sorcha.

Sorcha wouldn’t make an attempt to deflect this blow - rather instead she’d let her armor do the job. Augusta’s opponent would let the blade of the rapier harmlessly bounce off her armor, moving just slightly to let the blade slide off.

“You realize I’m wearing armor, right?” The next sequence of events would happen far too fast for Augusta to really process. The elf would have merely a few seconds before Sorcha’s fist would smash right into her face and send her reeling backwards. However, she wasn’t going to give the elf a moment to even process that as she’d quickly approach before she even recovered, and she’d feel her legs being knocked right out from under her from a swift, but harsh kick right to her knee and sending her to the ground.

Augusta stumbled backward as she was hit in the face. She could only be glad that she could heal it so there was no bruise. Then, a sharp pain at her knee as she took to the ground in an unconscious movement not exactly of her choice. Still, she gritted her teeth and pointed her sword up towards Sorcha’s neck. “Geeeh…” She grunted, trying not to cry out from the pain.

Sorcha responded with a small grunt as she’d instead turn towards the other gathered elves. A few shadow elves watching would snicker at their fair skinned cousins apparent complete shutdown. A few more had started to trickle in, it seemed.

“That’s enough. I think I have a decent grasp of your abilities.” She would say, standing over Augusta, staring down at the blade pointing up at her. “Your body is quite deceptively strong, but I expected as much. What you lack though, is proper weapons handling and training, as well as the ability to properly assess your opponent. Therefore we can skip the strength and overall stamina training and move right to your weapon handling. A problem solved enough by itself simply from doing and practice.”

She would go on.

“Now then...we will spar every morning and evening from now until the dance here. I don’t have much time to drill more than that. The rest of you will get your training shortly...and all of you will stand at the edge of the field at attention until I’m ready for you.” Sorcha would turn back to Augusta now. “Now stand up. We’ll do this again.”

“Very well.” Truthfully, she wasn’t surprised by Sorcha’s words. After all, this body was suppose to be above average after all. “Oh, forgive me for small minute.” She held her hand out and let a flame come to her hand and held it to her face where she had been punched earlier. Her biggest asset was her face at the moment, she’d hate for it to be bruised. She stood and took a stance. She took a deep breath and was then ready as she assumed her stance.

“...vanity won’t serve you on the field. Each wound is a reminder of a mistake you made in combat - one you should remember.” Sorcha would harrumph. “In these three days, you will be barred from healing magic until my training is done. Now then, prepare yourself!” The training was, as expected, rather brutal. Sorcha’s teaching method was the epitome of ‘trial by fire’ and ‘learning through experience.’

She’d give instruction as well as guidance of course, telling Augusta the best way to wield her chosen weapon. A rapier was better with quick thrusts, and wouldn’t do amazingly well against any heavier armor. It would take a quick and deft hand to use such a weapon, using it to strike at an opponent’s weak points. Not that Augusta was given much of a chance to do that. Sorcha’s armor was both surprisingly tough as well as light it seemed, and though she wasn’t fully armored, the swordswoman was extremely skilled, effortlessly blocking the elvish womans blows.

One time she’d eat dirt, after Sorcha would quite literally, kick her in the ass after ending up behind her.

Another would see Augusta losing her weapon and then having it pointed at her in turn.

A bloody nose. A slash on her shoulder. A cut on her chest. Her trainer was pulling no punches, the hour training session was relentless. By the end Augusta would be both mentally and physically exhausted. Her body ached. She was bruised quite heavily in multiple areas. Drenched in sweat and probably hardly able to stand.

Sorcha, on the other hand, had not even broken a sweat and was barely just breathing a bit heavier than normal.

“Hm...alright, I think that’s enough.” Sorcha would sigh, sheathing her blade. “Any more, and I might actually kill you.”

“I’d say…” Augusta said, kneeling. Exhausted. She should have expected the warrior to train her this hard but this was a little more than she expected. She didn’t really expect to be beaten and bloodied. And then told not to heal! The gall. She wondered if this was even worth the training. She set her rapier at it’s place on her hip. “To my next lesson then.” She said, wondering if she’d even make it far enough without collapsing. Perhaps she’d heal herself slightly later. How vexing this woman was with “No healing”. Vanity was it? Why not take pride in her beautiful looks?

“Those who truly are deserving of vanity and pride look the part no matter the circumstance they find themselves in, Augusta!” Sorcha would shout as the elf would leave. A few of the shadow elves had utterly disregarded her instruction from earlier, however...and she would soon turn their attention to them.

“Now then, if you shadows think you can get away with not following orders...well then, you must be strong enough to beat me then! No either run twenty laps around the entirety of gloomhaven or draw your blade so I can kick your ass!”

