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THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Fenna continued her walk through the city. The atmosphere had definitely changed now that the big day was getting closer and closer. The continued siege outside made the people within the walls restless. They started having doubts about being able to defend themselves. According to the guards on the walls, the army outside was huge. There were whispers that some people had quietly left the city - had anyone actually seen Ambassador Malcolm Crane lately? - which did not help morale. Where Fenna went she also heard whispers about how blessed the people of Valheim felt with adventurers in the city, they would surely make a difference, but the lack of the highest tier of parties was another reason for concern. Sure, Second Change had defeated Aurok, but there weren't any parties above the gold rank in the city.

"I don't know if there's anything we can do to make them feel better," Fenna sighed. She knew Sil couldn't really answer her, but she enjoyed talking to her nonetheless.
She reached for a herbalist, asking for directions along the way, and once she found the building with a nettle on a wooden sigh she went inside.
"Sorry ma'am," the woman behind the counter said as soon as she saw Fenna. "We do not have any healing supplies left. Everything has been taken to the hospital and will be distributed over the healers for the big fight."
"I'm not here for healing herbs. I was wondering what you have in stock that will itch."
"Itch?"
"Preferably in powder in small cloth bags," Fenna continued.
The woman looked from Fenna to Sil and back to Fenna. "All right, I think I know what you're getting at. You be fighting in the battle, right? Yeah, yeah, I can do that. Leave that to me ma'am. No charge."

With that out of the way, Fenna went back in the city. She found herself near the spa and looked at the entrance. She had mixed feelings about that place now. The absolute pampering with MacKensie on one side, and the business with the hooded figures afterwards. Again she checked the area but there weren't any of them around.
"I think they stopped following us," she said to Sil, who made a sound that could be taken as agreeing.
To think there was this big ball of energy down there. As she thought back to it, she realised something. She could feel it, from here. The feeling was faint, but it was there.
"Okay, I'm going to get a drink now," she decided and turned her back om the building.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Fenna watched her fighters battle an invisible enemy and to her untrained eyes, it looked good. How well would it go when the enemy was here? What more could she do to prepare? She turned to look at Sil, who sat nearby. The bird of prey had proven to be a good asset in battle, she had fearlessly attacked their foes so far.
"Can you set up some dummies?" she asked her appointed second in command. "Where the enemy will likely be when we fight."
The sergeant nodded and together with some other Falcons he set up some targets. "Practicing bow'n'arrow?" he asked.
"No, we'll practice Sil dropping things on them. Help me find some rubish, broken stone and logs the others don't need. lets how big and heavy we can go."

Fenna was fairly sure Sil wasn't an ordinary falcon, the way she had fought and how she reacted at times, there was an obvious intelligence. And, more importantly, a connection. Sil understood her better than any other falcon would, she understood her feelings. That's what Sil reacted to mostly. She came when Fenna was lonely, and that was just one of the many occasions Sil had shown understanding of what happened and what Fenna needed.

Using words while doing actions, Fenna tried to teach Sil three words: "pick up", "drop", "go". The last time she had send Sil on a mission she had used her words and formed mental images, and that had been enough to make Sil understand she had to deliver that message to Lucy. So that's what Fenna did again, while also using physical gestures. It didn't take long for the falcon to understand the three orders and would pick up what Fenna pointed at and dropped it at what she pointed at or visualized.
The Falcons cheered when Sil carried out the orders succesfully.

"You are a very special bird," Fenna said when Sil joined her, smiling at the falcon. "I'm so glad you joined me." She stroke the feathers. "Thank you for being with me." Sil gently touched her cheek with her head.

Fenna turned to the sergeant. "Can you wrap things up here? I need to go on errands."
"Of course, ma'am."
"I have an idea," she said to Sil as she walked away. "We're going to find a herbalist. And after that we shall find Zell for a drink and lament about the beer not being Heineken." Sil spread her wings and made an enthusiastic noise. "He's good company," Fenna agreed. "But they're all good people and we should try to help them as well as we can." She paused. "Maybe we'll start by not going near Wellsprings for the duration of our stay here. I've had enough of hooded people and powerful energies hidden in caves."
As she said that she realized she hadn't seen them again so far. Had they stopped stalking her, or they had gotten better at it? Although the last one was unlikely, whoever the robed people were, they were not good at staying unnoticed.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

The whole group was together, meeting another from Earth. When she showed what her item could do, Fenna was astonished at first, but it soon made her think about all the items everyone had received and how well they fit with the class they had. Magic has brought them here, but it didn't seem random. Had the people casting the magic known what kind of people they needed, or had the magic picked up on their needs and made the choice for them? There was a lot she didn't know, but for now it wasn't the most pressing of matters. They had a battle ahead of them and that's what she had to focus on.

