James, Arthur, Fenna and Joji's united offensive was enough to occupy Aurok the Maneater. This fact in of itself was astounding considering that between the four of them were three weapons and a single small blinding spell, and their enemy was monster of tremendous strength and magic. But it was their teamwork and natural sense of timing that made them effective.

Aurok's fist broke the ground as it barely missed Fenna. Joji's quickness also got him in close as he dodged a swipe. James' blinding spell was enough to protect Fenna's falcon from being plucked out of the air as it headed north out of The Mazy Hillocks, taking the cube to safety. Arthur charged in, swinging his anchor up into a flash-freeze uppercut that broke through Aurok's magic resistance and wounded him. Joji and Fenna's combined attacks on the legs of the monster, was enough to pain Aurok and he began bucking and dancing, trying to kick the pesky adventurers with his mighty hooves.

With a stroke of misfortune for Arthur was grabbed in one massive hand, anchor and all, then launched like a baseball into the sloping cliffside, bouncing off the rocky wall and going over the top. Such damage would have killed any of the others, but the Reaver of the Deep survived, his large tattoo rusting over as Undaya's Gift resisted the deadly blow to save his life as it could once per day. But he was hurt and out of sight.

Continuing to buck, dance and prance, to minimize damage until it could see again, Aurok still suffered from the sword and enchanted spear of Fenna and Joji. But it would take much more than these regular, fairly weak weapons to do any significant damage to Aurok. It backed away from them, starting to recover it's sight and then swept another gigantic arm to grab another body..........

"I swear on god; if it is the last. Thing. I Fucking do...!" then he turned to face him proper. "...I'm going to cut your fucking head off!"

Fury. Vengeance. In their eyes. All over their face. Gone is their courage, for courage requires the presence of fear to exist. In place of it - fearless, reckless hate. They will gladly die if it means I die with them. Must be careful.

What a mess this has become.

"Come try," were Zigmund's words as he pointed his sword toward the duo.

The double-rush did not faze the assassin, nor did the speed of his opponents. Not the fluttering capes of blue and green as they attacked with all manner of movements. Not the combinations of high and low attacks from the varying angles.

All of this, Zigmund was more than a match for. For all the fury and skill of Zell and MacKensie, they were still lacking in the Source required to provide significant difficulty to the powerful elemental ninja. However, what tipped the balance in their favour was that a portion of Zigmund's concentration had to stay on Aurok the Man Eater; who was going crazy behind him.

Zigmund's sword parried Zell as he moved around, but everytime he pushed to stab the swordsman, MacKensie forced him to block her dagger attack. His head rocked to the side as a crossbow bolt pinged off his helmet, but he still managed to block a swordstrike, push Zell away with a foot and turn in time to meet MacKensie. He caught her daggerhand and raised the tip of his sword to the bridge of her nose. Before he could run her through, he was grabbed by Aurok the Man Eater, who he'd took his eye for one second and now paid the price.



Zigmund slashed the centaur arm with his sword, causing great damage, but Aurok kept a grip of him and disarmed the ninja with a smash from his other giant hand. Up into the air Zigmund was raised, and Aurok took a bite out of the elemental ninja. Zigmund roared in pain as his arm, right up to the shoulder, was in the mouth of Aurok, but his armour stopped the assassin from losing his limb completely.

Forced to use his most powerful attack, Zigmund, with his half-eaten arm, cast a giant explosion of Source, right in the throat of Aurok. It was loud, leaving all in the area with ringing in their ears. Zigmund was released and fell to the ground hard. He was hurt badly, and now he was out of energy. He put everything he had into that explosion. While everyone was reeling from the sound, Zigmund slipped away, climbed the cliffside and fled the battlefield, without his weapon, and almost without an arm.

It wouldn't take long to recharge to full health and power. Some water and rest would do the trick. Next time he would face them without spending half of his magic sprinting through night and day. Next time he'd be at full strength.

As for Aurok...

The Man Eater was a dreadful sight. Zigmund's explosion had left the giant centaur with it's lower jaw hanging off by a hinge, aswell as a massive, gory opening in it's lower throat and chest. It was a wonder that the monster was still standing. It staggered around as it looked at the adventurers, blaming them for it's injury seeing as Zigmund was nowhere to be found. It knew it was eventually going to die, so it began casting one final attack - Earth magic in one of the most destructive spells. Greater Tectonic Shift.

It was a spell that caused explosive growth of giant spikes to blast out of all earth in the surrounding area. It was a nasty spell at the best of times. But here, in the labyrinth of earth and rock that was The Mazy Hillocks? With no Greater Counter Spell or even Lesser Counter Spell to shave off some of the power? No Barrier or Physical Damage Resistance?

Death sentence.

The ground was rumbling and as the Source gathered toward Aurok, a green swirling fizz in the air started to form a ball in front of the centaur. And then just before the final trigger, Arthur appeared atop the cliffside, bellowing a war cry as he ran and jumped off the precipice, his anchor once again covering up with permafrost, up the chain and up his forearms. He sailed through the air and lashed his anchor attack at Aurok, who caught him with one hand. But the length of the anchor's chain was too much and the anchor blasted right into Aurok's injured chest, reaching it's heart and killing the Man Eater right where it stood.

The green energy orb disappeared and dispersed. The rumbling stopped. Arthur had saved them all. But he'd paid the ultimate price. For the razor sharp tail of Aurok had stabbed him through the heart in kind. Both the saviour and the monster had died in the same instant.

The anchor dropped and clattered on the ground as Aurok backed up a step and fell with Arthur into the blackness of the gorge.

Silence fell on The Mazy Hillocks. The battle was over. All that was left was for the battered and injured party to exit The Mazy Hillocks out north, and they would see the distant walls and towers of the city of Vahiem.

Funny how as the silence fell onto the battlefield, Zell immediately fell back into his old ways. He walked around, to each of his friends, as if they'd just finished a football match and earned a hard fought victory.

A soft pat on the cheek for Adam and a ruffle of the hair on the back of his head. "You okay? You sure?"

A respectful shake of the hand for Fenna, with a pat on the arm. "You were awesome out there, mate."

A headbutt of Joji's shoulder and a pat on the back. "We did it, big bro."

Massive hugs for James and MacKensie. "Fucking hell, James." ... "That was intense."

Something different for everyone, but all coming with the same deep look into their eyes, showing how happy he was to see them standing. Sports habits die hard.

When he knelt down beside Lillianna to see that she'd been given medical attention on the battlefield, he smiled at James and checked with the Cleric that her condition was stable. With that confirmed, he looked at Joji, who was keen on carrying Clive's body to a more suitable sight where the American farm man could be buried. Gesturing to Adam for him to carry Lillianna, "Will you do the honours, Adam?" Although chances were he didn't even need asking. The Druid was amongst the least injured and under that coat of his, Zell could tell that the kid was pretty jacked just by his shoulders alone. He was capable of doing the job.

Zell covered his mouth and coughed. A bit of blood spattered his hand and trickled down his chin but he wiped it away quickly. Yeah, he was pretty fucked up. Internal bleeding, no doubt. There was no way he was in any condition to carry the lightning mage even halfway to Valhiem. He was going to have a bit of trouble just getting himself there on his own two feet.

He noticed the crystal on his hand turn purple, but his mind had already turned to Clive and Arthur, so he ignored it and looked out onto the battlefield. Two days in. Two friends lost. This world was a dangerous place. Mourning shadowed his grim expression as he struggled but successfully repressed his emotions. He never had a chance to get to know his two front-line comrades well, but he would remember them fondly nonetheless. Seeing that black sword of the ninja lay on the floor was a suprise. No body, only the weapon. Zell went over. Hmmm, no sense in leaving this behind, he thought, audibly straining as he bent over to pick it up.

When everyone was ready, Zell looked to Adam, who still held the map and knew best how to get out of this hellhole.

...

Adam stayed true to his pledge to guide them from Hommas to Valhiem. With little knowledge of this new world, the Druid had performed with excellence. Everyone had chipped in and teamwork, trust and determination had played the biggest part - but it might have been all for nothing if they weren't lucky enough to have Adam in the group. Zell subconciously held his lower ribs, as if trying to soothe his bleeding organs. His breathing was a little staggered and it was a struggle to walk with his usual athletic grace. All he wanted right now was to flop into a comfy chair. The City of Valhiem was an impressive sight. It might have been a joyous occassion to see it and walk through it's gates, but the weight of loss was heavy indeed. The visual of Clive's last moments... Arthur's impaled body...

Zell, never shy, approached the sentry at the southern gate, walking right up to him.

