---

Alright, let's do this then.

Given the blessing of the raging vampire, he dashed to the side, following the twisting insect's body, blade's edge primed. Partly to get more surface area to work with, and partly not wanting to be in the direct path of the lady with the blood spear.

"Arsene, Cleave."

The mask was licked away again in blue flame, it was a bit counterproductive to have the Persona disappear only to summon it again... His blade gave a slight glint as Arsene manifested behind him. His arm followed the forceful motion, feeling his blade pierce the exoskeleton of the centipede, the blade flowing through with the slash as its ichor spilled like a fountain. The familiar sting as the motion stopped.

Don't stop the momentum now...

The boy's arm followed the blind thought as his blade was embedded in its body, used further as a foothold. He hoisted himself into the air, the knife drawn out as his free hand went to his face.

"Stop squirming, will you? Sukunda!"

Despite her own better judgement, Sanae had in fact chosen to see what sort of state Mokou was in—and was subsequently punished quite heavily for it mentally. Seeing an arm being mangled, scorched, and necrotizing all at once was hard to stomach, never mind the other injuries she had sustained.

Before she could even try calling out to the other woman about the situation, though, Sanae watched in shock as Mokou simply moved towards the centipede's still-flailing body and disappeared into a pillar of flame before promptly reappearing seconds later.

"H-how?! You-but that-how?!" was all that she could sputter out. Even if Gensokyo was a realm where residents treated common sense like it was their plaything, recovering from an injury like that near-instantaneously was on a different level of absurdity.

---

Though apparently undaunted by having one more enemy to face off, the centipede soon found the extent to which the two beings in front of it were a meaningful threat. Dealing with Remilia alone had been a drawn-out battle unto itself, but with Joker present—and his ability to cleave through it's carapace besides—the number of wounds it had was very rapidly growing in number.

All of this came to a head as the teenager cloaked in black swung up around it's body and used it at a footstool to reach it's head, at which point debilitating magicks were let loose upon it. Slowed and disoriented as it was now, dodging the Scarlet Devil's Gungnir was all but impossible.

A violent tremor shook the very air around them as the spear impaled the centipede's head dead-on, the force sending it flying backwards and crashing through multiple trees before finally pinning it's flailing body to the ground below.

@VitaVitaAR@EchoWolff@Izurich@Lugubrious@Raineh Daze

The look Mokou gave Sanae was one of near confusion. How what? Nothing she had done was particularly unusual, was it? Sure, using magical abilities for actual damage rather than playing by the rules wasn't allowed any more, but even a relative newcomer to Gensokyo ought to know that it was a polite agreement rather than an actual limitation. Everything else was just--

Ah, right. She'd been so used to everyone who actually came after her knowing about the immortality (or being so focused on fighting for other reasons) that it had completely slipped her mind that someone might not know. In hindsight, a flashy self-immolation to clean up some injury probably looked a lot worse than it was--

Okay, it looked exactly as bad as it was, that dull ache everywhere. Still vastly preferable to having her arm rot off entirely or being eaten by a centipede, of course.

"It's 'cause I'm immortal."

That should cover it.

Considering how wounded the gigantic arthropod was, the haemomantic javelin was more likely to hit than not, but it’s still just a possibility regardless, however, Joker's hex exponentially raised the odds, practically making the outcome a near-absolute certainty. What came next was but a glimpse of the Scarlet Devil's undiluted power, but it already possessed enough force to blast the creature through several - Lewa forgive her - trees and pinning it headfirst against the ground. It wouldn't be slithering again anytime soon... or ever really.

"Haa... haa..." Remilia was still in a post-javelin throwing stance after everything was over, but it didn't last much longer before she lost every bit of strength in her body as she unwittingly let gravity embrace her, her wings failing as the one-armed vampiress flopped unceremoniously into the forest grass, her once-furious eyes reduced to an empty half-open dull stare.

Her missing left arm and shoulder were no longer bleeding out, her healing factor - impaired as it was - could still accomplish that much, but whereas she could simply regrow a limb or two in a matter of seconds, now it'd take a few days at best, though that was assuming no external factors were involved. She could hasten the process by being provided sustenance; succulent, fresh blood, a lot of it, and though Sanae was the first “donor” coming to her mind, the arrival of the white-haired Hourai Immortal provided a more 'humane' way of going about it.

"..." But that was a matter for later as right as at this very moment, Lady Remilia wanted nothing else but some rest...

@PKMNB0Y @VitaVitaAR @EchoWolff

Anne nodded her head in agreement, though her expression was thoughtful. "I think you're right. A place as big and important as a capital city would be well-equipped to fight off invaders. If they're far from the frontier, they'd also have plenty of advance warning if anyone tried to march troops across their borders..." Admittedly, those rules only applied if the enemy lacked access to spacecraft and warp technology. It seemed a safe assumption to make, given the practically stone-age level of advancement she'd witnessed so far, but she couldn't rule out the Heralds or someone else having an alternative method on hand. Her thoughts strayed back to the strange necklace she'd received, and its as-yet unexplained tracking capabilities.

"Anyway, that's important information. Well done, Millie." After a moment's hesitation, Anne reached out to very gently pat the girl's head. "The lady in your dream was probably the same one who brought my friends and I here to protect you. So whatever that warning really means, I bet she meant for us to hear it."

