Arthur was at the back of the group keeping an eye out for anything dangerous as they walked. If magic was real there was no telling what was out in these wilds. He watched the tree line carefuly as he wondered what sort of creatures this world had, he kinda hoped they had dragons. 'Now that would be a good fight.' He shook his head to clear that thought away, he'd always enjoyed a scrap but it seemed coming here had increased this if he wanted to fight a dragon. He looked to the others as they talked amongst themselves and a small smile could be seen if one looked close at the large mans face. 'Good, there not letting the fight before get to them.' He thought as he wathced James tease MacKensie and her reaction. 'And it seems they've taken the surgery in stride.' He still remembered tye guards muffled screams as they operated.

It was then that Adam told there group that it should be about two days travel if they didn't run into trouble, though Adam didn't seem very sure they would be so lucky. Arthur chuckled at that and spoke for the first time since they left town. "Good call, I can't speak for everyone but with the kind of luck I've had today....well I'm surprised nothing has tried anything yet." He said loud enough for Adam to hear it from th front of there group. He then went back to watching ror threats as he shifted the anchor on his shoulder. He gave the massive hunk of metal a once over before shaking his head once again. "I've always been pretty strong but even I would of been tuckered out by now lugging this thing around back before....." He trailed off as he spoke to no one in particular as he was about to mention what he was pretty sure was his death but remembering the reaction last time the subject was broched he let the sentence die before he could finish it.

"Hell no! I don't want my maiden heart broken thank you very much, just look at the guy, it is obvious he is some kind of manwhore"

His indignant expression barely lasted a second before he couldn't contain a snort any longer and a few chuckles leave his lips. It's good to know that she can respond in kind to any teasing, more fun that way, and no bad feelings on either side. Now what did she say about being a nice young man? In an instant he changed from his usual mannerisms to his 'On the clock' persona, back straightened, scowl turned into a small smile, voice softened significatively and an open gesture with the arms. Then he raised his hand to his chest and inclined his head lightly, gone was the marked accent he spoke on.

"My apologies señorita, I was just trying to be friendly and jest but it appears I have failed at being comedic, I know it's shameless of me but could I ask for you to find forgiveness in your heart? I assure you that my intentions were not to offend or upset you."

He inclined his face a little more and widened his smile a little... then turned it sardonic, a moment later he was back to his scowling face and slouching back with his hands in his pockets but the smile was still on his face.

"Also for the record, I could act like a perfect gentleman not unlike tree lover over there but, well, I have helped you kill a motherfucking ogre AND perform surgery so I like to think we are past normal formality by this point."

Words that he never thought he would have never thought of saying left his mouth with such ease that he was left pondering for a second if this weird fucking world was already messing with his head.

"So for your other questions, well for starters I come from Veracruz in Mexico, a nice place to grow up in methinks, lively if a bit boring with a lot of kids running around in nature but eventually moved a bunch of times in the republic before I decided to settle on good ol' Nuevo Leon, as for what I used to do? nothing as exotic as being an international athlete, I was an assistant for the man in charge of logistics for a small company centered on the transportation of industrial goods, think FeDex but with big pieces worth a lot, used to be in HR but they moved me up" A shrug "That little display before was how I was taught to speak to costumers actually, at least mixed with a cousin crash course lesson on professional nose browning"

Now what else could he say? That was basically his whole life story, man thinking like that was depressing as fuck, maybe he should give back a question? What was socially acceptable to ask a French person? Meh let's go with the freebie.

"You said that you went to school in Paris right? Is it as good as it's often depicted cuz if so you are a lucky woman"

"Good call, I can't speak for everyone but with the kind of luck I've had today....well I'm surprised nothing has tried anything yet."

A voice he had just heard a few times caught his attention and reminded him that he needed to talk to Adam about his 'wet necessity'

"Oh shit!, oh shit!, I forgot all about the blessing condition!" Well there was no time like the present.

"Hey Adam! Do you remember the whole buff thing? I got to spend an hour inside a body of water before I can use it again so could we make camp beside a stream or a river? You seem to know a thing or two about camping and I don't want to die to a snake or something"

"It is, and no problem! I think everything about this situation has been odd," Adam joked with a smile as he grabbed the metal object and held it out, examining it as he spoke further. "I haven't had the chance to look at it much myself, being preoccupied with creatures who wanted to kill me at the time, but I'm not sure if it really is the 'heart of the skeleton' like Vadim thought. If it was, why would it scare away its allies? That's just a theory though, I think these people at Valheim will know more than I would. Anyway, please feel free to inspect this as long as you'd like."

The mage gingerly leaned her staff against herself as she stood there and used both hands to carefully take and hold the cube.

If there was one thing that made it easier talking to Adam in a rather silly sense, it was that he seemed to not be as giant as many of the other men in the party. Less craning her neck up simply to speak without looking rude, or something of the sort. But that was frankly a small detail at best, as he seemed to be confident enough when it came to going about in the wilderness like this (even if they had been traveling the roads of course). This despite his apparently younger age in her eyes, though his own eyes for that matter were a most peculiar color indeed. Hmm. But if she analyzed everyone too much, then it felt likely they'd all stand out like that. Peculiar people, in a peculiar place, in a world where they'd landed out of the blue in falling stone sarcophagi coming from a giant opening the sky.

...She was sure there was a joke somewhere about any combination of them 'walking into a bar', etc, etc, but for the time being decided against pondering such a thing in favor of what was in front of her: The cube.