"Hey, would you mind directing us to a hospital-" he choked and coughed suddenly, accidently specking the guards armour with a few dots of blood. "Sorry," he added quietly. "My friend needs a doctor. Preferrably of the magical kind."

The guard looked down at his armour and back at Zell as he rubbed the stain away. "Looks like you could do with one yourself, adventurer." Zell tilted his head in a silent concession. "Just up the street and make a turn..."

After getting directions and heading there, they got Lillianna seen to by the mages and doctors, offering whatever payment required to see her healed up. If it wasn't too expensive, then Zell would asked for a check-up too, although he wasn't about to waste his entire share of the silver if the price was too much.

What's a bit of blood coughed up every now and then, eh?

Adam was impressed that MacKensie was so willing to jump into action, but he'd be lying to himself if he didn't acknowledge that he was also concerned for her. Yeah, she didn't need him to protect her (and he probably couldn't anyway, considering how he felt he was), but he still cared. Joji and Fenna impressed him as well; the fact that the bird got the cube away from the enemy was one less thing to worry about. Maybe this whole situation could be salvaged!

More optimism arrived with James' healing of Lillianna. Yes, the mage was still in rough shape, but the Druid felt she could make it now. Was the cleric a doctor back on Earth? He was a remarkable person. Even so, the red-eyed man knew he had to stay alert. There were still two dangerous opponents out there and Arthur had just taken damage.

The scene that unfolded next, however, produced very different feelings for the Druid. The ninja's attacks against his teammates were concerning and the centaur was certainly dangerous. The massive source blast from Zigmund against the centaur would have certainly killed them all if it had been aimed at them and whatever the centaur was charging up was probably going to do that anyway. Arthur, though, sacrificed himself to save the group. It should have been me, Adam thought, he dies and all I can do is grow trees. Pathetic. The man was lost in his own thoughts of guilt and grief, barely noticing the crystal on his hand turn purple, when Zell inadvertently pulled his mind back to Mytheria with a soft pat on the cheek and a ruffle of the hair on the back of his head.

You okay? You sure?

The Druid was surprised Zell cared at all, really, considering how he felt responsible for the whole situation. But there wasn't time to dwell on that, only time to do the right thing and own up to his role in all of this. "I'm sorry that I led you all here to this awful place, and them to their deaths. If I could have died instead, I would." Saying this, Adam looked in Clive's direction, his voice and face full of sadness and regret. "You can do whatever you want to me; yell at me, kick me off the team, whatever. But only after we're safe in Valheim. Otherwise, their sacrifice will have been in vain."

After finishing his statement, the man magically pulled down some sturdy branches from the trees he made earlier and offered them as walking sticks to the members of the team that could use them. When he offered one to Zell, the swordsman asked the Druid to carry Lillianna, and he agreed. It would have been awkward to carry her, a map and a compass though. It did seem odd to the red-eyed man that nobody else wanted to navigate after what he just said, but there were a great deal of injuries here, so he supposed it made sense. It wasn't like he minded doing it, anyway.

In that spirit, Adam fashioned a sort of necklace out of wood using his magic, including little holders for his navigational tools so he could use them while lifting Lillianna. It might have looked odd, but helping the woman was more important than appearances. Then he picked her up, intending to carry her all the way to Valheim. The princess carry method he used might have implied a romantic relationship to someone who didn't know them, but really Adam just didn't want to put any more strain on the woman. She had already done enough and deserved to rest.

The rest of the Mazy Hillocks was as strange as the parts before it, but thankfully not as dangerous. Perhaps after their role in killing the centaur, whatever else lurked there thought the team was strong and stayed away. Or maybe the group just got lucky. Whatever the reason, Adam was grateful for the lack of combat. Once the maze was behind them, the vague appearance of the city of Valheim was in front of them, something else the Druid was grateful for. The path there was much less dangerous than the parts they had been on; after what they had gone through today, peaceful nature was just what the man needed. Not that he was in a peaceful state of mind; quite the opposite, really, but every little thing helped.

Once they arrived at Valheim in the late afternoon, Adam let Zell take the lead in guiding them to a hospital. Healing Lillianna was the first priority. The red-eyed man would follow whatever directions the hospital staff gave to ensure she was alright, then stay with the woman while she was healed. Whatever this cube did was certainly important and the Druid did want to ensure their mission was complete, but the safety of the group was more important.

@xenon

Joji Yamazaki

Joji looked quite happy that his attack had connected. A big smile appeared on his face as his sword sliced into the minotaur’s legs. Feeling some satisfaction that he would be able to get some form of payback. He hoped that he would be to kill this thing to avenge Clive. “Good job Fenna.” He kept with the attack, slashing at the legs of the beast as fast as he could. Looking scared that Arthur was killed when he was thrown against the cliffside. Going into another fit of rage, attacking the minotaur with all of his might.

Death was not uncommon in his profession, but it was not easy seeing people you knew and cared for being dead.

He was glad to have the others helping him fight the ninja and the minotaur. He was not sure if he would be able to hold his own against the two. Smiling to himself when he saw the ninja get his arm bitten off. “If you weren’t trying to kill us, I’d give ya high five.” He thought to himself. Watching the creature being gravely injured and readying up a magical attack. “Everyone watch out.” Joji yelled out while trying to get everyone to safety.

Once he had everyone at a safe distance, he failed to notice Arthur was running up toward Aurok. “Arthur!” He yelled out trying to run over towards him, but he stopped when he witnessed him killing the monster. “Good job.”He was pumping his arm but his celebration was shortened by seeing Arthur falling into the gorge. “Arthur!!!” He closed his eyes feeling the burning pain of losing another comrade.

Picking up Clive's body, He was going to give the farmer a proper burial. Looking at the crystal as it glowed. Joji felt strangely more potent than he did just a moment ago.

Joji followed behind Adam, carrying the body of Clive. Once they were out of the maze, Joji turned to face the group. “I will meet you all in the city, I have some business to attend to.” Letting MacKenzie follow him towards the high hill with a tree overseeing the large city, Joji started digging a grave for Clive. Used the shovel he had gotten from the platoon to dig said grave. He was making wooden crosses as markers for both their graves. Closing his eyes and saying a prayer that they may rest in peace. A small part of him feels anxious that he will find no peace even in death.

He turned towards Mackenzie, "Do you wanna say anything?" He said after stabbing the shovel into the ground.

MacKensie's fury did not vanish when Zigmund was ripped away from her by Aurok. She even tried to fire a shot at the assassin as he fled the scene. He killed Clive and now he was getting away! Her temper only flared further when she was forced to witness the heroic and tragic death of Arthur who might well have saved all of their lives with his sacrifice. Shock was her external emotion, masking the rage that was her internal. The two balanced out that she could make decisions and move, without being stunned and without flying off the handle. Balance, sure, but both very seperate and very opposite emotions very-much existed in fierce competition.

She ran to the edge of the gorge to see if she could see Arthur, but there was no sign. After that she counted her friends to make sure the rest of them were okay, then made a bee-line towards Lillianna to check on her, running into Zell along the way and returning his hug albeit shortly and sharply, without response. When she saw that the American girl was breathing and her injury was tended, she closed her eyes in quick prayer to thank god that they hadn't lost a third person in this battle.

"James, you are a miracle worker," she said. No warm tone. No smile. Just a matter-of-fact compliment.

She didn't properly reassure Adam that he wasn't to blame, only shook her head to deny the Druid his attempts to make it all his own fault. They had to get out of this place and fast. Maybe she could find a moment to speak with him later, maybe provide some comfort as Fenna had provided for her, but with two deaths on her mind and possible danger lurking behind every corner, she simply didn't have the strength to deal with the young man. Once everyone had gathered themselves, MacKensie went ahead to scout for danger, taking her cues from Adam who thankfully continued to navigate for them. It felt like time was of the essence, as MacKensie wasn't sure if Lillianna would make a full recovery without proper bed rest and consistent supervision. Apparently Valhiem wasn't too far now. Surely there was an infirmary in the city. MacKensie strafed around corners and grapplehooked her way up walls, her crossbow cocked. Her logical side prayed that she not find anymore enemies, but that angry part of her wanted an excuse to fight something.

Finding the edge of the horrible Mazy Hillocks was a sombre relief, and the Ranger returned to the group so that she could leave with them. She'd managed to escape with only a mild injury - far luckier than some of her friends - but the battle had left her emotionally drained and desperate for rest.

“I will meet you all in the city, I have some business to attend to.”

MacKensie understood. "I would like to come too, if that is okay," she said. Joji graciously obliged. Before she parted with the main group, she handed all one thousand silver over to one of the others, then gave Zell a stern look. "Make sure your injuries are looked at. I am serious, Zell."