If nothing else, it was a lead that she could share with the others once they returned. Now that she thought about it, the part about 'accidents' might also be the reason why new Strangers kept popping up even after the Heralds' attack. The incident at the church had pulled in an entire group at once and dropped them all in once location, but the seemingly random appearances following that seemed more like the aftershocks from an earthquake than anything intentional.

...Barring that trio of colorful girls who just so happened to know one another. This whole ordeal would be so much easier if only Anne had one or two true companions at her side... O goddess, hear my prayer: please bring Leo here so I can make him do all the inconvenient jobs.

@PKMNB0Y

While the fire cyclone looked like a promising start to the otherworlders' offense against the verminous behemoth, it would take more than that to put the centipede down. When its injuries drove it into a maddened rampage, others quickly renewed their efforts to finish the thing off. As much as Lewa wanted to charge into the fray, Lewa stopped himself when he realized that Remilia had not only taken a beating, but also had been knocked straight toward the hatchling centipedes. With their numbers thinned out and the much bigger threats in the spotlight, the fodder had mostly faded from the fighters' minds, but the danger they posed en masse to someone who couldn't fight back was very real. "Little one!" Lewa called, worried for his ally's safety for the first time.

Quickly, however, he realized that he needn't be so concerned. Driven over the edge by terror, the vampire went from refined little lady to bloodthirsty berserker, driving her lance through the segmented horrors with reckless abandon. Lewa balked from the sudden and frightening change in her demeanor. "Oh! Ah, nevermind." She probably needed no help from him against the small fry; better to assist against the main threat. When he turned his attention back to the oversized centipede, though, he found something even more off-putting. In that brief moment he'd looked away, the monstrosity had snapped up Mokou's whole arm! "Oh no!" Lewa went into overdrive, charging across the gunk-splattered clearing with his axe at the ready to cleave the creature in half.

Well before he arrived, the vile beast detonated, its head disappearing in a violent burst of flame. Bug slime sizzled and smoked, offensively malodorous to all but Lewa himself, as the chunks flew in all different directions. With the main offender down, it quickly became obvious that there were more where that came from--a situation that Youmu quickly attempted to rectify. Lewa moved to assist, his biomechanical strength a serious asset behind the weight of his heavy axeblade. In sharp contrast to Youmu's flashy, fanciful sword techniques, he attacked with practical simplicity, effective against his foes and predictable for his allies. It wasn't long, however, before the swordswoman turned a centipede's clash against it, seizing the chance to eliminate the monster in style with an incredibly impressive cleave. Such a thing didn't seem possible, let alone practical, but this world continued to defy Lewa's expectations.

The execution marked a turning point in the battle. Joker backed up Remilia against the final giant centipede, and together the two whittled the writhing horror down. Lewa tried to help where he could, but he mostly focused on not impeding the two, either with his large frame, huge swings, or buffeting winds. Fittingly enough, it was Remilia who dispatched it, punctuating her emphatic, theatrical proclamations with a climactic deathblow. The next second, the monster hurtled backward with stunning speed despite its size, crashing through the foliage in a swath of destruction. Stunned by the sight of the dramatic execution, Lewa barely even registered Mokou's spontaneous combustion and reconstitution. In the aftermath of the battle, the toa of air stood rather awkwardly among the crowd of little organics, humbled by everything he'd just witnessed. Considering some of the rahi he'd taken on across Mata Nui, he knew that size wasn't everything, but this episode really went to show that big things came in small packages.

After a few moments, Lewa cleared his throat. "Well fought, everyone. I'm relieved-glad to see everyone in one piece." He hovered around his allies, inspecting them as he tried to figure out who might be injured beneath all the grit and grime of battle. In particular he scrutinized Remilia, who might very well be affected more mentally than physically. "Is everyone healthy-fine?"

Rayne gave a sigh of relief once she’d helped the last of the farm hands get up and on their feet, wiping her brow clear of the sweat she’d built up flying around doing damage control for Fran’s reckless if ultimately, and one might say miraculously, effective cowgirl escapade. Not that it was over, of course, but none of the animals looked to be going anywhere in a hurry, all of them having been conked out just like the cows.

Rayne, naturally, set about helping out. It was while she was doing this, a chicken under each arm, that she happened to float by Fran and paused for a quiet word.

“So, um, I know things worked out, but they were a bit. Well. Chaotic, and I’d really appreciate a warning next time? An idea of the plan?” she asked, trying to be polite even though it really had to be said. The issue was that, well, it seemed that doing so would be tricky for Fran, so she decided that it’d be best to prove that issue, because at this point she was pretty sure it was going to be a permanent one “or as much as you can manage of one? I, um, hope this isn’t touching on a sore spot but the whole, not talking much thing. Can you explain what the deal with that is? Or does the deal stop you from explaining it well? I don’t suppose you can write, or draw or sign language or something to get around it?”

Rayne looked rather sheepish throughout all of this, aware that she could very well be coming off as rude or annoying, asking questions Fran had doubtless have had hundreds of times. Despite this she insisted on pressing forwards regardless because if they were going to be in situations more risky than just herding animals, she really wanted to know where they stood regarding communication.

@PKMNB0Y @DracoLunaris

“So, um, I know things worked out, but they were a bit. Well. Chaotic, and I’d really appreciate a warning next time? An idea of the plan?”