Ornate designs covered the outside, symbols and sigils she assumed were magically inclined in nature, and from the firsthand accounts it had emitted a purple light. The result of all of this was the other skeletons running for their lives. Usually the loss of a leader would cause a drop in morale, if the undead had any really, but even then such a thing still stood out as odd to her. Why flee if this was lost? Was it a valuable crucible for creating powerful undead? Was it a device helping control the force, and its loss caused the lesser undead to flee? Was it a catalyst for whatever magic had created or was controlling the undead and monstrous forces? A beacon for the Witch Queen's magic to emerge from?

It was all a vast mystery with myriad guesses to be had, but Lillianna for the time being settled with doing some careful observation and testing on her part. For all she knew this thing would bind to her and she became part-necromancer or something, or someone would need to attune to it to make it work for them in some capacity.

And then came Adam's own question, snapping her head back up before she got too deeply focused on the cube she was now carefully turning over and running her fingers over the whole surface of in her hands. She even tried to draw upon it, or at least see if it reacted to her in particular somehow, in the meantime.

"By the way, if you know, what sort of magic do you have?"

Ah! That was another good question, and generally speaking was perhaps pertinent in her studying of the cube. Or rather it would be pertinent when she started a more magical means of looking (among others).

"Well, it feels as if some of the knowledge was shoehorned into my mind, so I can certainly tell you types I can use at least. Spirit Magic and Lightning Magic. As for the 'elements' involved in those schools of magic, as worlds like this seem to be inclined to classify things under this sort of manner in various forms of fantasy fiction back on Earth, so I can't actually say."

The 22 year old let out a small sigh before looking back at the younger man, her eyes running over his attire and so forth that was visible from her perspective.

"You seem dressed for the woods, but lack a visible weapon skill like swords or bows as I've noticed in the case of the others. Are you a pure magic user, perchance?"

Worst case scenario she would be wrong and get told something else, at least in her mind.

@Zapdos

@Saiyan @xenon @Zapdos

Joji Yamazaki

The tall man nodded his head when Adam answered his question, “Doesn’t seem too bad. We shouldn’t dilly dally for too long then if we wanna get there quickly.” He assumed they all felt the same urgency to get to Valheim as he did. He was a little curious about the cube, so he would probably watch as the others inspect it. Joji would not be surprised if something bad came out of that object. He had seen a lot of horror movies involving a cube, and a shit ton of hooks attached to chains. Joji kept his eyes on their surroundings, placing his hand on the handle of his sword.

The large man once again was skeptical that they would not be able to find any information on why they were here. There seemed to be an awkward silence which made the large man feel quite anxious. He turned towards Zell, “Why do you think that cube is so important? Do you think there’s something very powerful inside? Or maybe the cube itself is some sort of uber powerful item?” Joji was not sure what was going on with that particular cube. But it seemed to be important somehow.

“But I’m wondering if we’re gonna have to ask around for information. Or if whoever we’re giving this cube to would know what’s going on.” The large man thought that would be the case. But things could be more complicated than they seemed.

"Good call, I can't speak for everyone but with the kind of luck I've had today....well I'm surprised nothing has tried anything yet."

Adam was mildly surprised to hear someone besides Lillianna, partially because she was the one he was talking to, and partially because Arthur hadn't said much of anything to him so far. The Druid wasn't complaining though; he was glad someone as formidable as the large man had the awareness to anticipate danger. Adam thought he heard Arthur say something else, but it was quieter than before, so the Druid assumed it wasn't meant for him. Instead, the man responded to the first part of Arthur's statement.

"True, I think most of us have had a good amount of danger today. I think we'll be okay if we work together." Adam had doubts about his own capabilities, but he felt that everyone here had something they could contribute to the cause. MacKensie's archery, Arthur's strength, and James's magic-

"Hey Adam! Do you remember the whole buff thing? I got to spend an hour inside a body of water before I can use it again so could we make camp beside a stream or a river? You seem to know a thing or two about camping and I don't want to die to a snake or something"

Oh, speak of the devil Adam thought with a slight smile. Was James referring to common snakes from Earth or to something more magical located here? The former wasn't an issue at all; the latter was probably beyond the range of his plant magic unless he could slam a tree on it to kill it. The water thing definitely was a magical thing though, based on what James said, and Adam was happy to provide a non-magical solution for his teammate.

"I remember it more than you know; I'd be glad to help," Adam replied, making sure he was loud enough for the healer to hear, "I'll do my best to find a good spot for us." Now it was time to focus on the map and keep his word. Considering they had maybe two or three more hours of travel left at the most, it would have to be somewhere nearby…

Oh, this could work! Yes, the Druid located a suitable location on the map. It was a small hill, higher than the surrounding land so they would have visibility and a terrain advantage if they were attacked. There was also a stream that wrapped around half of the hill so that James could get in the water like he had asked. Trees were around the hill as well, providing a way for Adam to help the team in case something happened. The Druid smiled, happy he could help the man who might have saved his life. Adam was about to let James know this when Lillianna replied to him.

"Well, it feels as if some of the knowledge was shoehorned into my mind, so I can certainly tell you types I can use at least. Spirit Magic and Lightning Magic. As for the 'elements' involved in those schools of magic, as worlds like this seem to be inclined to classify things under this sort of manner in various forms of fantasy fiction back on Earth, so I can't actually say.

You seem dressed for the woods, but lack a visible weapon skill like swords or bows as I've noticed in the case of the others. Are you a pure magic user, perchance?"

Interesting. Lightning Magic was pretty self-explanatory, but what was Spirit Magic? Could she control people's spirits somehow? Those were questions for later. Right now, Adam would answer Lillianna's question.