Zell's coughing up blood had not gone unnoticed, even if he was trying to hide it. The man had exceeded all expectations with his actions since Hommas. He'd gathered information and come up with a battle formation, thrown himself into a sea of lightning to rescue Lillianna from further damage, and MacKensie was pretty sure the assassin would've killed her were it not for him. After the battle he made sure to touch base with everyone and make sure they were okay, trying to keep morale high. His strength of character was far greater than he allowed people to see.

She walked alongside Joji, up the hill, occasionally casting her gaze on the limp body of Clive in the Japanese giant's arms. So much death. Townsguards of Hommas. Clive. Arthur. Who was next? How many monsters waited in their future? Why were they here? What was the point of all this?

Together they made the gravesite and MacKensie joined her friend in prayer, closing her eyes and putting together her hands. When he offered her a chance to speak, she did so.

"Arthur, you saved our lives with your courage and sacrifice," she suddenly welled up with tears, but held herself together and her rage burned away the desire to cry. "Clive, you fought to the end. We will never forget you. May you find your way back to our world and be welcomed at the gates of heaven. Rest in peace, comrade."

They stayed there in silence for some time, in quiet contemplation and mourning. When Joji was ready, MacKensie reached up and squeezed his shoulder in comraderie and they headed down to the city together. The time spent made her feel slightly better. Sadness would remain but the rage was dying down.

Before they got to the city gates, MacKensie spoke. "The assassin got away. Did you see?" she asked as they walked. "I do not think it is the last we have seen of him."

To heal all wounds of the party would ordinarily cost around 800 silver and a couple of hours, judging by the current state of the party. Due to MacKensie being absent from the hospital, aswell as the expert nature of James' medical treatment and Fast Healing spell on Lillianna, the cost was 300 silver and one hour.

With a combination of medical research and knowledge, the current level of technology and magic related to those who bear The Gift of the Source Crystals, party healing at hospitals was a relatively simple and cheap affair. Each injured member would be laid on special beds, scanned with technological devices that linked with their crystals, and given special enchanted tonics.

James and Zell would be fully healed within 20 minutes. Lillianna would be as good as new in 1 hour.



From where they entered - The South West Entrance - The Heroes from the Sky would see, right by the hospital, the famed tavern and inn; The Mended Drum(See map No.5) - a place where they could rent rooms and rest while they were in Valhiem.

Their path to the Academy where they needed to deliver the cube, would require them to go through The Bazaar(See map No.10) - a loud commercial district where many of the city's shops and stalls were clustered. Past the Bazaar they would go north along the river and The Warehouse District, until they reach The Big Bridge.

Going across The Big Bridge, they would be looking right at the Citadel Mountain, where stood the governing district - The Town Hall, the Governer's House, the City Barracks and Fortress - all together known as The Citadel(See map No.1).

To get up the mountain would require following the road past The Adventurer's Guild(See Map No.3), where Commander Vadim of Hommas said there might be answers as to why the party had been dragged from their world.

Following the road around and up the mountain would eventually come to The Academy(See Map No.2) - Valhiem's prestigious campus for education, technological research and magical pusuits.

The hug from Zell was almost as unexpected as the fact that most of them were still alive and he was not ashamed to admit that he hugged the other man with maybe just a little bit more tightly than he was going for, Clive was dead and he felt the moment the blessing over Arthur shattered.

The battle was over but it was no time to mourn yet.

"James, you are a miracle worker,"

MacKenzie's words brought a sardonic grin to his face "Don't go saying that just yet, surgery often takes a while to see if it even worked"

"I'm sorry that I led you all here to this awful place, and them to their deaths. If I could have died instead, I would" Pause "You can do whatever you want to me; yell at me, kick me off the team, whatever. But only after we're safe in Valheim. Otherwise, their sacrifice will have been in vain."

He gave a half-hearted glare at the younger man "Don't say shit like that Adam, you think that asshole wouldn't have found us no matter what? It was only thanks to the bigger creature driving him off that we survived" Not that he would thank said creature, it killed Arthur so it could burn in hell for all that he cared. He continued with a more tired tone of voice "Don't take it wrong just, accept that shit would have hit the fan regardless, it is not your fault and neither is ours, it's theirs" Saying so he turned around. It wasn't like he was the one who ordered Arthur to attack the Aurok

All around him he watched as his party started preparing for the travel despite their injuries and he refrained from casting his healing spell on anyone else, chances were that something even worse happened during the trip and he didn't want to be caught without some sort of safety net in case a medical emergency popped up. He didn't want to cause another casualty "Get your mind out of the gutter" With careful steps he got back to his feet, Adam carrying Lilliana was the best option, he felt too much like shit to do it himself and everyone else seemed to be in equally rough shape so better let the one capable do the work, it also was assured that if something happened Adam could recreate his improvised fortified position and cover himself and Lilliana.

The brief glow on his palm distracted him from his thoughts, whatever the crystal on his hand was it was reacting to something and a brief inspection brought something new to the surface deep within himself. Two new blessing slots appeared on his mind next to Undaya's as well as a new spell sitting in his mental library, but for some reason they felt... incomplete, for a lack of a better word, as if multiple inputs blocked each other from entering and blocked the spell as a result. Whatever it was he dismissed it, he didn't have time to worry about things like these when they were already pressed for time.

Looking around one last time he caught sight of Arthur's tossed anchor so he approached with careful steps and bent to grab it, maybe he could prop it to make a makeshift headston-

The weapon was not sentient or sapient but whatever shenanigans were going around its natural enchantments and its relations to the blessing the result was the same, the moment he grabbed it a pulse rang through and an alien feeling invaded his whole body, it took him a moment before he could put into words into what feeling it was but once he did there was no mistaking it.

It was grief.

The weapon recognized that its wielder's life was cut short and wept for it knew that without his presence it could never accomplish its purpose, perhaps it was pity or sympathy that made him act that way but before he could even think he was already fixing the chain around his body. Once he made sure the chain was secured and the anchor rested on his back he utilized his knife and made a big hole, if he was taking his weapon then the least he could do was give him something to remember him by, in this case, his own staff.

When he was finished at least half of his staff was under the earth with the other half overlooking the cliff Arthur had fallen through, it was way less than a man like him deserved but it was the best he could give him, saying a prayer he bid him goodbye and retreated with the rest of the group to keep heading towards Valheim.

...

After Zell made contact with the guards Lily, Zell, and himself were quickly ushered to the hospital where they were told prices and their wounds were treated, a part of him wanted nothing more than head to the nearest hotel or inn or whatever they had around here, maybe after drinking enough to forget all that happened on the last few hours but his conscience wouldn't let him, they were being persecuted and they needed answers, commander Vadim had told them to go to the Guld and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until the matter was resolved.

Glancing at those with him in the hospital he decided to share his thoughts "We should wait for Lily to wake up and for the others to come before going to the Adventurers guild, they might be able to explain what the fuck is going on and it would be better if we all are there to hear it from the source." A pause "Plus, whoever is after it was willing to send assassins to get the cube so it would be better to get it out of our hands as soon as possible."

Fenna kept her spear ready and her eyes on the Centaur as it backed away when it suddenly grabbed the Ninja. She held her spear up, but didn't try to attack a second time. First she wanted to see how this would play out, and then maybe she could take advantage of a weak point. Watching their enemies battle each other made her realise one thing: the chances of them winning this fight against these formidable foes were slim, close to not-existing.

The ninja finished off the centaur with an explosion that made her cover her ears. When she looked up, she couldn't see the ninja any more. It was a relief to see the ninja kill the centaur, and a freighting sight at the same time. Their enemy had single-handedly slain those big wolfs and a centaur? Where was he know? She couldn't worry about it too long, as the Centaur staggered around and she had to make sure to stay out of its reach as long as it was alive. Then the ground rumbled as green energy collected into a ball.

Arthur came to their rescue and Fenna wanted to rejoice, but the cheer got stuck in her throat when she saw Arthur impaled. No... was all she could think when she saw the anchor clatter and their companion disappear in the gorge with their enemy.

First Clive, now Arthur... She stared at the place where Arthur had disappeared. It was Zell who pulled her back when he shook her hand and complimented her performance. She smiled and uttered a similar sentiment, but in her mind she doubted how awesome she had been. Two of their group had died already. This place was dangerous.

She watched James pick up the fallen anchor and turned to walk with the group to Valheim.

Halfway there the falcon returned and dropped the cube in her hand. It was a burden and she'd like nothing better to get rid of it in Valheim, but she'd carry this burden for now and put it in her bag. Lilliana had guarded it and almost died because of it, the ninja who was after it had killed Clive, who was now being carried by Joji for a proper burial. And Arthur... if it hadn't been for that Ninja, they could have all fought against the centaur togehter and maybe Arthur would have still been with them - they weren't even able to bury him. These thoughts occupied her mind as she walked in silence with the others towards the city.