A cute pout appeared on Fran's face as she continued her cow wrangling, Rayne floating by her side as she walked with another cow on her shoulder. The berserker wasn't sure what the big deal was. The livestock were being rounded up, the farm was being repaired and, most importantly, no one got hurt...

.....Okay, several of the townsfolk's ears may have been shot and she should've practiced a bit more planning, but still...

"I, um, hope this isn’t touching on a sore spot but the whole, not talking much thing. Can you explain what the deal with that is? Or does the deal stop you from explaining it well? I don’t suppose you can write, or draw or sign language or something to get around it?”

The Servant's pace slowed to a halt at that question. She was wondering when the knight witch would bring it up. It was to be expected. No one here, local or summoned, knew what a Servant was, let alone a Berserker like her. Not to mention her father never bothered with her education and sign language wasn't even a thing back in the era of when her story was written.

"Mad...ness...", Fran answered honestly, tapping a finger to her head to emphasize. Tra...it...com...mon...to....Ber...ser....kers......Makes.....tal....king........hard..."

Fujiwara-no-Mokou's response to Sanae's inability to comprehend the situation did little to explain any of what had just transpired, but rather than try to press the girl any further for explanations, the shrine maiden chose the more reasonable course of action and simply... Accepted it for what it was.

This might not have been Gensokyo, but Mokou was still a resident of the place as far as she was concerned. In that case, it was best to simply abandon common sense and nod her head as if an explanation like that was perfectly reasonable. Let sleeping dogs lie, was they were.

"...Right, immortality. Well, uh... Just let us know if there's a problem, then," Sanae said, nodding her head towards the immortal-apparent before turning back towards the others to see how they were faring. Youmu and Lewa had cut through the ones flanking their sides well enough, and it seemed as if Remilia had rather unceremoniously fallen face-first into the dirt after executing the one she had found herself up against.

All in all, it wasn't a pretty victory, but it was still a victory. The fact that she felt like she hadn't done much didn't exactly sit well with her, though—it was likely that the others could have solved the centipede infestation without her presence, given how things had panned out—but surely she would have chances in the future to prove herself at least somewhat useful now.

"Uh... I'm fine," Sanae remarked in response to Lewa's question before going around to check on everyone else's condition as well. "...Really, I think Miss Scarlet over here is the only one who isn't looking all that great..."

With the situation more or less handled, though, it made sense for all of them to head back to town and relay what had just transpired here. At the very least, though, it was fairly likely that the boars that had been chased out of their habitat here would be able to return to their natural habitats soon enough.

Provided there weren't more, at least, but if that was the case then hopefully Lily or Saria could head out and deal with them if none of them wanted to go hunting. Heavens knew she wouldn't be of any help, at least.

---

Though taken aback momentarily by Anne patting her on the head, Millie soon found herself accepting the gesture as a small blush crossed her face. It was a nice feeling, being praised like this, but that came to an abrupt halt as a pair of familiar faces entered the lodge.

"Millie!"

Though Kendrick initially tried to stop Alvin from immediately running to his sister's side, the older man decided to instead stay his hand and let the boy loose. Given what had transpired over the last day, he had more than enough reason to run to her side and take the moment in.

"Alvin?" was the young girl's brief response before being half-grabbed into a hug courtesy of her older brother, almost as if Anne didn't exist. To that, Kendrick could only sigh and walk over to Anne's side as the two children began to talk to one another.

"For now, it's probably best to let them have this moment, huh?" he asked, not expecting any sort of answer when it was as obvious as this. "In that case, it's probably time for us to figure out what we're going to do from now on."

Between the arrival of the Heralds and their subsequent retreat, the fact that the two kids were orphaned, and the possibility of what might happen in the future, there were a lot of things to discuss anyways—never mind how much they might need to keep secret given how likely it was that the Heralds might come back for the children in the future.

---

Though the journey had been filled with a bit more chaos and destruction in it's own right, it was hard to argue with the results that had come about from the Berserker's haphazard plan. The animals were indeed back in their holding facilities, and though it would take a bit to restore what had been destroyed, it probably wouldn't be long until things were back to relative normalcy here. The crops... Were a bit of a different matter, but given what had transpired that forced the farmers to ask for help in the first place, the loss of a few weeks' worth of effort paled in comparison to their lived.

In giving their heartfelt thanks to Rayne (who had done her best at damage control the whole way through), though, the farmers made sure to supply the pair of girls with a few ingredients and foodstuff that had escaped the worst of the attack as gifts of appreciation for their efforts, along with a few coins. It might not have been much in the grand scheme of things, but hopefully that was payment enough for their efforts here.

---

---

By now, a few days had passed since the group had first arrived to the town of Aventon. The chaos brought about by the Heralds had by this point passed, and life had begun to move on. Though the scars of battle still remained—both upon the people and the town itself—the least that could be done now was to make sure that they could do what they could to recover. Whether that meant burying the dead or clearing away the rubble that impeded the roads, no effort was spared in trying to right what was so unjustly wronged.

It was then, though, that an odd stroke of luck came about from those heavy days—the arrival of a trade caravan from deeper into the country. Between the pelt of the earthmane boar and the carapaces of the now-retrieved giant centipedes, though, the town—and the group of otherworlders with them—had plenty to offer for trade to try and recover what had been lost.