...she seemed to be enjoying the ass-kicking a little too much, perhaps. Regardless, Augusta wouldn’t be pestered as she’d leave. Perhaps she could at least clean herself up a little later, though.

---

@Guy0fV4lor@Cu Chulainn

Finding the carts would be easy enough. After Malphas would negotiate and tell the Oni what was up, they'd be rolled out front of the camp, along with giving Donovan two Kamaitachi to pull them with. The beasts, were far more amicable and peaceable than when Donovan had last encountered one and seemed like they'd be able to haul far more weight than what Donovan could have by himself...of course, supposing whatever he had planned worked.

"Eh? Who's callin' me name?!" The familiar sound of the dwarvish lass would be followed shortly by her poking her head out from behind some crates seemingly filled with ores she was helping sort or take inventory of. "Oh, Donovan. Whatever it is, if yer gonna manhandle me more: No." She'd respond with a chuckle, walking over. She had ditched the sword and armor and was wearing a clothes more suitable to leisure or day to day business. "What ya need, friend?"

Malphas, once he had finished the task given to him would find a little fox scurrying back to him with a mildly annoyed, though seemingly curious expression. Ayumi would position herself on a box.

"Just going to let it leave?" The fox would question. "I suppose if he keeps up his end of the bargain...but I think I'm going to watch him, just in case. You should probably tell Mie."

---

So the idea that devils flocked to lakes of fire persisted in this world too. Isidore clenched and unclenched his fist, feeling the hot blood coursing within his veins. A shame that these weren’t likely to be monstrosities birthed from a sentient weed then. Naraheim certainly sounded like an exceptionally dangerous place, just by nature though…but maybe he was being a bit too cautious about this as well. Dangerous as it may have been, the silk-weavers that lived in such areas were harvested on a regular basis, and his own unique constitution meant that a swarm of them wouldn’t be nearly so deadly. Which meant that the greatest danger came in the form of demons. Intelligent ones. More so than that wilting monstrosity within the depths of the prison.

Isidore committed those facts to memory, and resolved to confirm the rest with his own senses.

“Good,” he responded, nodding once at Nesherit as he took the pouch of coins and strapped it to his belt. There was no need to check. Vasserasa knew the cost of dishonesty in this sort of work. “I will take my leave then, Vasserasa, Nesherit. Good day.”
With that, Isidore strode off, Octavia eagerly scampering behind him. With fifty silver coins bouncing against his hip, the dark-haired youth had some rudimentary purchases to make.

Though there were a couple of snide comments about the inherent comedy of a human stepping into an Uruthan shop to purchase equipment favoured by Dirithen, Isidore still managed to acquisition his goggles, gloves, lantern, and pickaxe without much trouble. He deposited his heavier gear, especially his furred cloak and his longer-term camping gear, into his room within the queen’s palace, and had one of the attendants bring a meaty bone to keep Octavia occupied as well while he readjusted his equipment to better hang off his body. The first day would be for scouting out the locations that Nesherit told him about, and to try his luck with spotting one of those silk-weavers. The prince had mentioned they looked like butterflies, but if there were other species of butterflies in the depths of this mountain as well, that would make identification troublesome.

Ring beneath the glove on his right hand, Isidore finally headed for the gatehouse to the subterranean ruins under the city of Gloomhaven, his backpack a fair bit lighter than it was before. Whatever conversation between him and the guards would be kept to the bare minimum, and he would spare only a cursory glance at the timepiece that the queen gave him before plunging into the hot depths.
Isidore had his one night’s rest, and Octavia has had a chance to feast to her heart’s content.

Now?

It was time to get to work.

With a sigh, Misaki shook her head no and returned Mie's offer with a bittersweet smile. There was little else to pursue for the moment in terms of negotiations, though obviously she would have preferred using something less blatantly easy to abuse for military might in the first place. Regardless, the deed had been done, and she would have to deal with the consequences afterwards.

On the upside, this was likely going to happen regardless, given how Nobunaga was... Well, Nobunaga. That much couldn't really be helped.

"Well, again, I was working on something that I would have liked to finish before ending up here..." the foxgirl trailed off before Narkissa entered the tent. The young woman seemed to note that there were some negotiations at play here, though, and Misaki slowly withdrew her hand from the handshake, looking at the new guest with a shrug.

"Nothing in particular, really," she responded in turn, glancing between the two before taking a step back. "Though, well, I feel like the chaos that brought us here means that we might not actually be able to finish that project before the caravan leaves..."

There was some disappointment that her efforts would likely end up in vain, but compared to letting Lazirha get kidnapped, that was probably an acceptable sacrifice to make.