At the gate Fenna paused for a moment, deciding with whom to go. Knowing she had the cube with her, she didn't want to linger outside the city too long, not with that ninja still alive, somewhere. Fenna entered the city with Adam, James and Zell, and Lilliana who was being carried. At first she barely registered anything of the city, she just followed the others as they went to the hospital. Her wounds were minimal. Sure, she was aching, but overall not in a bad condition.

Her falcon flew to the top of the hospital and preened her feathers as Fenna went inside with the others.

She looked up when James spoke and nodded in agreement. "We were so unprepared for this..." she muttered. "We lost two..." She choked on her words and needed a moment before she could continue. "It's best that we wait for everyone to be here and we'll get rid of the damned cube together."

Zell was sat on the hospital bed, looking around at the peculiar equipment with a look of apprehension. They'd gone from the medieval-looking, ye-olde-english peasant town of Hommas to... well... a medieval-looking, modern-tech city. Some of the machines sure seemed like computers but they looked strangely archaic.

"Will you lie down, please?" the doctor said for the second time. Speaking of strange, this doctor-woman had curled horns and red skin! Not to mention a fucking tail waggling around behind her!

"Sorry," Zell relented, lying down carefully. "Kinda new to this whole thing."

"Oh really?" the doctor replied conversationally as she did her work. "How long have you bore The Gift?"

"Two days."

"Wow. And you're in here already. Perhaps consider taking things a little slower, hm."

Zell's one-sided grin made an appearance. "Well, you know what they say: Go hard or go home," he told her. "And the latter isn't an option, right now, so..."

She gave him the tonic and let him sit up to drink it. After getting the vial back, she said, "I guess I'll be seeing you again soon then, hm."

Zell laughed and tilted his head in agreement. She left him lying there for twenty minutes as the tonic worked it's magic. He could feel himself repairing, his pain disappearing and his energy returning. It was fucking weird.

...

Zell went back into the waiting room where he found the others, dropped into a chair and let out a breath, then put his feet up on the table. Another doctor informed them that Lillianna would be with them in a half-hour or so, so it was just a matter of waiting it out. Hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling, Zell thought about Clive and Arthur. It pained him to know that if they could only have made it to Valhiem, no matter how injured, the two men would have been magically patched up and fine. Now they were gone forever - resurrection being not just close to impossible, but also illegal, as it happens.

He thought about what Adam had said after the battle. That they should yell at him or kick him out? Something like that. Just like a teenager to make it all about them, he thought tiredly. But then, He's got a good heart. He took a heavy responsibility on, right outta the gate, and handled it about as good as anyone could ask for, if not better. Can't be too hard on the kid.

"We should wait for Lily to wake up and for the others to come before going to the Adventurers guild, they might be able to explain what the fuck is going on and it would be better if we all are there to hear it from the source."

"Gotcha, bossman," Zell answered, still lounging back and staring at the ceiling.

"Plus, whoever is after it was willing to send assassins to get the cube so it would be better to get it out of our hands as soon as possible."

The swordsman put his feet down, about to get up and suggest that he go out and find out the locations of the Guild and the Academy, but Fenna changed his mind when she nodded in agreement. "We were so unprepared for this..." she muttered. "We lost two..." She choked on her words and needed a moment before she could continue. "It's best that we wait for everyone to be here and we'll get rid of the damned cube together."

He changed tack, deciding it would be best to heed her words and just stay together - Figure it out as they went. Togetherness was important right now, mentally and physically.

"We were unprepared. We fell out of the sky into this fucking place and that Vadim dude put us up to a task that we weren't strong enough for - didn't know enough about. Fact of the matter is; we should all be dead." It didn't sound very heartening, but it was true. "Anyone else in our position would be. Dead as roses are red." He looked at each of them - Fenna, James and Adam. "But we're not. Because we stuck together and we fought our asses off against god-damn fucking titans. We made it through hell because we've got one hell of a navigator who managed to get us through a maze with his hands tied behind his back and a blindfold on." He slapped Adam's knee. "I'm proud of us. The odds were stacked way against us and we somehow beat them."

Breaking out into a fucking soliloquy was hardly appropriate, right now. Best to let everyone quietly mourn. This wasn't just some stupid football match. This was life. But Zell didn't know how to handle such serious matters. He'd never been through anything remotely close to this. And so he dealt with it in his own way, meaning well, but perhaps not being mature enough to read the room.

"Arthur and Clive died bravely, with dignity, and may have saved countless lives - if this cube is as important enough for this Bitch Queen to be running scared tryna get it back." He leaned back into his chair. "I'm half-tempted to go win this war just so the anchor-man and the farmer can laugh their asses off in the afterlife. And fuck if I don't cut that ninja's head off, mark my words."

And he finally shut up. He had more to say but managed to stop himself. His right knee was bouncing as he tapped his heel on the floor. He made a fist and bit his knuckle. He was fucking fired up now. Back to full health and ready for revenge. Macho dumbass.

Classic Marsel Brooks.

"Don't say shit like that Adam, you think that asshole wouldn't have found us no matter what? It was only thanks to the bigger creature driving him off that we survived. Don't take it wrong just, accept that shit would have hit the fan regardless, it is not your fault and neither is ours, it's theirs"

James' words had been stuck in Adam's head, repeating on what felt like an endless loop throughout the hike to Valheim and even now as he waited for Lillianna to join the four of them in the waiting room. Waited patiently, he told himself, even as his eyes were glued to the door that the medical staff had taken her through. Was the Cleric right? No, the Druid didn't hunt down the members of his group, but he had led them into a death maze. The maze with the bigger creature that fought the ninja…that would have fought them in a city if the red-eyed man was smart enough to insist on following the roads instead of going into the woods…

On and on the man's thoughts went, debating with himself if he was guilty in this matter. Truthfully, Adam had only registered part of the conversation James and Fenna had, nodding when the bird master said they should wait for everyone to be together. The red-eyed man would have probably done that anyway, but it was good that everyone was on the same page.

It was only when Zell started giving his speech that Adam shook himself out of his self-imposed door vigil and fully paid attention to what he was saying. It was true, they had been unprepared. But the part about being a great navigator? That was something he was extremely skeptical of; however, nobody had shown any resentment towards him at all, and here the swordsman was being nice. Honestly, Zell's macho charisma thing was annoying much of the time, but right now it was just what the team's youngest member needed. He chuckled a bit, gave the teleporter a thumbs up, and added "well, we all do what we can."

Adam still doubted his future on the team, but if they still wanted him around, he would do the best he could to contribute. The Druid respectfully listened to anything that might have been directed his way after that, then resumed his watch, sincerely hoping no more members of their group would die today.

Everything was a blur, only for darkness to take hold over her vision and mind as the others picked her up and transported her finally to Valheim. Even James' words to her didn't really register to her unconcious mind, though his efforts did certainly help her insides stay inside and her outsides stay outside for that matter. Yet even then she had no way to know of Arthur and Clive's fates in her state, nor an understanding of whatever James alone could have detected about her when he had tended to her. She also didn't know whether MacKensie was safe, or if Fenna or her bird were still in one piece. Not even knowledge of whatever it was standing over her, or the cyborg water ninja's fate, coould have been gleaned. Not even a single word of Zell's grand speech could be heard. In the end, neither did her mind register the soft warmth of Adam's arms as he picked her up and carried her along with the others, her breathing somewhat unstable as her flesh and blood tried to stay alive as best as it could...

...though along the way she certainly wasn't wholly silent at least.

'Un..cle..."

A little mumbling in her sleep. Did she think she was still trying to stay awake? Well that was certainly-

'Ta..cos..."

Eh? No wait that was a little drool cooming from the corner of her mouth. Was she dreaming about food, or home?

Then her body curled up a little in Adam's arms as a small whimper escaped her lips, the dreaming seeming to shift visibly as her unconscious countenance changed sharply. But what could be causing it? What could it be?

...

...

...

...

Darkness. Pure oblivion sitting before her with its neverending maw stretched open wide for her, sitting there under her like she was standing on some invisible platform that could crack and give way under her feet at any moment.

Had anything or anyone heard her? Maybe. Or perhaps it didn't care to say anything back to her. Maybe only James could tell if there was anything there, for all she knew, but in the end it didn't matter.

...She didn't even know if the others were still alive, or if she was either.

Heh. It was so strange, but part of her almost didn't care to know. What was the point? She'd died already, and now she was dying or already dead once again. Below her was the eternity of oblivion, or perhaps something else she hadn't a clue about, and...well it was all so fleeting.