Maybe it would be worthwhile to speak with the merchants here for some goods; else, maybe the mercenaries they had hired to help would make good conversation partners?

@VitaVitaAR@EchoWolff@Izurich@Lugubrious@Drifting Pollen@Raineh Daze@DracoLunaris@Rezod92

@PKMNB0Y @DracoLunaris @Izurich @Drifting Pollen @Lugubrious @EchoWolff @Raineh Daze @VitaVitaAR





In the following days after getting the farm back into shape, Fran quickly made herself known to the townsfolk as an effective helping hand, especially when it came to heavy lifting. With her strength and battle mace, any debris and rubble that obstructed the town's roads were cleared with little to no effort. She also became a frequent visitor of the town's flower shop, seen either helping around the shop, delivering flowers or just generally hanging around the area. Additionally, the days gave Fran time to meet with the others who were summoned here as well.

Sanae, Youmu, Remilia and Mokou were a peculiar bunch, all hailing from a place called "Gensokyo" and it was clear that three of them were not human.

Anne, a knight from the "Cosmic Century", was an odd one as well, what with an air of one who has been through too much with dull, tired eyes that have seen too much.

Lewa, from the world of "Mata Nui", was by far the one who stood out the most, being the tallest and robotic-looking. Fran assumed he was a completely mechanical being until he noted that he too had organic parts to him. It made him.....a bit similar to her, in a way.

Last but not least, there was Joker, who immediately knew who she was when she introduced herself, fully aware of the story of Frankenstein's monster. Despite knowing her origin, he didn't seem to know what a Servant was, despite him having a spirit of rebellion at his beck and call. Perhaps he came from a world that was the same yet different from hers? Possibly.

At any rate, while she still knew little of the world she now found herself in, Fran came to enjoy the peaceful days in Aventon.

Until, one day, a break in the routine came along. Merchants, along with their mercenaries as paid bodyguards, came to Aventon to do business.

"Hmm?, mumbled the berserker, seeing the caravan trickle in through the window of the flower shop. Curious, Fran walked to the door and stepped outside to see the buzz is about.

Considering how far Remilia had fallen from splendor, she'd have required multiple nights at least to fully regenerate her arm, an agonizingly arduous process compared to the literal seconds she could once accomplish. However, it didn't mean the Scarlet Devil couldn't do something to compensate as in the end, she was still a vampire and disregarding such things as pleasure and novelty, blood was the be all end all sustenance for her kin. Theoretically, if someone could provide her with enough blood, she could hasten her healing process to perhaps a few hours, but she'd require it in abundance, to the point where she'd actually endanger the life of whoever she chose to feed on.

Fortunately, a certain someone could shrug off the perils of death as if it was nothing but a slap on the wrist. Thus, due to the Hourai Immortal's... well, immortality, the Gensokyoan known as Fujiwara no Mokou became Remilia's chosen donor. Conveniently, aside from a half-hearted reluctance, the white-haired pyromancer didn't really care to stop the vampiress.

Let's just say what transpired that night at a secluded corner of the village was best kept between the two of them...

..........
.....
...

Thanks to Mokou's sanguineous sacrifice, Remilia could immediately return to being useful the very next day, helping around the village, mainly as a healer since she was the only one amongst Lavielle's 'Champions' who could do so most effectively. It was an honest, altruistic job that made the lilac-haired lady feel all kinds of warm emotions, the thanks and praises she received were certainly welcomed, twas' only fitting for her deeds to be recognized. The Scarlet Devil might be many things, but let it never be said that she was callous.

During this time, she got to know a curious new arrival, a taciturn salmon-haired girl called 'Fran', Fran as in Frankenstein's Monster from a literature work of the Outside World, though at this point, Remilia was confident that Fran didn't come from her universe's Outside World, neither did Joker. Really, anyone that wasn't her fellow Gensokyoans all hailed from different worlds. As for Fran herself, she was a part-flesh part-machine entity, similar to Lewa... except the other way around in terms of ratio; Fran had more organic parts, while Lewa possessed more mechanical parts, although her opinion should be taken with a grain of salt. Regardless, they all had the same predicament, one thrusted upon them by that pesky goddess.

Eventually, the trade caravan that the villagers had been anticipating finally arrived, allowing them to trade what they had harvested from the humongous boars and centipedes for much-needed supplies, materials, and rations.

For her part, Remilia casually strolled over to one of the wagons, driven by curiosity more than anything else. She'd roam her blood-red eyes over the merchant's goods, see if there was a trinket or two that'd strike her fancy, but if not, the very act of window shopping itself was quite enjoyable.

A brother and sister, reunited at last. No matter what else Anne had failed to save, she had at least helped accomplish this much.

The Knight wisely kept her mouth shut as the children fell into each other's arms, and took a step back to give them some space. The sight of their joy and relief warmed her heart, and even drew out a brief smile, though she knew better than to linger too long. By the time she turned away Anne's eyes had already become murky and unreadable, and a visible tremor shot through her left arm. She blinked hard and clutched at her left wrist, as though shrugging off the grasp of a ghost that had begun to possess her.