"I think so, yes. Everything I have is stuff I'd have used before I, uh, arrived here. The fishing pole, a knife, these clothes…well, all of it except this." Saying that, the Druid took out the orb with the rainbow-colored leaf and showed it to his fellow mage. "I have no clue what this does. I think it's important, but that's all I know." He was putting the item away when he heard Jojo's response to his earlier answer. It was good that this guy seemed to be reasonable, and Adam agreed with the sentiment of what he was saying, replying with "of course, though we can't just rush there either. We're already on the fastest route there, so we're doing as well as we can. I'll do my best to guide us all to Valheim." He meant it; MacKensie, Lillianna, James, everyone - they'd all make it to the city alive.

"Kak-Kak-Kak!"

It was an alarming sound for anyone not familiar. It came from above the group, high in the sky, and anyone who turned their eyes upward would see the obvious source of the bird call. It also might be an alarming sight, for shortly after it sqwauked, it circled into a sudden dive-bomb towards the group at breath-taking speed. It twisted itself gracefully and decelerated, then flew around the group, making it's presence known among them all, before going and landing on a tree branch. It spread it's wings proudly and sqwuaked once more.

It was a falcon, one slightly larger than normal - a beautiful golden brown colour, marked with dark brown spots. It looked at Fenna, who would recognise it as the falcon who she'd met already. The apex predator flew over to her and landed on her arm. For whatever reason, it's huge razor-sharp talons would not harm the Ranger in the slightest.

Connected in spirit they were. Now, connected as Master and Familiar.



As the sun began to dip in the west, the group came to the spot that Adam had chosen for them. A small clump of tightly knit trees and rocks, had formed a good-sized grassless area on top of a hill, where it would be easy to set up a camp site that had cover from the elements. Hommas' town river had followed them north, winding up inland, and a stream had broken off to go it's own way, bending around the area below the site. It went in and out of sight, through the treeline below, providing a good, clean source of water.

The orange sky threatened dark soon, but Adam had gotten them to a spot with ample time to set up camp, to hunt and cook if desired, and anything else they might wish to take care of before settling in for a long night.

MacKensie enjoyed the conversation with James as they travelled. To hear about his life in Mexico was both interesting and extremely impressive. He'd seen and experienced so much of his country and was rising through the ranks in a big-time business, and had life not tragically ripped him from their world, who knew where his talents would've taken him in the following years. It made her wonder just how gifted the others in the group were too. She told him about the wonder and beauty of Paris, speaking briefly about the sights and architecture, alluding to it's storied history, but she tried not to bore him with overly long rambles. Also, a part of her was acutely aware that she came from an extremely wealthy family - French society's elite - and that she only had access and experience in the highs of France's capital, with no experience of it's lows. Being a student in sociology and engaged politically, such an awareness sometimes made her pause for thought in certain situations. She did not bring this up though, keeping the conversation upbeat and pleasant as they moved ever north.

Later in the afternoon, when the falcon came swooping down, MacKensie almost drew her crossbow against the beautiful bird. Fortunately her fear did not make her do anything so stupid and she looked on the bird in awe when it went to Fenna.

She cooed in delight to get such a close-up of the bird of prey. "Magnifique," she said in awe, her gooey eyed expression darting back and forth from the bird to Fenna and back again. She stepped towards the older woman tentatively, hands clasped together. "How are you doing that? Can I pet it?"

Later...

When they arrived at the place they would set up camp, MacKensie felt like a bit of a spare part, trying to help but unsure of what to do. She did not know how to build a fire, she didn't know how to cook, it didn't even cross her mind that she would be able to use her marksmanship to aid in a hunt. She sort of just mulled about trying to give a hand to others in what they were doing.

Before long, she decided to go off for a wander around. As she went past James, she caught his eye, looked at him and then at Zell, then said to the wizard, "Two peas in a pod," and walked off, letting another in the group know that she would be back soon.

Off down the hill she went, into the trees where she could no longer be seen or heard. She stopped and raised her left arm in front of her to finally examine the magical gauntlet she'd been wearing this whole time.

"What are you?" she asked aloud.

It was obvious it was magical, ornate in design and unmistakably attuned to her. She'd felt it when she first put it on, and after James' magical blessing earlier, she knew what magic felt like. But what did it do? Perhaps it enabled her to fire some kind of fireball.

She pointed her left hand at a large boulder, double-checked her aim and then tried to will it to fire. "Fire?-Aaaaaggghhh!"

Something fired alright! A faint blue beam/wire fired from the gauntlet and attached itself to the boulder not 30 feet away, before instantly dragging her toward said-boulder at breakneck speed, her body fully horizontal as she went. "Aaagh! Stop!"

The beam/wire detached from the boulder and zipped back into the gauntlet as MacKensie flipped herself in mid-air and landed feet first against the boulder before pushing off and hitting the floor in a rolling heap. Fortunately she was not injured. "Sacre bleau," she cursed, breathing heavily as she got to her feet, brushed herself off and examined the gauntlet. She looked around to make sure none of the group had heard her wail and come running down. Luckily she was far enough away that no one heard.

A little scared but determined to try again, she hesitantly lifted her hand and pointed at a tree branch a decent distance away. This time she was mentally prepared. "Fire," she said again out loud, but also willing it mentally. Again the magical wire of blue light shot out, attached to the tree. Then as she willed it, it zipped her over and up to the branch where she grabbed the branch with both hands and swung up and around to flip and land on the branch. "Oh my," she exclaimed. "I am like Spiderman."