Life, that is. Like a short blip on the radar of eternity. If you blinked, you'd miss it.

And what had she done with that life? Wasted it being drug around by people who didn't bother asking her what she wanted to be? To become? Then barely scraping into a point where she had the reins, ohnly to just die in the middle of a pretty normal day, out of the blue, like it was nothing. It was...haha! Hahahahaha! It was LAUGHABLE at best!

Then what had she done after waking up soulnapped into some other magical world? Nothing of use. She'd panicked in a stone coffin that felt like it had fallen from the sky or something, which apaprently had been the case, and missed the blasted first battle. She'd made a shelter by overthinking everything from the start, and then fondled a MAGICAL UNDEAD CONTROL CORE MADE BY A CRAZY NECROMANCER that had given her nightmares and a sense of some potent magical power far away in the end. After that? Not talk to anyone really.

Heck, she hadn't even bothered to talk to the others by the fire. Hadn't joined MacKensie on the watch. Hadn't done a single thing to talk to anyone but a small bit to Adam, or even Fenna. Hadn't even so much as engaged more with Clive or Arthur or Zell, beyond some kind of unspoken first impression, though in hindsight she could remember that one random answer she'd made to Cliuve's attempt to comment on her shelter. Not even time to...well, she was certainly alone still in other ways to boot. Had she even seen anyone that she'd, ah, well thought was nice-looking? Maybe. Ah...but what were the chances she'd get the chance to say anything? Get to know anyone like that well enough, or know if they'd like her in return?

Ha. Maybe she was secretly forty after spending time dead back home for a while, and had been kidnapped to another world to become a wizard as her reward for the milestone! Oh that'd be priceless.

On top of that, the group had all taken her at her word seemingly outright despite being strangers! Did these people have no common sense?! Did they not worry about someone willing to lie to them or the like?!?! They were in some foreign, dangerous place with all of this crap that had been going on! Who just decided to take everything at face value like that? Idiots. Loveable, kind, honest, and goo, yet still idiots for that all the same.

Ah.

Then she'd barely did anything but carry the stupid little trinket into the Mazy Hillocks, cast a couple spells, and then decided to turn herself into human barbecue to suicidally spite a random evil cyborg water ninja who had impaled her through the torso with a water sword. A. Cyborg. Magical. Ninja. With. Water Powers. And. A. Water. Sword. Just how absurd could it all get? Certainly the magical world was something, but part of her just wanted to laugh at it and cry at the same time too.

...So why wasn't the floor giving out under her yet? If she was dying, it was sure taking a long time to do so. She could only mock herself and the universe so much in a pitiful, last-moment-of-life rant for so long before she ran out of material here or went insane from the tension of it all.

Because in the end, she still didn't want to die. She didn't want to die alone. She didn't want to spend an eternity isolated and at an insurmountable distance from everything and everyone else.

What had 'genius' gotten her? Praises and accolades from deans and officials and teachers alike? Divorcing parents and siblings torn apart from each other? Loads of college debt and scholarships for things she hadn't even chosen to go into or do? Thrown into the home of an uncle who didn't deserve to deal with the mess of housing her disrupting the life he'd made for himself? Brought on shopping trips with a woman and her two daughters who were nice to her, even though she didn't deserve any of it?

She was the pathetic one, really, in the end of it all. Yet here she was, in the middle of all of this and thrown into something she had no idea about before dying again. Albeit dying on her own terms this time, if she had to find the silver lining to it all.

...

...

...

...Wait. What was that light suddenly rushing up from the abyss towar-?!

---

"The patient hasn't woken up yet...should we call the healers back in?"

"We used the water diffusion spell to administer the perscribed potions to her system, and waited the appropriate amount of time for her body to heal. We did find markers of her brief contact with soome kind of dark magic, but nothing lingering like a curse or other such affliction stemming from it. By all means, her system is clean.

So I would chock it up to her state of deep sleep. A nightmare if her sleeping expression is of any indication, even after the application of the body relaxing charm spell to stop her tossing and turning in the seat."

"You seem to know quite a lot about these things."

"Well I've been working here for some time now, and this is your first day on the job after all. You can't expect to know everything from the start, but I'd say use these cases as a learning experience.

Plus the healers are currently having to deal with that Platinum-ranked adventuring party in surgery, according to the latest Message spell sent to us. Worst case we can call in the nursing staff to assist, as they would be specialized in helping wake the patient if she was lingering under a sedation spell, but we can't interrupt a whole party being operated on in the operating theater either. Not a batch of cases that severe. They need all hands on deck for that one for sure."

"Gotcha... So we just keep waiting for the patient to wake for the time being, then?"

"Presicely. If she does not wake in about, tch, fifteen more minutes? And still has no abnormal readings or otherwise? Then we should grab some assistance for-

Ah! Speaking of our sleeping friend here, the patient seems to be waking u-"

---

From the waiting area where Zell, Adam, James, and Fenna were sitting, a voice and two distinct sounds would be audible somewhere down the main hall as they could be heard even as far as the waiting area. They were certainly the sort of sounds that were enough to get a few staff members seemingly concerned and rushing down the hall toward the room that Lillianna was being cared for in, but which at the same time were sounds that would perhaps not be entirely alien to the ears of the other group members either. In fact, there was the potential for those who could hear potentially having a sort of deja vu if they remember a certain someone waking up back in-



Wait, why was Lillianna suddenly shouting that loud and-



...Ooooooh no.

The door to the mage's room, down the main hall from where the waiting area was, would suddenly open up as a pair of medical assistants stumbled out and into the hall. One of them was a man with blue skin and horns on his head, with the other being a slightly taller man with pointed ears and a more slender build, though both seemed to be coughing a little bit as the other staff moved them to the side of the hall and others entered the room itself. Their clothes seemed to be clean and intact, though, and the former of the two men would raise a hand before speaking as he was inspected over.

"Patient is awake and fine...woke in a panic and...cast a spell suddenly on waking up. Room is going to....*cough*...repair itself and be fine...just send the janitors....*wheeze*...in."

The man with pointed ears would then butt in right after.

"I put out the fire...*cough*...all by myself...asshole..."

The blue skinned man glared back, and the slender taller man back at him in turn, before staff around the two men quickly separated them before they could come to potential blows. One even seemed to start lecturing them, visibly at least, though kept her voice down when doing so apparently to avoid everyone being able to hear her.

Then finally, sheepishly, and with a face that looked utterly mortified and panicked at whatever she'd done, Lillianna would slowly emerge from the room. With her would be a short, stout woman with short fiery red hair in a couple of braids, who was escorting her gently by one hand. This was all as the mage otherwise clutched her odd staff tightly to her body with her other free hand, with said free hand's knuckles were admittedly turning a bit white from how tight she held it to boot. Even so, the stout woman seemed to talk to her where the others couldn't hear as she led her along, walking her along to where the rest of the party was before letting out a small sigh.

"Yer' friend's goin' ta' be fine, got er' potions in ahn' ah' checked her out fore' bringing her over here jus' ta' make sure. Tha' assistants at' were in er' room takin' care of her'll be fine as well. Room'll even repair isself' ahn' everythin' too, so no worries bout' the damages. We're well prepared fer' this sorta' thin' ere'."

The stout nurse's face then seemed to rapidly change, going from 'professional' to 'shit-eating grin a big as it could be' before a hearty laugh erupted from her throat. A definite 180 from what she had come over seeming like. She even gave the twin-element mage a joyful slap on the mid-back, causing Lillianna to jump a bit in the direction of her group members before the nurse continued speaking with a now joyful somewhat glee-filled tone.

"Relax, lass, yer' fine like ah' told yeh' back there! An' personally speakin', ah' needed ta' see all o' that ta'day! Hahaha!!! Ah...whew! Kay'. Ta'day's been ah' rough one fer' sure, lads' n' lasses', think ah' few of us needed somethin' like at' ta' snap us outta' tha' sour mood and get us' thinkin' bout' thing gain'.

Ahn' if this one's any indicashun', be sure ta' send any more friends of yer's ere' if they need help too. "

As she seemed to calm back down, though, the nurse put a hand to her chest and then adopted a softer and once more 'professional' type look. Her gaze then turned to Lillianna once more as she smiled back at her calmly.

"But truly, dunna' worry any bout' tha' damage though. Ah' meant that seriously. Even our clothin' ere's got some magic ta' protect us, buildin' too, so no worries bout' that stuff. Take yer' time, lass, ahn' dunna' forget ta' take tha' time ta' breathe, ok? Come back any time ya' and yer' friends need ta', darlin', ahn' if anyone ever tries ta' judge yeh' ere' jus' ask fer' ol' Head Nurse Kreim'ild ere' and ah'll set em' all straight!"