Even after all this time, her thoughts kept straying back to her own sister, who had loved her just as Alvin and Millie so deeply cared for one another. Of course, Pray was dead now, and every memory of their time together seemed tainted by the echoes of that loss. Rather than think on it, and let grief and regret bring her to her knees, the tired woman hardened her heart again and threw herself into a sober discussion with Kendrick.

She had plenty to share. Millie's dreams, the barriers between worlds, the warning about the capital. When the other Strangers returned from the forest Anne would tell them all as well, starting with Joker and Sanae. Those two were the ones she saw as being the most reliable and trustworthy, but she gave a general summary to Lewa and Rayne as well, along with the white-haired swordswoman Youmu. Mokou might be able to glean some details off her if she asked directly, but the Knight seemed to view Frankenstein with barely masked suspicion from the moment she laid eyes on the horned girl. She never acted on it or said anything openly, but always seemed to tense up when the Servant was in the vicinity, as though prepared to cut her down at a moment's notice.

The days passed, and Anne did what she could to assist. Watching over Millie, mainly, and doting on the girl where she could. Making sure Alvin was okay. She tried her hand at some of the manual labor, but proved clumsy and quick to tire, hardly any more useful than the ordinary villagers in that respect. Instead, she focused more on making use of her experience and going over battle plans with Kendrick, plotting out defensive tactics and evacuation routes in the event of a second attack. Her health seemed to be gradually improving as well, with the surface-level injuries from just before her summoning all but vanished now. Only the deeper issues remained, and so long as the peace held those weren't an immediate problem.

So, when the caravan arrived, the Knight was right there in the middle of the village along with just about everyone else in town. One eye kept watch over the children, who were doubtless caught up in the all the excitement surrounding the event as well, but things seemed safe enough for Anne to idly browse over the wares on display and look for anything that could be useful. Mainly she was searching for books or scrolls, anything that contained written information, as well as strange and out-of-place items that might have unique properties like that Herald necklace. In general, though, just glancing over what they had would give her a firmer idea of this nation's level of technology, and whether it really was all as rudimentary as what she'd come to know in Aventon.

“Madness? Berzerker? Oh my” Rayne replied while scratching her head. She supposed the latter explained the impulsiveness (maybe, it wasn’t something she’d encountered other than in stories after all), but calling a speech impediment a product of/type of madness just felt wrong to her. It wasn’t really her place to tell Fran she was wrong however, now was it. Either way, she realized she was being awkward mulling this over and stumbled into a response of “Thanks for explaining. That sounds, well, rough. If there’s anything I can do to help make things easier, just let me know”

There was an awkward moment after, at least on Ranye’s end, which fortunately for her was interrupted when one of the chickens she was carrying started to wake up, and then proceeded to freak out about being up in the air in unfamiliar hands.

“Oh no. Please calm down, I’ll get you to your pen right away!” she told it, before telling Fran “we’ll catch up later” and zooming off to deposit her clucking load.

Once that was all said and done, they were unexpected (for Rayne anyway, she’d have helped out either way) paid for their efforts. She might have turned that down, but her stomach would have none of it, and so she happily accepted some food, and then headed right back to town to cook the first proper meal she’d have had in this world. Guests and co-chefs were more than welcome.

---

The next few days saw Rayne doing all sorts of odd jobs, and putting more of her mundane farming and house making talents to use than her magic. Salvaging crops, re-sowing fields, cooking meals and so on. She also learned a bit about how magic was different here, finding her mana stores (very) slowly filling up over time, which did mean she could put a little bit of that to work. Felling an entire swath of trees in a single axe spinning spell and then using rundedge to split them into planks in-order to help provide rebuilding materials for example (and then for the sake of this world’s Gaia, making sure to plant replacements in their stead).

Either way, while working there was plenty of time to mull over what the somewhat standoffish Anne had told her about what the goddess had apparently said to Millie. Too much time maybe, given how thin on the ground that info was. At least the child seemed to be doing alright despite her wounds and divine possession.

The days of labor came to an end with the arrival of the merchant caravan, which Rayne was all too happy to check out along with the others. She herself was mostly interested in getting a set of clothes that weren't borrowed or, well, inherited from the dead. Going around wearing armor all the time was silly after all, not to mention uncomfortable, so getting something casual and comfortable that fit her pint sized proportions was a must. Hopefully there were non-human peoples in other places in this world that matched her halfing stature, ones that the merchants might have clothing intended for stashed away somewhere.

Other than that, gossip of all kinds was always of interest, particularly anything related to the capitol, seeing as the goddess that had brought them here being worried about something occurring there being their only lead.

Once the makeshift team's mad scramble against the monstrous centipedes finally came to an end, Lewa and the others could retrace their steps to Aventon with a spring in their step. Of course, Remilia's injury made it difficult to take pride in their victory with neither worry nor caveat, but they'd still successfully weeded out the root cause of the disturbance in the region, as far as any of them could tell. With the invasive arthropods exterminated, the forest and all its creatures could settle back into their usual rhythms. Now once more without challenge as the majestic rulers of the woodlands, the earthmane boars could spend their days peaceably rooting around through the underbrush, growing big and strong, their presence a strong deterrent against future marauders.