Now that they sat together Fenna realised it had been a while since they had last done that. They had all been busy with their appointed tasks, some leaving early in the morning and others returning late in the evening. She too hadn't spent much time just sitting here with the others. She saluted Zell when he tapped her drink and there was some small talk with those sitting at her table.
When Barracker talked to her she turned to him. She laughed when he talked about Tyron making a skateboard. Whatever would happen to her, she had introduced something from home here and that was a nice thought. "I will visit Mother Anne soon," Fenna promised. She definitely wanted to see the skateboard Tyson had made and how he was doing with it.

When people were leaving - James and Alison to the guild, Barracker to retrieve some books and take them away, Adam and Clive outside and MacKensie upstairs - Fenna remained seated for a moment to think about what she would do. Just like that, the moment they were all together was over and she needed to do something. She did need to check up on her soldiers. With some delegation she didn't need to oversee them as much as before, but it was still good to be present for most of the day when they were active. They also loved seeing their mascot Sil.

"Back to work I guess," she said to Zell, the only one remaining at the bar.

Fenna went outside and Sil soon joined her. She first went to the training grounds; after some intense training at the beginning, nowadays they had two moments they would all gather and do a couple of training exercises and she would relay the latest information if she had any, before everyone went on their way for their individual tasks. Those who were below average with their weapon handling would do extra training sessions, others helped with building the defences of the city, especially around the area they would be stationed at.

The Falcons cheered when Sil soared over their heads and Fenna congratulated them all on their progress and in few words encouraged them to keep it up and that she had faith in every single one of them. Soon they would have to show their worth in actual battle. How many would survive? She looked at the faces before her. Some were willing, some were ready, most were afraid of what was to come. The best she could offer them was to keep them busy. It worked well for her to not think too much of home.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Oh, I love history. But the reason I came here to post is to let you all know I'll be away from home from October 26th until November 10th.
I will bring a laptop and I will try to keep an eye on the posting deadline, but if I miss it this will be the reason.

Nobody Will Believe It [SporkoBug and Calle]

Marc squinted at the mention Dia was one of the spirits in Ray's body. He had read in the file that Ray believed she had multiple spirits with her, but to have someone claim she was one of those... Or was it code language for something?
Either way, her last comment made him think. Malpractice, it wouldn't be the first time in history outcasts who wouldn't be believed anyway were used for questionable experiments. He didn't want it to be true, but it did sound it like a possibility, and it would explain the patients suddenly going home.
"I haven't seen or heard anyone talk about dead bodies being transported, so I assume the patients were still alive when they were last seen. Staff walking around with patients is a common sight. I don't know where they are kept though, I've been in every room on this floor."

"The kitchen area is below, right?" Benjamin said, pacing back and forth. "I once saw the cart with the meal remains being brought to the elevator. It would be easy to get rid of bodies through the loading area of the kitchen I assume."

"I've never been down there," Marc added. "I heard it's where deliveries are made for food, medicin, supplies, the laundry. I don't have the keycard for that area."

Paranormal Activities [SporkoBug and Calle]

Mike took hold of Harriet as she instructed. It happened fast, and it was unlike he had ever felt. He world was there, then it was gone, then it was back again. His head felt light and he blinked a few times. "Wow, okay, I'm good," he said as he let go of her. "Wow..." He looked around as if his mind still had to get used to the fact he wasn't where he was a moment ago. "Okay..." He took in a deep breath and went to the door. "Ethan!" he said as he knocked. "I'm coming in."
Mike opened the door and stepped inside.

"Whatsup?" Ethan asked from the bed, yawning. After being awake throughout the night he had been sleeping until now.

"Ben is gone, someone took him."

That woke Ethan up and he jolted up. "What? Who?"