@Rune_Alchemist@Click This

Nobunaga considered what she had heard. Personally, she had her doubts about Lazhira's guilt, but pursuing what information she held would be useful regardless of that. Indeed, there was quite a bit to process, but for the moment they had to deal with these hunters. Part of the petite girl simply considered killing them, but that was far less useful then leaving them alive in the end. Furthermore, she had stayed her blade and now they stood unarmed. She did not wish to foster an image that she would murder the unarmed on sight.

At least, not yet. That could wait until she required a more threatening reputation.

Still, she raised her katana towards the men.

"Indeed, you can. But not like this. You have, after all, participated in rather dangerous acts," Nobunaga stated, plainly, "Novak, check them for rope, or anything else you could use to bind their hands. They should be judged by their own. Their surrender has afforded them that."

Her crimson gaze fell upon the hunters once more.

"If you resist, I will cut you down without a moment's hesitation. I am certain you must understand why I do not feel comfortable letting you run free just yet, do you not?"

@Rune_Alchemist@Crimson Paladin

---

@Rune_Alchemist

"Can't manhandle yah? Damn! That's why aye called yeh over-- just wanted tah tossed yah round' ah bit!" Don jabbed back at the dwarven girl with a hearty laugh as she made her way over to him. "Nah, aye need yer help diggin' somethin' up. Eht's real big, might be buried, could have somethin' prowlin' around nearby with ah hankerin' fer manflesh. I remember yah sayin' yeh fought shite down in th' mines back home, so aye know yeh can hold yer own-- plus aye think some dwarven expertise might be ah good idea tah bring... Now this job's very time sensitive so if yer comin' with meh go git yer gear on, grab ah few torches, an aye can explain th' specifics to yah on tha way over. Don't worreh bout' askin' permission cus' aye've alreadeh got ah deal goin where aye'm allowed tah borrow yer help from Mie.

A soft grunt escaped Donovan as he climbed onto the driver's seat of the first wagon and took hold of the Kamaitachi's reigns, "So Eirhild, yah gonna be comin' with meh? Or yah gonna stay here?"

"Sense of humor, dont'cha?" Eirhild laughed heartily, but would soon fall silent as Donovan went to explain why he was looking for her. Soon, her eyes would light up with curiosity, especially at the notion of digging or otherwise finding what sounded to her, like treasure of some sort. "Treasure huh? Not a dwarf alive or dead that'd pass up an opportunity! Lemme get my things. Back in a flash!" The dwarf would run back into the camp, and be gone for only a handful of minutes before she was back in her usual travel gear, sword at her side and what seemed to be a belt of other tools. Pickaxe, hammer, and a manner of other things.

"Ready when you are, then!"

"Haha! That's th' spirit lass! Off we go then!" Donovan chuckled, offering a hand to help the dwarf onto the seat beside him. Once Eirhild was settled nicely in her seat, Don would urge the Kamaitachi forward with a gentle whip of the reigns. Once the pair had made it out of Mie's camp and were a decent bit toward their destination Donovan would glance over his back to check if they were being tailed by anyone before facing forward and letting out a deep sigh. "Arright Eirhild. Sorreh aye couldn't fill yah in on things back in th' camp, but there ain't many folk aye can trust right now an' the what we're retrievin' an' why we're gettin' et just ain't somethin' aye want pryin' ears hearin' at tha moment--"

---

"-- That's about everehthin' aye know at the moment. Hell, though what we're diggin' up ain't th' typical kind ah treasure yeh'd look fer, aye doubt et's anythin' yah'd encounter more n' once ah lifetime... Ah! Ere' we are!"

Steering the Kamaitachi off the main road, Donovan stopped the wagons a good twenty feet from the cliff's edge. The smooth, inky surface of the the obelisk poised at the cliff's edge was just as he remembered it two days prior. Though it certainly wasn't something to complain about, the man honestly wondered how such an out of place piece of stonework didn't garner far more attention. Regardless, most folk leaving the damn thing alone was more than likely for the best. Donovan dismissed the distracted thoughts with a small shake of his head before giving a cursory look over the surrounding area.

Akando had yet to arrive.

Shrugging his shoulders, Don hopped off the wagon and trudged toward the obelisk; seating himself cross-legged in front of the ancient rock. "All weh're waitin' on is Akando now. He's gonna fill us in on what he's learned, then aye'll tell th' both ah yah bout what weh might encounter in there... In th' meantime, aye'm gonnah prep mehself fer th' amount ah magic aye'm likeleh gonnah need tah use." he called over his shoulder to Eirhild, "Jus keep ah lookout fer now an' keep th' beasties calm."

Facing the obelisk once more, Don closed his eyes. Though he'd always been a religious man, he'd never put much stock in the hippy-dippy meditation and spiritualist bullshit. Though it was a pointless exercise back home, 'aligning one's spiritual energies' and other such horseshit likely had actual practicality in a world with monsters, magic and all manner of oddities. There was only one way to find out, right?