Despite his contribution to the team's accomplishment, however, Lewa did not find peace. Although he really did sympathize with the poor villagers and their plight, this mission had ultimately been little more than an altruistic way to pass the time while he waited to be sent back home. As the hours turned into days, however, the toa grew restless, eventually becoming distraught. Only six heroic guardians stood between Mata Nui and its enemies, after all, and even if the Bohrok Swarms didn't endanger Matoran all across the island, Le-wahi itself depended on its protector. Without Lewa, Le-koro and all its inhabitants were in grave danger. Even if his brothers and sister toa volunteered to pick up the slack, that meant more risk to their own lands, and travel would become a massive time-sink. Such a situation could not be allowed to stand; he needed to return from whence he came at all costs.

During the days that his fellow otherworlders spent in Aventon, Lewa ranged further and further afield, as if the lands beyond might reveal a way back home. He barely showed up in the village, returning from his expeditions for just an hour or two at a time (usually to check in with Millie and her caretaker Anne) before venturing off in a new direction. When the others did happen to catch a glimpse of him, they found him neither amicable nor cheerful. Instead he seemed desperate, beside himself with worry and helpless, frustrated energy. His final journey lasted almost thirty hours, and when he returned at last, the toa of air looked defeated.

Given how little time Lewa spent back at Aventon, it was rather lucky that he happened to be around when the merchant caravan arrived. The disturbance piqued his interest initially, but when he realized that the newcomers came to trade and nothing more, his curiosity dwindled. Still, he put off his next solitary departure for now. By this point, it seemed like whatever divine power that possessed Millie had forsaken her completely. Maybe giving up on her and joining the caravan to seek his abductor elsewhere would be the better option.

Having spent the last few days doing what she could in aftercare—which, in this case, really just meant 'praying for those who were healed but unconscious to recover'—Sanae had most certainly seen better days. For what little it was worth, being moved to one of the town's sole undamaged inns meant that she didn't have to sleep on the hardwood floor every night, and even that much gave her that much more energy to get through the day. It was no plush futon, but any improvement to her living situation was still greatly welcomed.

Beyond that, though, the Moriya shrine maiden had spent a majority of her time scouting out more of the region. Flight magic did not seem to be all that popular, which made her ability to fly around all the more valuable in keeping watch from the skies and looking around for anything that might be noteworthy enough to report on. It wasn't anything groundbreaking in the long run, but flying through the skies—even if it was for a less leisurely purpose than usual—was a good way to take her mind off of everything she had seen. She might not have been a child, but after having been so comfortable with the way that spellcard rules 'protected' them back in Gensokyo, seeing what actual battles could bring about—and what people were capable of—left her quite grateful for the world she had lived in before.

If only they could resolve this incident and go back home, though.

Those few days that followed both the routing of the centipedes and Raven Heralds alike did bring forth new revelations, though. Apparently, while the rest of them were out on their escapades in the nearby forest (or, in the case of Rayne and the newcomer, right outside the town walls), Anne had cared for the children that had been present when they had first arrived, and in so doing provided them with that most certainly felt like a prophetic dream of sorts to Sanae.

To her, it felt clear how to proceed—namely, to explore the capital and see what it was plaguing it—but that meant splitting their forces to travel in the first place. The issue of a possible Herald counterattack had been brought up as a possibility multiple times over the last few days whenever she happened to overhear Anne's discussion with Kendrick, but that only served to make her antsier.

What could she do? How could they proceed? If this was Gensokyo, it'd be a simple matter to simply charge ahead and beat up the enemies one by one...

But this wasn't Gensokyo, and the enemies here didn't abide by spellcard rules. Her own capabilities in battle paled in comparison to the others', but she still had to do something to help solve this incident.

With those thoughts in her head, Sanae continued to spend her time in the skies lost in her thoughts. Eventually, a stroke of luck would leave her to notice a trade caravan in the distance, and it was her word that would allow the town to be notified of the matter a day or so in advance.

Once the caravan had arrived proper, Sanae found herself among the group of otherworldly travelers perusing the goods that they had present. The young woman less interested in that, though, so much as she was in their next destination. Though she had grown fond of Aventon's residents, her intuition told her that simply staying at this town forever wouldn't bring them any closer to any answers.

The traders themselves seemed rather curious about the otherworlders, what with their somewhat out-of-place appearances compared to both the townsfolk and the others who they had seen. Natural curiosity only gave way to a willingness—or maybe even a bit of forwardness—to reach out and ask those present about why they were here in a frontier town to begin with.

The goods that the traders were willing to move, though, seemed to showcase a brief glimpse into the lives of those who lived in the country. There was food and cloth aplenty—perfect to help shore up what Aventon had lost in the attack—and it seemed apparent that the animal parts they had retrieved over the last few days were more than sufficient to act as materials for barter, but also simple clothing, spare weapons, and even other prepared animal—and monster—parts that seemed to have some use or another. On top of that, there did seem to be a small selection of trinkets and toys for children, and even a few tomes—tightly covered and kept away from the elements—for those few oddballs who wanted to learn more of the world from the comfort of their homes.

Unfortunately, magical goods seemed to be in short supply; if prompted as to why, the traders on hand would come up with a variety of reasons—the lack of expertise in magical goods on their behalf, a lack of skill to create them present within their contacts, a small market for them from traveling merchants like themselves...

It did seem as if there were stores for such things in larger locales, but a group like theirs? Far from it.

Eventually, though, Sanae did choose to reach out to greet one of the more important-looking merchants in the group—a middle-aged man with graying hair—and after a bit of small talk, brought up the question of where they were from and where they were headed to next.