Mike explained what had happened and what he had seen. Ethan looked from him to Harriet to see if she would confirm it.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

"Let's go introduce ourselves," Fenna said to her falcon and extended her left arm so Sil could sit there. She walked over to Alison and held out her right hand. "Fenna Postma, from the Netherlands. Mother of two, forest guard back home, Ranger here," she introduced herself. As she spoke she wondered, not for the first time, if this hadn't been a coincidence. Had they been chosen based on abilities and skills? The thoughts flashed through her mind as she gestured to the falcon to continue the introduction. "And this is Sil, I met her on the first day being here."

She examined the woman in front of her as she thought back to when they all had woken up from the coffins. If she recalled correctly, Lilliana's sarcophagus had fallen later than the others. Had Alison been in a delayed sarcophagus or landed further away from them? She was certain they all had opened in that village. The memories of that first day were still fresh, even before they truly knew who everyone was and what was going on they already had fought skeletons and from there they had travelled together. While being in a foreign world, they had had each other.
"It must have been tough, by yourself," Fenna said softly.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

When Fenna approached the Mended Drum after her shift at the hospital she noticed the hooded figures again. "All right, quit the stalking," she told them. "What do you want?"

One of them stepped forward. "We were tasked to observe. What happened down there was... unprecedented. You need to come with us now, we have to talk. Please."

If it hadn't been for that last word, Fenna would have bashed their skulls with her spear. However, they have had time to kidnap her if they had really wanted to. Even down there, in the room with the energy, they hadn't seemed hostile. Question was of course, how would James feel about her going with people she didn't know and had this mysterious outfit on? He hadn't been exactly thrilled about her experience under the spa. Then again, she was an adult woman, did she really need anyone's permission? "Sil will stay with me," she told them.

"I'm sure he won't object."

"And we stop at the barracks first." That puzzled them and when one of them asked why, Fenna explained she was the captain of a unit and one of them would stay there. A precaution. They agreed to her terms and promised it wouldn't take long.

After Fenna left one of them with the one she had appointed her second in command, they took her to the academy. At this time of the day there weren't many people about, but those who were, were in a haste. Most here were preparing for the battle in any way they could. Information was brought to those who needed it at any hour of the day. The only one who took his time was a janitor who cleaned the floor, nodding politely to those who rushed by him. Being at the academy, Fenna felt more at ease. These people couldn't be bad if they worked here. When they reached an office, Fenna entered it.

The person in front of her wore the same hooded outfit as the others and she noticed similar tattoos on the forehead when they looked up. None of them had facial hair, as far as she could see. It was hard to assess the gender of the person in front of her, and the mystery remained when they spoke. A high voice for a man, a low voice for a woman. They introduced themselves as the Head of Valhiem's Code Readers and began to explain they had heard about what happened. No-one had ever survived coming into contact with a Wellspring, normally people disintegrated when they touched it.

Fenna paled. Disintegrated? That's why they had stared dumbfounded at her when she had walked away. Truth be told, James did have a very good reason to have been upset with her. Sil, picking up on her sudden spike of worry, did her Loud Screech, which caused the startled hooded people to put their hands over their ears. "It's okay, darling. These are not our enemy," Fenna whispered to the falcon.

"How did you survive?" the leader asked after regaining their composure.

How the hell was she supposed to know? She didn't know anything about the Wellsprings or code reading. The silence lingered, they expected an answer. "I suppose... it may have something to do with my Element Absorb?" she tried. "I have no other explanation. During battle I noticed I could absord a part of the elemental damage I received and when I attacked I used a part of that. Oh, and I've been able to make bolts infused with an element I came in contact with. Maybe that's it?" Still silence. "I think?"

"Is that what caused-" "No, that's been going on before that." "Absorb Elements?" "Maybe, possibly..." After they whispered amongst themselves for a bit, the leader turned to Fenna. "Please come with us."

After Fenna agreed to took her back to the Wellspring she had been before. She could feel the energy before she saw the glow at the end of the corridor, and it got stronger the closer she got to it. It was as mesmerizing as before, the curling of the energy, the different colours shooting through it. It seemed calmer too.

"I won't go into details," the hooded figure next to her spoke. "But there have been issues and maybe... since you can return elements you took. Can you return the source energy?"