When the sound of a bird of prey reached Fenna's ears she turned to look at it. Was it hunting? There was something odd about its behaviour. Instead of flying away from them, it flew down and landed on a tree. "Hello there," Fenna said as she examined it. There was no doubt in her mind; this was the same falcon as back in the village, who had saved her from a skeleton. Instinctively she held out her arm and the falcon took the invitation.

"Aren't you a beautiful thing," she complimented the bird as she gazed into the intelligent eyes. She turned to Mackenzie, but couldn't answer the question. She didn't know how she did it, and maybe she hadn't done anything, but had the bird chosen her for whatever reason? But there was an unmistakable link now. She turned the bird to the younger woman so she could admire it from closer, and the falcon allowed her to touch its feathers.

The falcon remained with them for a while, but as they neared the camping site Fenna told it to go hunt before it would be too dark for it. She watched it fly into the sky, circle the area and then broaden its search for prey.

Fenna stopped on the area they would be camping and glanced around with her hands on her hips. This was a good place for a camp.

We're gonna need good coverage to protect to protect the main three, hmmmmm.

Half of Zell's mind was occupied with his thoughts. The other half stayed on alert as he spied the gaps in the trees. Most of the animal noises he'd heard so far didn't sound like threats. Nothing big or predatory.

What class is Clive? Hard to say.

But then, a lot of predators moved in silence. And Zell wasn't even sure what kinds of predators this world even had.

Rangers are fast, probably faster than the mages. They might benefit from more space.

Zell was startled when Joji broke the silence between them, but he supressed the urge to jump out of his skin, not wanting to look like he was scared out here. He turned his head up to the larger man, regarding him in the corner of his eye.

“Why do you think that cube is so important? Do you think there’s something very powerful inside? Or maybe the cube itself is some sort of uber powerful item?”

Joji sounded anxious himself. The big guy was a little bothered by the mystery of the item they were delivering. "Hmmmm... could be any of those things. I haven't even seen it. Probably wouldn't give me a clue even I had. Maybe one of the mages have some instinctive insight or something." Then he shrugged it off. "Tee-bee-haeche, I wouldn't mess with the thing. It belonged to the enemy and, like you said, it's probably important. Let's just be on guard until it's out of our hands."

“But I’m wondering if we’re gonna have to ask around for information. Or if whoever we’re giving this cube to would know what’s going on.”

"Let's hope so, big guy," Zell affirmed. Then turned his eyes back on the surround. "Let's hope so."

...

Zell thought it was an eagle. The thing was huge and coming at them fast. He bobbed left in a lazy effort to dodge as the bird flew around them, gripping the hilt of his longsword behind his shoulder. But it stopped upon a tree branch and started showing off it's wingspan. Zell didn't let go of his sword's hilt, not yet convinced it wasn't going to attack. That is, until he saw and heard Fenna's reaction.

"Huh," Zell muttered as the woman just beckoned the thing over... and it actually came over! Like a god-damn trained dog! Now he slowly let go of his longsword, rather amazed at the sight before him. He'd never seen anything like it. MacKensie started gushing over the thing and Zell mentally smiled, but the smile didn't reach his face as he was still pretty shocked at the sight of this huge bird just chillin on Fenna's arm. No amount shock could deny though... It was pretty fucking cool, to say the least.

...

When they stopped for camp on the hill, Zell rubbed his chin as he thought about what to do. He guessed that a fire would be built in the centre, but not by him. There were a few rocks and tree stumps in convenient places for seats, but not enough of them, so Zell looked around and saw a fallen tree trunk that would be perfect for three or four of them to sit on.

"Hey James, mind giving me a hand over here?" he asked, waving the wizard over to him. When James closed in, he explained the plan to each grab an end of the tree trunk and move it into the camp site amongst the other make-shift seats of nature. He also decided to tell James something else. "Hey mate. Some of them soldiers in Hommas had a lot of good things to say about you - talking about how they owe you their lives for the orders you were handing out in the battle. Very sweet," he grinned at the man, but then decided to be a bit more serious for the next part. "They also told me that you dragged me across the battlefield to safety while I was unconcious - Kept me out of trouble. I appreciate you looking out for me, mate. When your in the shit, I'll be there to return the favour. Count on it."

He offered his hand to shake on the promise. Suddenly MacKensie went past them and said, "Two peas in a pod."

Zell quirked an eyebrow as he watched her go. "What was that about?" he asked, perplexed.

"Kak-Kak-Kak!"

A falcon? How interesting, Adam thought as the creature dive-bombed towards a tree branch, then flew onto Fenna's arm like she had known the bird its entire life. Seeing MacKensie gravitate towards the falcon, the Druid decided not to move closer; he didn't know how comfortable this bird was around crowds of people. This creature, or at least its connection to Fenna, seemed magical and therefore the man had no clue what sort of logic the falcon would possess. Instead, Adam offered a single comment with a smile: "what a lovely creature."

-----

As the group arrived at the camp site the man had chosen, he was pleasantly surprised to find it was better than he hoped. The lack of grass on the hilltop meant that there would be less risk of fire from their activities and there would be protection from the elements as well. One less thing to worry about, the Druid thought. It seemed the team was dividing the camp set up amongst themselves; MacKensie probably went off into the woods to hunt, Fenna's bird was doing the same, and Zell and James were lifting a log to provide seating. Adam couldn't help lightly chuckling at that last task. It would have been much easier for him to move it himself, but the Druid didn't think it was best to interrupt the pair. "Two peas in a pod," he had heard, and figured they were bonding or something.