"Mmm... Well, we left from the capital, Nieve, and circled around westward through a few towns before ending up here at Aventon," the merchant began, "but I think that our current route ends here. We're headed back to Nieve once we're done here, so please, do make the most of the time you have perusing our wares."

"Back to Nieve...?" Sanae parroted before glancing at the other people summoned from other worlds nearby. "...Do you think it'd be too much to ask if some of us could travel with you, then?"

"With us? Well, I think you'd have to pay a bit to join as a customer; we're not a traveling service, after a—"

"We can all take care of ourselves, I think," Sanae interjected, "In fact, I think we might be more capable than the guards in your employ right now."

A few of those same guards seemed to overhear the young woman speaking and snickered to themselves snidely at her (in their eyes, delusional) statement, and the merchant she was speaking to seemed to carry the same opinion. He, at least seemed to be holding it in a bit better.

"Well, miss, you might be a bit well-spoken, but I don't know if your words are sharp as a blade," he responded, a hearty chuckle slipping past his lips, "That big golem-like friend of yours I'd believe that from, but—and I say this with the utmost concern for your well-being—these people with me are quite amazing in their own right, and they're proud of it. Making light of them is only only going to cause problems for everyone, myself included."

@VitaVitaAR@EchoWolff@Izurich@Lugubrious@Drifting Pollen@Raineh Daze@DracoLunaris@Rezod92

After being used as a healing source--with some level of irritation, not that feeding the vampire really did much as long as she got to take the shirt off first to avoid staining it too much--Mokou had gone back to doing what she did best: aimlessly patrolling a forested area and avoiding all human contact. As a bonus, this forest wasn't one that needed a guide just for people to not hopelessly wander in circles, so she didn't even have to look out for townspeople.

On the flip side, this also meant dealing with a lot more aggressive animals. And oversized insects. Nothing quite as big as those ridiculous centipedes--although there was no way she'd let one of those get the better of her again--but it was definitely an unusual experience. It even took her back a bit, although she'd usually been the one starting fights in that case...

Like Sanae, she'd caught wind of the traders before they'd arrived--and after going back to the town to see what was up with that, had found out that the bits of dead body she'd been forgetting about her actually worth something? It wasn't like she was a professional hunter, so knowing that was a bit surprising. Instead, Mokou spent the day going back and gathering what she could. Not that there was much, between her methods being quite destructive, other animals, and not having kept track or travelled with much of a pattern in mind...

She'd been about to go back to the forest--she didn't have an interest in the negotiations, and whatever plan the others had about going to the capital would be easy enough to catch up with once they were actually travelling--but these guards...

"They think they're strong, then? Willin' to prove it?" Well, they probably weren't, but if they were, this could be exciting. And what better way to find out how strong the people of this world were really like, after all? Who knows, maybe someone around here might have some unusual way to kill her.

Of course, from the merchant's perspective "skinny girl with burnt sleeves" probably didn't seem all that intimidating. Even if she was oddly excited about this.

The trade goods were certainly neat, but aside from cultural ornaments and embellishments, nothing too out of the ordinary, perhaps except for the tomes. In the end, Remilia realized that as a purveyor of antique artifacts and someone who had arguably the best library - and librarian - in Gensokyo within her private property, she might not be the best appraiser. After all, meeting let alone surpassing her standards would be an achievement in itself. Then, if the items couldn't really provide her with anything beyond brief amusement, then perhaps the traders themselves could...

The vampiress arrived just as the Moriya Miko was proposing for the group to hitch a ride back to Nieve, the supposed capital of the sovereign nation that Aventon belonged to. Considering what Lavielle said through Millie last night as relayed by Anne to the party, their next destination should indeed be Nieve. It's my best course of action, unless Patchouli and the others have found a way to reverse the teleportation process that brought me here, but the fact they aren't here yet means they haven't so... They'd come when they're able, but she certainly wasn't going to wait around.

The ensuing exchange between the traders (including the guards), Sanae, and Mokou was certainly quite interesting. These folks seem to equate size with strength, then by that principle, the Scarlet Devil would be either the weakest or second weakest considering Rayne, which was a thought that amused her greatly... until she remembered that even if she decided to boast her might, knowing that her current self was but a tiny morsel compared to her true glory put a damper to the urge to indulge in a bit of showy arrogance. All things considered, some of these able-bodied men might very well be actually stronger than her, and insisting that she should be leagues mightier than she currently was would only serve to humiliate herself even further. Ugh... Furthermore, unlike that battle maniac Mokou, Remilia wasn't fond of challenging people purely for the joy of fighting, Reminds me too much of Meiling...

That aside, she still possessed something that only Sanae could inferiorly emulate. Clearing her throat for effect, Remilia casually hovered up to the merchant, then elegantly posed herself as if she was sitting on an invisible throne, crossing one leg over the other as she did, "Come now, ladies and gentlemen, are we so quick to resort to primitive gasconading?" The youkai chuckled, "Nevertheless, even if you insist on coming to blows to crudely prove who's the mightiest, fret not, for I am a healer. Whatever that may ail you: bruises, bleeds, burns, and all ailments of mundane or magical nature, my gifts shall ameliorate them... for a cost."