Fenna looked at her spear which had a faint glow to it ever since that moment she had come into contact with it. Like that fire before, maybe it waited to be released again. "James is not going to like this..." she muttered. It was a huge risk to be here to mess with that thing again, but this time there were Source Readers with her. Just like with the bolts, she thought to herself. Just like against that wraith. Channel outwards. Don't touch it. She held out a hand and felt the energy move from her spear through her body and out.

The Wellspring shuddered and became a bit more energetic. The people in the room quickly jumped back. "It did something... we'll monitor it for now. Thank you, Fenna of Second Chance for your explanation and assistance. You can go."

Fenna gladly left the hooded people, the source readers, behind and returned to the Mended Drum after telling her second in command he could release the collateral. Finally, it was getting late. "What a day, right?" she said to Sil. "What a day."
After speaking with MacKensie for a moment, who had news about another like them who would meet them at lunch, Fenna went to bed.

---

The next day, Fenna went to her unit after breakfast, but made sure to be back at the Mended Drum before this new person would arrive. She wanted to sit at the bar and examine her as she walked in. Was it really someone from their world, or a spy of the witch queen?
Fenna ordered an ale and some water for Sil, who stood on the bar. She looked up when the door opened and someone she hadn't seen before entered. Was this the person MacKensie had talked about?

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Fenna finished up for the day and brought the last dirty bandages to the washing room. The staff here had been so kind with sharing their knowledge, and in turn were grateful for the extra pair of hands. The hooded figures had been ushered out by one of the nurses when it had become clear they weren't patients and weren't there to work.

"Thank you for your help," the doctor said when he approached.
"Thank you for the opportunity to learn," Fenna replied, as she was busy putting her gloves back on.
"Oh, I see you have a Source Crystal. Are you an adventurer?" After the affirming nod he continued "I see. What team are you on?"
"Second Chance." That name had brought several kind of expressions to people's faces the past few days. Curiosity, hope. Seeing a face scrunch up in irritation was not what Fenna had expected to see.
"I have to ask, is everyone in your team a complete idiot?"
"Excuse me?" Fenna asked. Sure, there was Zell. And James hadn't been exactly thrilled to hear how she had handled the big bundle of mysterious energy (although she had tried to keep a distance from it, it wasn't like she had poked her finger in it), but their party was definitely more sane than idiotic. "No, not everyone..." she said
"Well, your Druid certainly is," the doctor grumbled, crossing his arms. "Some imbecile named Adam, came in here a few days ago coughing up a storm. Somehow poisoned himself. Then the next day, the moron comes in with severe burns. Doesn't show up for a bit after that, so I thought that was the end of it. Nope! The fool was here yesterday!" After thinking about it for a second, the doctor continued. "I'll spare you the details. I shouldn't care as long as he pays, but that man has to be one of the dumbest people I've ever met. No plant is worth that."
"W-what plant?" Fenna asked. What had Adam been doing?
"I would try being smarter than your Druid - not that that's tough to do." Saying this, the doctor walked away.
Oh dear, what had Adam been up to? Should she tell James about this? Did she really want to make their cleric disappointed in yet another of their team? Maybe she could talk with Adam first and then go to James?

Fenna left the hospital thinking about the conversation. Sil joined her as she walked towards the Mended Drum. Two hooded figures followed them from a safe distance, whispering to each other.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

During the evening, Fenna went to hospital where she aided the healers with the little knowledge she had. They had been kind enough to teach her the basics and welcomed the help. Even though the fighting hadn't started, the preparations hadn't gone without injuries. Construction work accidents, accidental injuries during training, people on edge fighting each other in the streets. Most injuries were minor, thankfully, although one fallen log had knocked a man out and he still hadn't regained consciousness. Fenna helped out where she could, if there weren't any bandages to wrap or salves to apply, she went around with food and drink.

Two hooded persons watched her from a corner. Fenna had spotted them, but ignored them for now. It was becoming clear they were watching her, she had spotted them too often for it be a coincidence. Wasn't there once on TV a simple tailor on a space station once who said "I believe in coincidences, coincidences happen every day, but I don't trust coincidences." While the cloaked people were watching her, she watched them. If they would make a move, she would react. For now they kept their distance, but the temptation to just walk up to them and ask them what the hell they were doing was real.

She would be patient, for now, and stay in crowded places.