Instead, Adam set up the fire, arranging some rocks in a circle by where the log was set. He then gathered some kindling, small logs and sticks and arranged them into a nice-looking pile. The Druid then struck two rocks together to create sparks that would light the kindling (and thus the rest of the wood) on fire, creating a nice campfire for the team. It felt easier here than back on Earth for some reason; back there, that sort of method was something his father had taught him for when they didn't have matches in some emergency, but in practice Adam didn't really use it much. Now, there were no matches, and Adam was grateful for his father for teaching him that and so much more. It all just reminded the Druid how much he missed his family. He barely suppressed his emotions for the moment, but the man knew he needed some time alone.

"The fire'll need some wood here and there, but it should be good. I should go fishing." Saying this, Adam left in the direction of the stream, examining his fishing pole as he did so. It looked like a quality piece of equipment, but that wasn't what the man really wanted to think about right now. The Druid purposely chose a spot by the body of water that was as secluded as possible, cast his line, and allowed himself to mourn the loss of his loved ones.

@Saiyan @xenon

Joji Yamazaki

Joji looked quite annoyed that they would have to camp out for the night. But he understood why because it could be incredibly dangerous walking on foot at night. It would be comparable to walking the worse neighbourhood at night. “I would assume they’d have some information on the cube. At least I hope so.” He sort of trailed off now rubbing his chin with his hand. “Or maybe we can get some info from this witch lady.” He added now joining the others. Now that they were looking to settle down for the night, there was the need to make shelter and probably find some food. His stomach started growling, indicating that he was starting to get hungry.

“I can help with building some shelters for us. Although i don’t know if my sword will do any good with chopping down the trees around here. Does anyone have an axe by any chance?” Joji would be fine with hunting or gathering food for the group. “If someone else wants to build the shelter, then I can go out and find some food. Does anyone wanna join me with either task?” The large man was now rubbing his shoulder, feeling a little tired from fighting the skeletons. He was easy with whatever task the others would want to give the Japanese man.

He thought Zell or the American farmer would want to join him. The farmer seemed to know little about scavaging and living in the wild.

"Ya ya, hang in there" Wow this thing was heavier than he thought it would be, was it the humidity of being next to a stream? that seemed like the most likely suspect but then again, different world(?) meant different ecosystems(?) so it was completely possible that logs were naturally heavier or denser compared to Earth, did that affect the fauna in some way? the bird from earlier seemed pretty normal if a little bigger than he was accustomed so maybe-

"Oh shit he is still talking to me"

The day was really taking a bigger toll on him than he realized if his mind was wandering that much, better focus, what did he say? "Hey-soldiers-good things-owe-Very sweet" then he proceeded to get serious and say things in such a way that he was reminded of his little chat with MacKenzie earlier. Geez was this a James appreciation day or something? What with this many people coming out of nowhere to thank him, truth be told maybe he could get accustomed to this, it certainly didn't feel bad just embarrassing and awkward... better not ake it a habit then.

"Don't worry about that dude, we are fine, you needed help and I was there so it's no big deal" He was also vulnerable as a result of trying to follow his orders but before he could say anything more MacKenzie passed by their side and muttered the same damming statement of before with an amused smile on her lips. Letting out a chuckle at Zell's bemused face and question "Earlier on the way here we were chatting a little and I decided to tease her a little, she took exception to that and whined about how you and I didn't act like 'gentleman' unlike Adam" Ha, just remembering it was enough to make him amused "All in good fun and she wasn't serious I think" .

Looking at the log next to the other 'seats' he decided that it was time to take care of the place of sleep and went to set up the bedrolls.

"Good catch, son!"

Of course, Adam's father wasn't really there, but the man imagined that's what he'd say after the Druid caught his fourth bass of the day. Tears rolled down his eyes; not because of the fish, of course, but because Adam felt he'd never get to see his father again. He'd never get to thank him for always being there when something was wrong or teaching him the skills that were now helping to potentially save this new world he was now in. He'd never get to see his mother again either or thank her for showing kindness towards everyone, even the people that some would look down upon. Or his brother, who was always quick with a joke, even if it was about some video game the Druid had never heard of. Adam smiled a little at the thought; Eric would probably have quoted that "Animal Crossing" game right about now. It was funny how the younger brother would get all the fish for the museum, but lacked the patience for-

Adam felt the line start to tug once again and he worked on pulling in fish number five. It was remarkable how many he had been able to catch. Was it because of his magic, this particular river, the fishing pole, or maybe something he was overlooking entirely? Whatever it was, the bass was successfully caught. Despite everything that he had lost, the man was grateful that he would be able to help feed the group he was in, the group that might be helping save the world. There was something comforting in knowing that they were all in this together. No, they weren't family, but they all had fallen from the sky and they had all chosen to help get the cube to Valheim. Maybe they'd still be a team even after their mission was complete. However long their team would last, Adam would do his best to contribute to their cause.

The Druid stood, wiped the tears from his eyes, and spoke to himself. "Father, mother, brother…whatever you're doing now, I hope you're okay. I promise I'll do my best to make you proud, and hopefully someday we can see each other again." The grief he felt was not gone, and Adam knew it would never subside completely, but he knew he had a way forward. A way that meant doing the right thing, both for his team and for this new world he was in. And right now, the way forward involved ensuring his group didn't starve.

It was time to cook some fish.