Remilia deliberately paused for effect, but then locked her narrowed eyes and smirking lips at the merchant, "However, I may be inclined to waive the fee in exchange for transport services for myself and my companions. Should you need proof, simply ask any of the good folks here and they shall inform you of my exploits~"

@PKMNB0Y





Fran was just surveying the various items, products and knickknacks the caravan had on display when her ears caught onto the conversation being had between Sanae and one of the more affluent merchants.

Well, we left from the capital, Nieve, and circled around westward through a few towns before ending up here at Aventon, but I think that our current route ends here. We're headed back to Nieve once we're done here, so please, do make the most of the time you have perusing our wares."

Back to Nieve...? Do you think it'd be too much to ask if some of us could travel with you, then?"

Fran had approached and stood beside the shrine priestess, her head in a curious tilt. Traveling? To the capital? The others were talking about the strange dreams that little girl was having when Anne was watching over her. Perhaps their ragtag group could find answers in Nieve? The berserker was willing to bet on that.

"With us? Well, I think you'd have to pay a bit to join as a customer; we're not a traveling service, after a—"

"We can all take care of ourselves, I think. In fact, I think we might be more capable than the guards in your employ right now."

Fran turned her head toward Sanae with an unseen raised eyebrow. What a bold statement to make, even when it was true.

The merchant, along with the guards that traveled with him, looked unimpressed by the show of bravado and said as much.

"Well, miss, you might be a bit well-spoken, but I don't know if your words are sharp as a blade. That big golem-like friend of yours I'd believe that from, but—and I say this with the utmost concern for your well-being—these people with me are quite amazing in their own right, and they're proud of it. Making light of them is only only going to cause problems for everyone, myself included."

The Servant took the time to give the guards a look. They did seem strong.....by human standards. Before Fran could make any more deductions, Mokou and Remilia had the conversation, the fiery immortal goading for a fight and vampire offer her healing powers should said fight be had. Either way, Fran wasn't worried, especially if things escalated to trading blows. After all...

Humans can't match a Servant.

---

He was late. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

The Phantom Theif had spent days proceeding the forest excursion helping the townsfolk wherever he could rebuild the village. Although he couldn't do much in terms of physical labor, he had Arsene help with that, but he did know how to make rope. He also experimented with various hinges with his tinkering, using his spare time to make new contraptions with the new materials he had access to, most of which were utterly useless. Without Mona's instructions, he had to start from square one... which didn't bother him much.

Come the time the merchant's convoy arrived, he was finishing up another one of his contraptions, a smoke bomb that he remembered making before in preparation for delving into Mementos, but substituting some things for the materials on hand. It was kind of hard to find things one would find at the store near Leblanc in a different world while in a town surrounded by forest. Drawn by a slight air of conflict, he drifted out from behind the hunter's lodge, walking toward the group of people, stretching out his back as he did so, just in time to hear Remilia offering up her hemomancy as a form of healing.

His tailcoat gently flowed in a light breeze that whistled past, his eyes giving a calculated glance toward the caravan members behind the mask. He didn't quite know what the slight tension in the air was, but he could tell that at least Mokou wanted to fight... It was like she was looking for things to give away her life to...

"So, whats going on here?"

His gloved hand drifted to his hip, where his knife was tucked away within his coat, shifting his weight to one side as the boy, not particularly trusting of the newcomers...

It still felt odd to hear terms like 'magical goods' brought up so casually in conversation, but Anne did her best to play along with the local superstitions. Unfortunately, the merchants didn't know much that could help her identify the contents of her 'gift box,' and she could only glean a little from their vague answers to her inquiries. At least she now knew that such items could be created with some degree of reliability, a tidbit that immediately filled up her mind with fresh questions and ideas. The moment she found someone more knowledgeable to ask about all this, she was going to drag them aside and either bribe or browbeat them into spilling every detail they knew, until she discovered a way to replicate the process herself.

In the meantime, she quietly set her professional curiosity aside and moved on to the rest of the items. A careful survey found no signs of advanced engineering, but the quantity of food available and the presence of luxuries such as toys indicated that this kingdom was doing pretty well for itself regardless. In fact, the rich variety in local fauna hinted at a thriving biosphere unlike any she'd seen before. The idea of a planet this lush, this peaceful, wholly untouched by the interstellar scourge of the Beasts—Anne could only describe such a place as paradise itself.

Why would humans ever wage war, living in a place like this? She cast her eyes back towards the freshly repaired village, caught for a moment between wonder and despair. None of them know. None of them understand just how lucky they are. Even the other strangers, plucked from faraway worlds, seemed to take this peace for granted, as though it were the natural state of things.

For Anne, it had been the ruined and broken village that felt most familiar. These mercenaries, too, who clung to their weapons and inflated martial pride. She wanted to ask about the books, maybe even barter for a couple of them, but her attention soon drifted back to the guards, and the escalating tensions surrounding them.

"Don't mind those girls too much. They like to joke around." With her hands in her coat pockets, the Knight ambled right up to the group of sellswords and addressed them directly. "But you've made me curious now: for your employer to speak of you so highly, you all must have quite the credentials." Maybe they were even strong enough to protect a certain village for a few weeks, while someone else took up their duties guarding the caravan. Already Anne could see the outline of a mutually beneficial exchange—but first she needed to verify that these soldiers of fortune were more than paper tigers.