A deep inhale through the mouth, gentle exhale through the nose. In, and out. Inhale, and exhale. Again and again Donovan repeated this cycle of ritualized breathing as he closed his senses off from the world around him. Energy. Energy existed in every speck of matter scattered throughout the universe. Magic as a resource; so far as Donovan could tell, was a form of energy. It existed everywhere, and in all things. It could neither be created nor destroyed-- but like energy, it could be stored. If the body naturally could store and expend magic, it likely meant that the body's internal reserves of magic were replenished over time naturally from ambient magic in the surrounding area. Though unsure if his internal reserve of magical energies could be expanded, Don knew damn well that energy; or in this case magic, could near always be stored more efficiently than naturally possible-- and luckily, Suthainn seemed to have an affinity for mechanics, if the ticking was anything to go off of.

Turning the whole of his focus inward, Donovan felt for the natural flow of his mana. How it flowed within him. How it slowly replenished. How it acted should he try to focus harder on it. After spending some time merely observing the flow within him, Donovan slowly attempted to alter the course of this strange energy, guiding it toward his emblem, and through it. Rather than immediately expend the now divine energy like he normally did, Donovan ever so gently attempted to twist it little by little back into the core of his being; as if he were winding an old watch. There Donovan would continue to sit, maintaining his attempts to further stockpile his reserves of magic until Akando arrived.

@Rune_Alchemist @PKMNB0Y

“Sorry,” she shrugged at the Oni guard. It wasn’t like she was going to wait to see Mie after she left… because it seemed like she was leaving.

“Ah, I see…” She was curious what Misaki and Mie had been discussing, though. Perhaps the Japanese girl was getting supplies for the papermaking endeavor? With how things were going, though, it didn’t seem like that project would come to fruition anytime soon. “Well, it’s still worth a try. Where is the caravan heading to next, anyway?”

Narkissa quickly handed over the letter in response, knowing that she had caught the merchant fox just in time, shrugging at her own response. She was still wondering if she was doing the right thing… but in for a penny, in for a pound, eh? “Right then,” she agreed, curious just exactly what the other thing was. Was it the strange weapon detailed on the blueprint?

“I need some alchemical ingredients. Preferably wholesale quantities,” she explained, lowering her voice. “Mainly sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal… Although I believe the former two are also known as brimstone and niter, if that sounds familiar. As for what they’re for… that’s a secret. No, really, it would be bad news if anybody else really knows what needs to be ordered for… the thing,” she continued, vaguely. “I’ll probably also need some tools for this, and a good quality bag to hold that,” she added, explaining in detail what else she needed. She was going to need a bag nonetheless for all the stuff she was acquiring, and now that she had a temporary free pass to pick up supplies, she was going to take it.

“As for the other thing… where and where should I meet you?”

Nick trudged towards the forest, trying his best to ignore the zombies who ignored him in turn and instead went after the loud, powerful distraction that was Elisette. Viorel's charm worked like a... charm. Bad puns aside, Nick was glad he reached the forest without anything hostile noticing him, even if he had a burning torch with him. Everything was going smooth so far.

The forest was unlike the one with the deer and Kyrnith. The trees here were dead, leafless, snow and frost filling the hollowed parts of the bark. The wind that blew in this place was freezing cold but Nick was fortunate he had his trusty torch to keep him somewhat warm. Well, at least there were no more zombies that he had to watch out for.

As he wandered the dead, frozen woods, Nick soon saw a dirt path in the distance with a red-cloaked figure treading upon it. Weird, Nick didn't remember Little Red Riding Hood visiting Grandma in the winter.

* HOWL *

Ah, how could he forget about the Big Bad Wolf? Several undead hounds emerged from behind the frozen trees and blocked Nick's way. Wait, weren't they supposed to not notice him because of Viorel's charm. But these ones were very clearly noticing him, their sharp teeth bared and growling. "Oh, come on." Nick whined as he held his torch aloft in reflex. He wasn't that surprised though, this world was not lacking in things that could and wanted to kill him.

The hounds snarled as they took some steps forward before one of them made the first move and pounced. Nick reacted quickly and swung his lit torch at the undead canine and swat it away. Now it was time to do what he did best: Run for his life. But wait, these were hounds. Not exactly slow creatures so would running actually be the smartest idea?

Well, Nick had little ideas besides fleeing so flee he did. But running back would probably lead him back to the zombie horde where the hounds could alert their human allies to his presence. No, Nick needed to forge ahead. He swung his torch wildly at the undead canines to keep them away for a couple of seconds and give him a headstart. From there, he would try to bolt forward and towards the cloaked figure.

"You! Yeah, you! I got dogs on my tail! We gotta run!"