Clive shook his head "Ain't nothing rude about feeling afraid little lady," chuckling good-naturedly the farmer followed Fenna's gaze skyward, it was hard enough to think about if this actually were some kinda mistake he wanted to believe that maybe this was just a dream but frankly that just wasn't the kinda man he was and even if he were dead, he was alive and breathing right now that's all that mattered "But we're all in this together y'hear, let's keep our eyes to the horizon cause we're living right now." Fenna felt a hand clap her shoulder for a moment, before he stopped to watch as a bird flew down form the sky...


Everyone was doing there part and whenever they were struggling they'd find the broad shouldered man rolling up his sleeves to help, Though he wasn't, much for firestarting like his forefathers might have so he left that to the people with more smaller and capable hands than his rough meaty ones.

"Don't look like it's gonna rain mister," Clive dusted off his overalls, as he stood to talk to Joji the farmers eyes gazed skyward and he shook his head "Not too many clouds this night I reckon. And.." he didn't know the man very well but he watched Adam return with quite a catch and he whistled.

"And I think we're fine for food, a mighty fine catch there boy!" the farmer slapped the druid on the back, quite the fisherman they had with them. They wouldn't be going hungry tonight but they certainly weren't gonna be eating in a dignified way either.

Zell couldn't help but notice James' weird reaction to his words. The cleric looked pretty disinterested in the accounts of the guards, but then seemed to get legit uncomfortable when Zell offered his own guy-broey version of a thanks for having his back. Hell, he didn't even shake his hand. The swordsman wasn't offended, just a little surprised. People's personalities came in all shapes and sizes, after all. And well... at least he now knew just how to mess with his new friend for shits'n'giggles.

"Ha, gentlemen huh?" he chuckled. MacKensie seemed the type to take herself very seriously - nothing wrong with that, of course - an elegant and 'proper' sort. Princess-y vibes. It was cool that such a posh girl could have a bit of fun. "She's alright, that girl," he said, an almost-wistful sigh in his tone. His eyes widened "?" now it was himself he was surprised at. He looked and saw James had walked off and probably not even heard him. Good. Jesus, Zell, you have one fight to the death alongside a cutey-pie...

"No axe, sorry big guy," he said to Joji.

Zell sat down on the end of the log, dropped his rucksack in front of himself and unstrapped the longsword from his back. He wouldn't be going out to find food either, preferring the option to dine on the rations and provisions Hommas had provided them. Chasing around squirrels with his sword sounded like it would cost him twice as many calories as he'd get from eating the damn things. When Adam arrived with fresh fish, Zell cheered and pumped his fist to support Clive's praises. "Let's go, Adam, with the save."

He'd brought a plate and fork for the cold food he was packing, but it seemed like he'd need it for a nice fish dinner now - maybe even a stew if someone had bothered to pack any of the small pots n pans that were left on offer. It was actually weird how much could be packed into these rucksacks they'd been given. Zell found he could barely feel the weight of the goods he'd helped himself too. He wanted to travel light, but now found himself wishing he'd taken more.

"Hey Arthur, Lillianna, does fish sound like a treat or what?" he asked cheerfully.

With the while she'd spent away from the group, it was only a matter of time before being alone with her thoughts would finally get the best of MacKensie. After getting down from the tree branches, she walked along the stream-side, her eyes welling up as her mind raced with imagery and memories of her mother, father and younger brother.

"Oh Papa," she croaked as she tried to hold back the tears. "Mama. What am I to do in a world without you all?"

She sat down behind a boulder, hoping no one from the group would find her. Although a fair distance away from the camp site, she still snivelled and sobbed as quietly as possible.

As everyone seemed to settle at their camp, Fenna decided to do a quick round around the camp to see if it was safe (the last thing she wanted was snakes slithering around and biting them) and what plants grew here. Some wild herbs could make their meal more appetizing, whereas others had medicinal uses. She kept the stream-side in sight as she examined the plants and crouched down to inspect a flower that looked a lot like one back home, but were the plants really the same here? Would it be safe to try and use them even if they looked the same? She sniffed it. Of course there were ways to test if a plant was poisonous, and maybe that could be applied here too.

A soft sound that didn't fit in with the sounds of nature broke her train of thought and she tilted her head in the direction it came from. It sounded like... sobs? First she glanced back to the camp to see if everyone was still there and checked off those she could see. Carefully she went in the direction of the sound and rounded a boulder.

"MacKensie," she whispered when she saw the young woman. She approached her and sat on one knee next to her. "Do you want to talk about what troubles you?"

MacKensie's head snapped up in the direction of the voice. Fenna. Goodness gracious, the woman was as silent as a predator. As much as she didn't want anyone to see her like this, if it had to be anyone, MacKensie was glad it was the older woman.

"No," she squeaked out, shaking her head, but her body leaned over towards to woman. She desperately needed a hug right now. "They're gone Fenna." The floodgates opened and she cried without restraint, holding the woman next to her. "I've lost them forever. It's not fair, I never even got to say goodbye."

Fenna gently held the crying woman in her arms. "No, it's not fair," she said with a soft voice. "And it's okay to grieve. If you want to talk about it you can, or we can sit in silence if you prefer. We'll stay here for as long as you need, the others don't need us right now." Her mind went to her husband and children as she held Mackensie close; had she lost them forever? Had they all really died? It was a possibility she struggled to believe, but Mackensie and most of the others seemed to be certain they had. For now, the hope that whatever magic had brought them here could bring them back kept her going. Valheim would have the answers.

"Just keep in mind you're not alone," she assured the young woman. "We woke up in this realm together and I don't understand the bigger picture yet, but we're in this together." She paused. "Which, taking into account some members of our party may not be as reassuring as I meant it to be..."