The mage would slowly, even if still a little nervously (but not as much now) nod back silently in return. With that, and a small wave, the stout woman would leave Lillianna with the group and walk back down the hall. A few staff walking down the hall would move to avoid her path, though others would simply walk by her like it was normal business. It certainly was telling if she was the actual "Head Nurse" of the place, though, especially as she seemed to move directly toward where Lillianna's two former in-room caretakers were still being held apart from each other by their peers.

...Perhaps it was best to not spy in on that business at this point.

Whatever the case would be for the staff down there, in the meantime the white-haired girl would look back over at her party-mates and silently look over their faces. Their hands. Their postures. The anchor now sitting on James' back and the absence of his staff. Without a word her expression seemed to drop into that of a more acute worry and concern, among other emotions that seemed to be swirling within her just behind that expression, and yet she seemed to be unable to get a single word to come out in the heat of the moment as her mouth opened and then silently shut again. Both of her hands now clutches at her staff tightly and with slightly white knuckles, though after a few more moments of awkward silence on her part the mage would take a gulp and open her mouth once more in an attempt to say something while looking at each of the faces of the group members there in the eye.

"...I'm happy to see you...so....so happy to see you all are still alive."

Her voice would slightly crack audibly as she spoke, all as small tear would very visibly run out from the far corner of her right eye. The year would begin slowly starting to fall down her cheek as it left a slightly glistening trail behind it. Like a small crack in the dam she had thrown up, which was threatening to burst even more so at any given moment as she struggled more visibly to hold it all back.

In reality, she felt like she was barely holding it back by a thread at best. Like she was afraid any more, or a hug, or something and she'd burst open with all of the tears and the sobbing and all of it. Tears she'd been trying to hold back for some time for a beloved uncle and a home now long lost to her, and new ones she'd be shedding along the way for people who had apparently risked their lives for and now carried her to a hospital in what she'd assume was Valheim...as well other tears shed to boot for the lost. The anchor strapped to James by its chains was more than telling of something having happened to Arthur, and the lack of the presence of Clive and MacKensie and Joji was something that she worried meant the worst had happened to...t-to them too. And on top of all of that she'd-...she had...after all of that and...she'd almost died. Alone. Alone and left sitting in the darkness once more.

She was trying to be strong...so much...for so long thus far...it...and it was at least more visible to the remaining members of the group. She struggled to even put words or further actions to it though...to allow herself to let it all go in this instance. Her, someone who had held herself and all her life been held by others to 'be strong' and 'restrain herself' and all of that crap. And here she was, not far from bursting at the seams.

Adam continued to keep his eyes on the door, as if doing so would make Lillianna go through them faster, safe and sound. One thing released him from his gaze though; the loud declaration of a mage casting.



The man practically jumped out of his seat in a panic, looking around in alarm to see just what the heck was going on. But seeing the staff remain calm had something kind of close to that effect on him also; they had healed Zell without any shenanigans, so he could trust them to do the same for Lillianna. For now. The remaining doubts in his head would go away as well upon seeing the woman arrive along with a shorter one who explained what was happening with an accent. And what a relief it was to see the white-haired girl safe and sound. The contrast between the lady who he had carried in his arms not that long ago and the one in front of him now was apparent and obvious. Now the Druid was visibly calm with an actual smile on his face as he listened. Upon the nurse's departure, the mage spoke a single sentence with a tear going down her cheek.

"...I'm happy to see you...so....so happy to see you all are still alive."

Well, she couldn't be blamed for that. The battle was a tough time for everyone, and if Zell's speech was any indication, there was a very slight chance that the red-eyed man had overreacted with his own little declaration to everyone after the fight. And he didn't even cast a lightning bolt on himself like she did. That seemed like a good place to start.

Rising again from where he was sitting at a normal speed to talk to Lillianna at eye level, Adam spoke sincerely to her. "You were so brave back there, taking the ninja on like that. And I'm so happy to see you're okay. Do you want some water again? …Or maybe a hug? Whatever you want." Since he didn't know her very well, he offered the second thing somewhat more hesitantly for fear of it being taken the wrong way, but the slight embarrassment was nothing compared to his desire to want her to be completely okay. The Druid knew she had been through a lot and did not want to get that cube delivered until he was sure she was alright.

"Shit she looks like she wants to cry"

Not that he couldn't understand the why of such reaction, hell he would be on the same boat if he wasn't so, fucking, TIRED! and annoyed, couldn't forget about that. Still, tears were not something any of them needed right now, they... well they weren't in the best of positions right now, so that only left his favorite tactic.

Distract.

Distract until the problem became too big to ignore, luckily Adam had provided just the thing.

"If we are going to have a group hug I want you all to know, my safeword is Chayanne, nothing worse than saying your dad's name in the middle of it"

Ha

He stood up from the wall he was resting on and rolled his shoulder, damn the anchor was heavy "Full seriousness though, nice to see you walking around Lily, I knew a cray- a genious wizard like you would't kick the bucket by something like that" A lie, he knew exactly how bad were her chances had they not found the hospital on time "So, let me get you up to speed, we are in Valhaim right now and we are waiting for Mac and Joji to join us to head to the Adventurer's Guild to get rid of the Cube of Doom, they are not here because they" The idea of laying briefly crossed his mind but he dismissed it, she would learn about it sooner or later, better take the bandage off now when they were safe "...They went to give a proper burial to Clive, he and Arthur didn't make it"

And now he made the mood worse, great!

Better turn it around, making his voice clear so all the members of his party could hear it he started speaking again "Don't mope though, they died protecting others and they wouldn't want us to stop because of it, better to respect their wishes and keep going forward" Not his best speech but neither the worse, what else could he speak about to take their minds out of the deaths?

Ah!

Focusing once more he felt deep within himself for the new growths that had appeared in his mental library,mmh?, it appeared that his spell slots had grown by three rather than one, though they felt weaker than the other two spells he originally had, what was more attention grabbing however was the shinning new Blessings he could felt inside himself "Also, I don't know if anyone else noticed but after the fight my crystal shone purple for a moment and I think I can cast more spells and another two blessings" He paused for a moment to consider, then his face scrunched off into a grimace "One of them feels weird though"

Like opening an apple and finding a tomato.

"What about y'all? Did you also gain something?" A sudden memory came unbidden to his mind and he could help but whirl and face directly to the resident swordman "You! Since when can you teleport Zell!? What the fuck man? I showed you mine so why didn't you show me yours?"

He made subtle eye contact with Zell, if he could trust anyone to share the same last two braincells as him it was this guy, "Let them focus on the antics, don't let them think about other things"

Crossing his arms in front of his chest he glared "Well? what can you say in your defense?"

Valhiem was busy and beautiful. It felt good to finally be in civilization again. MacKensie walked at Joji's side down the pavestone street that they had been directed down by the city guards, giving a horse and cart a wide berth as it went the opposite way to the southwestern gate from which they'd just come. The cart-driver gave them a polite nod as he passed and MacKensie returned the courtesy. The frenchwoman look around as she went, spying the big mountain in the backdrop that dominated the city. Even from here, the massive spikes and statues of the Citadel's architecture could be observed. This place was like something out of a fairytale.

"Joji," MacKensie alerted the swordsman next to her and pointed up at the roof of a large building. Her sharp eyes had spotted Fenna's falcon looking right back at them. This must have been the hospital. Joji said he'd come by later, so the Ranger nodded and bid him goodbye for now. The falcon had proved so intelligent since it joined their party that MacKensie figured it must recognize them, so she waved as she approached the hospital. It spread it's wings in reply, causing the Ranger to giggle - her first bit of joy since the battle. Brief and fleeting mirth, but much-needed.

Inside, she spoke to the receptionist and were shown to the waiting room where everyone was already gathered together, MacKensie just catching the end of what James was saying to Zell. She opened her mouth to say, Hello... H-, but when she saw Lillianna, her words caught in her throat. She was alive and perfectly well - finally some goodness in all this mess! Marching forward, her eyes alight with joy, she squeezed past everyone else and threw her arms around the white-haired wizard. "Lillianna, thank god you're okay."

Death comes in threes, she'd heard her grandmother say before. Not today. She let go of Lillianna, only to take the wizard's face in her hands, smile and then hug her again. "Don't scare us like that again, okay?"

After the moment was over, MacKensie stepped back, under her relief was the awkward feeling of realising she'd interrupted whatever the conversation was before she'd steam-rolled in. She provided the worst antidote to the situation by continuing to talk. "Apologies for my interruption, is everyone well?" she checked, looking around at the others. "And you?" she added, looking at Zell, giving him a nod when he confirmed.