MacKensie cried it out for a few more minutes in the motherly comfort of Fenna's arms, appreciating her offer to stay as long they needed. She started to calm down, still crying but able to hear Fenna's remark about unnamed members of the party. She choked a single note of laughter inbetween sobs. She could guess one man in particular Fenna was talking about. His face and that cocky grin lightened the mood for a brief second as it flashed in her mind.

After a while of silence, she realised her selfishness. She wasn't the only one hurting. She unburied her face from Fenna's embrace and looked up at her. Such a strong and beautiful face, one she'd quietly admired from the moment she saw her. Fenna seemed to have a noble, dignified presence about her that somewhat reminded MacKensie of her mother, and she didn't seem shaken at all. But surely she was hurting.

"Here you are, comforting me, but you must be grieving too," she noted, wanting to ask just who she'd left behind when brought to this world. A husband maybe? Children? It felt too personal to ask a stranger, but she hinted at the question out of curiosity. "Your family must be missing you greatly."

"I'm mostly worried," Fenna replied after a moment of silence. "I don't feel it as a loss yet because I have hopes, misplaced hopes perhaps." Her face wrinkled as it showed pain and sadness she hadn't shown before. "I have two children and I miss them" she admitted. "A lot. It hurts knowing how far away I am from them and knowing how they must have felt when I didn't come home. But I choose to hope, so it's too soon for me to be grieving."

MacKensie's heart broke for the woman as Fenna spoke of her family, but her demeanour changed when she said that it was too soon to grieve and there was still hope. She nodded whole-heartedly in agreement. There was hope. This world was magical after all. There had to be hope that someway, somehow they - or at least Fenna and the others who hadn't died to come here - could return. "If there is a way, we will find it, Fenna. I know this."

Fenna showed a small smile when she realised Mackensie had stopped crying. "If you're ready, maybe we should go back, before the others get worried and try to find us."

They shared the smile and MacKensie agreed that they should get back. "Thank you so much, Fenna. I really needed that."

After wiping her face of tears with her sleeves, they headed back together.

@Saiyan @Zapdos@Dark Cloud

Joji Yamazaki

Joji felt quite embarrassed that his suggestion was being disregarded. Mainly from the druid whose name he had forgotten he had gotten an enormous fish. And there would be no need for building a shelter. “Shit.” He thought to himself now sitting down beside Zell and the others. He was grateful that there was food for him to eat. ‘Thank you.” He addressed his gratitude towards the druid. He unpacked his things onto the ground and started looking for something in his pack. Pulling out some tobacco, and rolling papers. Something he had bartered with a soldier for some gold pieces.

He was rolling the tobacco onto the paper into a stubby looking cigarette. Lighting the hand rolled cigarette by placing the tip inside the fire. Striking it against the sole of his shoe. Taking a deep drag with a sense of euphoria on his face. Thinking that cigarette was the best thing he’d ever had in his entire life. “Do you need help cutting that fish into sizeable pieces?” He asked the druid. Tapping his hand on the hilt of his sword. Wanting to be some use to the group. Joji took a moment to relax a little, he was sure the others were glad to just chill out around a fire. The large man took another drag from his homemade cigarette. “Well, hopefully our luck starts getting better.” Joji Took one more drag of his cigarette, tapping it so the ash fell onto the ground beside him.

Well, for once in her life it was struggle to keep occupied, at least to a certain extent. Without the benefit of the books and internet pages to read at home, or even a good anime to watch for that matter, the cold reality of her situation began to settle in somewhat more than she'd bargained for. Not that she bargained to get here in the first place! The world could be cold and harsh, and with the sun beginning to dip it wasn't exactly like they had much room to debate when it came to setting up for the night. Ugh. What made it worse was the sensation that early sunset breeze seemed to bring on in her own mind...just another reminder of the home she'd lost.

...No. She had to keep busy for now. Survival was first and foremost....it had to be.

Meanwhile the rest of their 'merry band' had begun doing things of their own accord. Albeit one of them had gained a falcon, a beautiful falcon to be sure, but the use of it would remain to be seen for the most part. Birds of prey could lift only so much weight, after all, and that meant only so many small game animals at most could be brought back before it eventually tired. Adam also seemed to get a fire going before heading out in a direction of his own, whilst Zell was calling out to the man who had saved her (James was his name, eh?) to move a tree trunk into the camp near the fire. MacKensie seemed to quip at the duo before walking off to her own devices as well. She hadn't seen what the rest would be up to, and frankly had no idea of anyone was heading out for some alone time, but if they did nothing then this 'camp' would be nothing but huddling close to a fire with nothing else! She had to at least do something here if she was to survive the night, right?

Not much she could do in terms of magic or other skills in terms of their usefulness in the heat of the moment, unless they wanted a larger fire or no fire at all from one of her lightning bolts, so Lillianna would resign herself to a seemingly small task. Leaving her staff at the impromptu camp, propped up on the non-fire side of tree trunk (if Zell and/or James brought it over in the end) and began to scour the space around the camp for wood. Her intent was to gather up as many sticks and branches as she could manage, make somewhat sorted piles of them based on size back at camp for using on the fire. Nothing too big or insane, but sticks and branches big enough to keep the fire she figured. Maybe a few small log chunks too if she could manage to drag or carry them over as well.

---

Once she would eventually get a reasonable amount of sticks and branches stacked up near, but not too close to, the fire, then came the other matter: Shelter. Well, her shelter at least. She would be going out to get wood, this time at least, from the farther away woods just down the hill (going in the same general-ish direction MacKensie had gone, and getting everything she needed for the rest of her supplies before moving on in her plans, but not getting close enough to notice her) to get these supplies. Sticks, branches, and more leafy branches not attached to any sort of vines. Even smaller stones from the stony/tree-cluster hilltop they were on to boot, or at least what ones she could carry. She didn't even want to risk touching foreign world vines or bushes, though, just in case anything was odd or they tried to eat her or such.

After this she would take a small rest, drinking some water and likewise chewing on the jerky from one of her three rations, before scouting out a potential location to set up. This would ultimately be a small cluster of larger standing rocks placed close enough to the fire Adam had set, within the midst of the mage would fit an amount of the sticks and branches together on the ground in the middle/midst of the rock cluster to make it a tight fit and keep her off of the ground. Then she'd try to layer a fair amount of the much thinner, leafy branches she'd gathered on top of this to make it soft-ish to sit or lie down on. (All of this to the best of her ability at least, she wasn't dumb but she wasn't wilderness trained either.)

Once this was done, another rest. More water. Little more jerky from the same single ration, which she was (pun not intended) rationing out for her work.

Then she would begin work on the next 'part' of her plan. Longer branches would sit over the top of the rock in the cluster, with smaller sticks crossed over them in perpendicular, and then the leafy thinner branches placed over the top of these so as to make am impromptu 'roof' of sorts. Then she would try to carefully weight it down with some of the smaller stones, both around the edges and some in the middle, trying to not make it too heavy but also not wanting her shelter to 'blow away'. Then same using any remaining smaller stones she got and sticks/branches for making shelter to fill in the gaps of the 'walls' of her little shelter. At least so she left just one opening pointed at Adam's fire, and she could safely lie down under the shelter at least.

Anything left after this? If there was any, she'd add any extra wood at this point (if any) to the wood piles she'd made for the fire, and use any small stones left (if any) to stick with the other stones around the edge of the fire.

If she got this far and did all of this somehow, the mage would find herself sitting on the floor of her new shelter exhausted and chugging most of (but not all of) the rest of her water in her water skin and chewing down the last fragments of jerky from the one ration she'd opened up. A weak pang of hunger would grumble against her, however, making her stomach rumble audibly for anyone standing decently close enough to her.

"And I think we're fine for food, a mighty fine catch there boy!"

Adam had not interacted with Clive much, so he didn't really know what to expect from him. Even so, the back slap wasn't something the Druid was anticipating, so he flinched slightly out of surprise. This only lasted a moment though, and the man smiled at the praise from him and Zell. Odd how only a few hours ago, the latter had the opposite effect on him by talking about death so casually. Now here he was, being helpful and nice. Maybe Zell was just odd in general. Best not to dwell on it now though.

"If you're happy now, just wait until it's ready to eat," Adam responded, his tone suggesting that it would be delicious. Upon briefly reflecting on it, he didn't think anyone had thanked him for navigating yet. Their minds were probably preoccupied, having been through a lot today, so the man didn't hold it against them. He just found it kinda funny how food could bring out the best in people at times. And as his father had told him, you did the right thing for its own sake, not so you could be praised.

Joji then asked if he could help cut the fish. Adam was about to reply, but the new tobacco in the air had other ideas on how the Druid should respond, and he spent the next fifteen seconds coughing instead. As he finished, the man thought about the request. It was nice that this guy wanted to help, but Adam didn't think Joji had the outdoors experience that the Druid possessed, which guided his answer.

"Thank you, but I should prepare these myself. My father taught me how to get these fish ready without wasting much, so that'll help us stretch out the provisions we were given longer." The man glanced over at Lillianna, who seemed to have turned part of the campsite into a construction site, and pointed in her direction with his thumb. "And I suspect she'll want some extra food after all her work, so we shouldn't waste anything." He said it lightly, but underneath that tone, there was concern. "She knows we're only here for one night, so why put in all that effort? I'll have to try talking to her at some point." That point would have to be some time later though, as right now Adam still had to make fish for everyone, and he wanted to be done when they were all back by the fire.

Over the crackling of the open fire, one could make out the distant chirp of a cricket between the moments of silence between conversation, the smell of the burning logs mingling with the hint of tobacco hanging in the wind put the Texan at ease.

The earthy smell of the foreign mans cigarette made him cough into his arm slightly though not as much as their intrepid fisherman "Hoo-wee, partner that's some strong stuff." he said half chuckling, half coughing, it smelled less artificial than what one would expect of modern cigarettes though that didn't make it any less potent "Bring that fish over here partner, smoked fish ain't made in tobacco smoke."

Clive, for what probably was the first time since he got to wherever this place was he grabbed the brim of his hat and removed it to waft the potent fumes from his face.

He had a chiseled face for the most part, with freckles covering his nose and cheeks. His emerald green eyes twinkled in the firelight slightly, winking at Adam as he motioned the man to take a seat with him on the log upwind from the smoke. His hair was almost a red hue, russet locks slicked back in a sort of mullet though it fell on his face as he removed his hat.

"You get to gutting them fish," he flashed the Druid a smile then gazed in the direction of the new lady, he hadn't spoken with her much but she seemed quite the character, he shook his head and laughed finding it mighty humorous that the lady was going out of her way to build a veritable house when they were just staying here one night.

"Anyone wanna tell the little lady or should we just let that girl make us a fancy cottage?" Clive snorted and nudged Adam slightly, something about his awkwardness struck him as needing a bit of cheering up anyway.