She stepped back further out of the center of the room, to allow them to continue to talk, giving another smile as she looked at Lillianna. Nine had become seven. But they were together, safe and sound. MacKensie vowed to herself that she wouldn't let anyone else die. Not a promise she could keep, but one she would die trying to uphold.

She (more politely this time) waited for an opening to mention what the city guards had told her. "The Academy is on the large mountain in the center of the city. We must cross the Big Bridge in the northern quadrant to get there. Apparently there is an Adventurer Guildhouse in that area too."

Fenna jumped up and unsheathed her dagger when she heard the mage cast a spell. As the hospital staff explained she was fine, Fenna let out a sigh and put her dagger away again. For a moment she had thought that ninja had returned. She was as relieved as the others to see Lilliana up and walking again but stayed behind a little as first Adam and then James spoke to her, she didn't want to crowd the poor girl.

It wasn't until James mentioned the cube that Fenna added she had it with her. She didn't offer it back to Lilliana, as she wasn't sure if the mage would want the item back which had almost led to her demise, but she would return it if Lilliana asked for it.

James seemed eager to change the subject and brought up the crystals. She recalled the light from the crystal in her hand and it definitely had done something, although she hadn't taken a moment of self-reflection yet to pinpoint what exactly had changed. She could have, but her mind had lingered on the battle and the two they had lost during most of the journey to the city, and she had kept herself busy by making sure there were no further surprises before reaching the city.

She mostly just listened to James questioning Zell about his teleportation - a neat feat, but she hadn't seen Zell do it as her attention had been on the other opponent at the time.

When first MacKensie and later Joji entered she flashed a smile and nodded a greeting to both. It looked like their group was complete - it stung knowing their complete had gone down by two - and thankfully MacKensie knew where they could get rid of their Cube of Doom as James had named it.
"When everyone is ready we'll check it out," she said to her fellow Ranger. "I don't think we have any more business here, unless either of you needs healing."

@xenon

Joji Yamazaki

“Of course miss, it would be nice to have some company.” Joji was a little surprised that the others did not want to participate in burying their comrade. But never the less he was glad to have someone with him. After he had buried Clive, he closed his eyes silently saying a prayer for his fallen comrade. Clenching his fist feeling the rage building up inside of him, he was going kill that ninja even if he died in the process. “I promise Clive I will avenge you.” Joji unclenched his fist before taking a deep breath.

“Thank you for coming with me Miss, we should probably go back to meet up with the others.” Joji followed behind MacKensie making sure they both arrived at the city safely. Speaking up when they were close to the gate, “I did, and he wouldn’t escape next time.” He said in a slightly growly voice, still showing he was still angry. Said to Mackensie he would meet her in the guild, he just need to make a few purchases. Heading towards the local tailor, He was in need of some new clothing. But he worried getting some new duds would be very expensive.

Opening the door he looked around the room, feeling a familiar sensation of getting his first suit in his youth. A memory of being escorted by his mentor to get himself fit for a suit. He remembered being extremely nervous, but his mentor assured him he would be fine being a gangster.

From the corner of his eye, he could see an older short woman walking out of a side room. “Hello, do you need help looking for anything?” She smiled walking closer towards Joji.

“Yes, I am actually looking for a custom design. It would be a little different than the fashion around here. Let me draw what I’m thinking, I assume you can do custom tailoring?” He asked walking over towards the counter. “Do you got a pencil and paper?”

“A pencil? I can give you a quill and paper, give me a moment young man.” She said walking away, but not before giving Joji a side look. Joji ignored this and waited patiently for the woman to return.

“Here you go.” She handed Joji a quill, an ink pot, and a piece of paper. Joji thanked her and drew up the suit design. Imagining the suit to be exactly the same one he wore when he was alive. The woman was nodding but looked confused by the design Joji was drawing.

“An interesting design, but I think I could sew this in three days. A day for an additional price. One hundred silver to be completed in three days, and one hundred to be done in twenty-four hours.” She said setting out her price for such a unique design.

“Well, perhaps you would be able to complete the design in twenty-four hours for say fifty silver?” Joji was using his bartering skills to bring down the price.

The older woman looked up at Joji shaking her head, “Perhaps I could make sow your outfit for ninety silver.”

Joji knew he could lower the price a little bit more. But he would have to be careful dealing with this woman. “I can do sixty silver, and I’ll even let you measure me personally.” Joji said hoping that would be an acceptable amount.

The older woman thought for a moment, With a big smile on her face she nodded her head. “Deal.” She held out her hand for Joji to shake his hand. Letting her measure his body, ignoring the overjoyed look on the woman's face while doing so. Leaving the drawing of his suit, along with sixty silver for the payment of her suit.

“It was a pleasure doing business with you.” He said to which the woman respond by winking at him.

He felt the woman was trying to flirt with him, but he didn’t help things with his own innuendos. But never the less he felt he got a good deal. Heading towards the adventurer’s guild to meet up with the others. Finally arrived after walking back a few moments later. “Sorry for the wait, did I miss anything?” He asked feeling he missed something important.

Zell was ready to charge through the hospital until the staff made it clear that random yelling of 'lightning bolt!' - and other signals of attack - were pretty part'n'parcel when it came to healing adventurers. In the end, he simply grinned. "She's back, ladies and gentlemen."

They didn't have to wait long for Lillianna to appear. Zell smiled and bowed his head slightly in leui of a greeting. After chuckling at Adam's awkward but endearing offer of water and a hug, James dispelled the cringe by making a joke and Zell laughed outright. Overall it was a lovely moment, and the twin-element wizard was also full of emotion.

"Glad to have you back with us, Lily pad." Zell leaned over and gave the tearful wizard a pat on the back with a little rub for good measure.

As James went on to catch her up on the current state of affairs, Zell folded his arms and listened, throwing in a, "Hear hear," of agreement when the Cleric spoke on the valiant deaths of Clive and Arthur. The conversation went on to the purple light that had briefly shone from their Source crystals - something Zell himself had noticed but not thought much about. Somehow this talk turned into an attack on him.

"You! Since when can you teleport Zell!? What the fuck man? I showed you mine so why didn't you show me yours?"

"Ha," Zell grinned at James for the sexual joke. He wasn't sure what exactly what the hell was being said here, but he knew a sex joke when he heard one. Good one, James. Zell stared at James for a second before his expression changed upon realising that; it seemed from the man's face that James wanted Zell to play along and discuss their new powers.

"Well? what can you say in your defense?"

"Well I just..." then it dawned on him. Teleport!? "What WHAT!?!?!?"

At that moment, MacKensie burst into the room and made straight for Lillianna, all the while Zell was digging into his memory banks for what James was talking about. And he knew just where to find it. That moment when it felt like he'd lose MacKensie to that fucking tin can. He was too far away. He couldn't have made it, he simply wasn't fast enough. But he did make it.

"Holy shit," he whispered quietly to himself, the realisation too powerful to keep the thought from spilling onto his lips. His eyes went left, then right, as he tried to make sense of it. MacKensie asked him if he was okay and he mutely nodded. Whatever happened next, Zell was completely preoccupied with his own thoughts, quite happy that he did indeed have a magic power of his own (and a fucking cool one too,) but completely mystified as to how the hell it worked.

Joji soon joined them, and with new information from MacKensie about where the Academy was, Fenna made a call to leave and go finally complete their mission and get rid of this cube that had been the cause of so much grief.

...

The group's path took them through a huge marketplace. All the while down the road, Zell had been trying to activate his Teleport.

Squinting.

Blinking.

Grunting.

Pointing.

"TELEPORT!" Shouting.

Nothing was working. "Come the fuck on," he whined as they passed a bunch of stalls and shops.

Merchants were shouting their wares, people were bidding and otherwise in hearty conversation, creating a boisterious atmosphere reminiscent of market-streets in London. It would've been a nice feeling of familiarity had Zell not been sulking about his so-called Teleportation power that he couldn't get to work. By the time they made it through the big market district, Zell had given up, and they were passing warehouses.

"Do me a favour," Zell asked Adam as he steered over to walk beside him. "Could you jump in that in that river over there and start drowning?" He held his hands up in defence to any reaction. "Don't worry, I'll save you... I think... I just need a little motivation." Then a hand went to his chin as looked up in thought. "Actually, I don't swim particularly well. Never mind." He shook his exasperatedly and changed his plan to simply asking the Druid for advice. "You've got powers, bro... how do you activate them? Is there anything you say or do, in particular, to make it happen?"

The Big Bridge MacKensie had described was in the distance. It looked like their directions were holding true.

Rising again from where he was sitting at a normal speed to talk to Lillianna at eye level, Adam spoke sincerely to her. "You were so brave back there, taking the ninja on like that. And I'm so happy to see you're okay. Do you want some water again? …Or maybe a hug? Whatever you want."

She...she didn't know how to respond to that one really. Not that she knew how to frankly respond to any of this. Lillianna felt her tear ducts about to burst, and yet at the same time the red-eyed Druid's words ending on such an awkward note almost made her want to laugh-cry at the same time. Did that even make sense? Maybe. She appreciated the sentiment at the very least, the edges of her mouth ever so slightly curling up on either side in response to Adam's words. However, even then she still tried to hold herself in restraint, visibly so, her staff still clutched tightly in her hands and whitening knuckles.

Her mouth still refused to form proper words, perhaps even a bit afraid to make physical contact at the moment, but in lieu of that she seemed to be-

"If we are going to have a group hug I want you all to know, my safeword is Chayanne, nothing worse than saying your dad's name in the middle of it"

He stood up from the wall he was resting on and rolled his shoulder, damn the anchor was heavy "Full seriousness though, nice to see you walking around Lily, I knew a cray- a genious wizard like you would't kick the bucket by something like that" A lie, he knew exactly how bad were her chances had they not found the hospital on time "So, let me get you up to speed, we are in Valhaim right now and we are waiting for Mac and Joji to join us to head to the Adventurer's Guild to get rid of the Cube of Doom, they are not here because they" The idea of laying briefly crossed his mind but he dismissed it, she would learn about it sooner or later, better take the bandage off now when they were safe "...They went to give a proper burial to Clive, he and Arthur didn't make it"

...Ah. Her vision would turn to James as the other man spoke, seeminmgly scrambling for words himself in the heat of the moment. As much as he was trying to distract her and perhaps the others for a moment, it was not hard to tell that much, the news he gave did cause the corners of the mage's mouth to turn back down once more. She'd been afraid that-...so it was just Arthur and Clive, then? She'd had a guess in her mind at seeing the anchor strapped to the cleric's back, but hadn't had a way to know for sure really. Not until someone told her something, really, and it wasn't that she wasn't glad for that.

No, she was glad someone had told her. She could feel the cracks in her facade beginning to grow at it all, her attempt at self-restraint wavering even closer to the point of no return, and yet at the same time she felt grateful for at least knowing. The pecuiliar farmer and the odd other man, both gone to the dangers of a new world and the violence they had managed to survive back there. Somehow. And yet here they were in the aftermath. Survivors, still alive and living.

Part of her felt somewhat...'guilty' about it all, really. Felt guilty about still being here when the other two were not, still holding onto her own second chance at life with a clinginess as tight as her hands were gripping her staff. Did she even deserve this? To still be around, and not having passed away into the pit of oblivion that had seemed like it was sitting just below her? It was seemingly chance and magic and the others who had managed to get her to what was seemingly on first glance a proper medical facility in this new world, like a vast swath of sheer dumb luck keeping her alive through this point. More importantly...

...was this how her Uncle or others might be feeling back home? Even if just a bit?

Here she was feeling sorrow over the deaths of others who had fought alongside her, but family was certainly a bond that was far deeper than even that. She'd learned that much from her Uncle, perhaps for the first time in a long time at that. The one who who had shown her nothing short of unconditional love from day one of meeting him and living at his home, all without the fuss and education and mess thrown into the mix like before.

A couple more tears would run down her face, then, even as the last two living members of the group entered the hospital.

"H-", but when she saw Lillianna, her words caught in her throat. She was alive and perfectly well - finally some goodness in all this mess! Marching forward, her eyes alight with joy, she squeezed past everyone else and threw her arms around the white-haired wizard. "Lillianna, thank god you're okay."

Death comes in threes, she'd heard her grandmother say before. Not today. She let go of Lillianna, only to take the wizard's face in her hands, smile and then hug her again. "Don't scare us like that again, okay?"

And then the Frenchwoman threw her arms around her, regardless of her posture or stance, seemingly on first instinct and without hesitation.



Thse all were not sounds that anyone could hear, in the room or otherwise, but within herself the mage could hear and feel them. The final blow to the mental dam in her mind had been made. It was like pulling the trigger of a firearm to start a race, even, or opening the gates of a flooded city long left abandoned and mired in the deeps contained within its walls. Or...something. She couldn't think of it all right now. Or think in general now. Yet whatever the case was, the tidal wave that had been contained for so long had finally been loosed in its entierty by this one action.

MacKensie thought she'd get the chance to step back, but this ultimately would not be the case. Instead the white-haired Lillianna instinctively threw her arms back around the other woman and pulled her in tight in turn. No more thinking. No more pondering. Just burying her face in MacKensie's left shoulder and holding onto her tightly, as if either of them could disappear again, as she began to ugly sob as hard as she could into the warmth of another human being. The hot tears were pouring out like a deluge coming down upon the world, like a dammed river that had just been unleashed downstream, overwhelming everything else in its path and wiping it out of her thoughts and mind. It was nothing short of raw emotion, burning, searing, painfully hot and yet flowing freely from her without any more restraints or attempts to hold it back.

Not this time.

Lillianna cried, and she cried hard. Cried for a family that she had many fond memories of and still loved, but which had broken apart around her without being able to do anything about it as she'd been pushed to the limit and beyond along the way. Cried for a future long sought, even fought for, by her...only to be lost on the wind of change as it had all been cut off brutally yet simply at the head. Cried for someone who had become like her second family, even after it had all fallen apart and she'd been left sitting in the very basement of despair, offering her a hand and that stupid relaxed 'beach bum' smile he'd always had on his face. Cried for the pain of separation, from the fear of dying alone and being left sitting in the darkness by herself once again, for the fear of the others around her dying, for all the feelings of loneliness she'd tried to push back since her arrival, and for the lives lost so quickly and horribly in the little time they'd been stuck in thisd crazy and dangerous world they'd all been pulled into.

She'd even cry for the sake of crying, should it help in the end, but even so her heart couldn't help but let it all go like the disaster she felt like right now.

Her staff even fell to the ground with a sudden and unceremonious 'clack' amid all of this, though with all else shut out in the heat of the moment the twin element mage didn't even so much as notice it.

MacKensie made her exit from the infirmary wiping her eyes. She hadn't expected Lillianna's outpour but when MacKensie had tried to break away and her friend held on to cry on her shoulder, MacKensie couldn't help but cry a little herself. All she could do was whisper that; it was going to be okay, but the frenchwoman had a feeling (no, she was certain) that Lillianna's tears was not just because she almost died. It wasn't even just for Arthur and Clive. It was all the above, plus all she had lost in her last life. It was everything, all rolled into the fact that the quiet, shy white-haired young woman had needed a good hug and a good cry. Just like MacKensie had the day before. And the Ranger was glad she could give her that.

As they walked, MacKensie was in equal parts confused and amused at Zell's antics.

"TELEPORT!"

She had no idea Zell could do such a thing (if he actually could - seems as though he was failing pretty hard, at the moment,) but it was quite funny that the man, now they were out of mortal danger, had gone from being so impressive to her, back to being a blockhead. He was quite the character. She wondered about the second sword in his possession - the sword of the assassin. She had a feeling it was quite powerful, wether it be through magic or expert crafting, the black, curved sword had a certain shine to it.

"Joji, did you manage to find what you were looking for, from the Bazaar?" she asked as they entered the commercial district.

She wasn't sure how much of her share of the money was left, but she was also eager to at least do a bit of window-shopping, when time permitted. Shopping was one of MacKensie Trydant's favourite pasttimes. Even on the rare occassions when she had no money, much of her spare time with friends was devoted to looking around Paris' finest shopping malls. She wanted to speak to Fenna, but the Bazaar was so busy and loud that she simply stayed by the other Ranger's side and observed her surroundings until they were through the area and heading north for the Big Bridge. Once the road was quieter, she spoke her friend next to her.

"Fenna, did you feel that... back in the Mazy Hillocks, after the battle?" a cryptic question but she wasn't sure how to explain herself. She was hoping the older woman would understand as a Ranger who seemed quite in-touch with nature. "Like, ummm... the natural life energy of those creatures who died. Hanging in the air, then maybe being - absorbed? - by us?"

It sounded ridiculous. MacKensie wasn't even sure if she'd not remembered it wrong, as she was so angry at the time and focused on more pressing matters. But one thing she was certain of was that she could now do things that she wasn't aware of before.

"I think I am stronger than before," she let Fenna know. She held out her right hand, not to show off her manicured nails, but to present some evidence. By the strength of her will, she halfway triggered her new Deadly Flurry ability and subtle blue flames of Source danced up and down her fingers. "Magically."

She made a fist and the Source magic disappeared, then she waited on Fenna's reply.