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Wanderlust 2 [Hololive x D&D]

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Chapter 30
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    • Chapter 30

    After the close calls they had that day, they decided to take the rest of the week off. The next couple of days were spent relaxing, taking their mind off blood and death. Thus, everyone pursued something they wanted to do after some time.

    "Wow, the books are very detailed," commented Nene as she flipped through one.

    "Well, of course," replied Rushia as she sat at the table.

    "Where's your pet?" she asked, noticing the dog skeleton now absent.

    The teacher sighed and said, "It got involved in an accident with one of the students. To be honest, I should have kept it at home. Less of a chance of getting broken apart." Glancing at the book she picked up, the necromancer continued, "I see you've taken a liking to advanced abjurations."

    "Um… well, our requests are getting a little more dangerous. I was thinking of learning something to protect my friends," she explained.

    The wizard nodded and suggested, "Makes sense. I recommend looking through countering a spell. Preventing a spell before it actually happens can be crucial sometimes. What else are you interested in reproducing?"

    Nodding respectfully, she replied, "Ah, well, there were some spells I saw Artia using… but I can just ask her."

    "I see… well as long as she doesn't spend so much time studying," muttered Rushia, "Really, she could use a few more requests or two. Knowing a lot is one thing but she needs to apply practical use as well."

    "Ah… I guess?" Nene murmured hesitantly, as if stumbling on something private that she shouldn't know about.

    "Anyway, I wish you luck in trying to fit this in your repertoire," continued the wizard, "I never had a bard approaching me, of all people, to ask for advice on spellcasting. Normally, you do what fits you and pick what you wish."

    "Ah…yeah?"

    "Right, right, I suppose you want to see Artia next," she concluded as she leaned back in her chair, "Go on ahead. I have other things to do."

    "Thank you again, Rushia," said the bard gratefully before leaving the room, the necromancer smiling wistfully as the former closed the door behind her.

    "Check."

    Lamy furrowed her brow in concentration as she tried to find a way out. Eventually, she moved her hero piece to block.

    "Huh, I never thought you knew how to play dragonchess, Miss Lamy," stated Leda as he took a seat next to Temma, her opponent.

    "I only dabbled in it. I never could beat my father though," she admitted.

    "Well, it is a game only played by the nobles and intellectuals, after all," stated the knight, "You don't see it played otherwise."

    "I never knew you had one stashed away here," she said as she gestured around the side room, "If I knew, I would have asked for a game or two."

    The blonde knight chuckled and replied, "One game is straining enough. There is no need for two."

    "Especially if its dragonchess," quipped the lightning genasi, "Seriously, this looks very complicated."

    "It is," his teammate stated, "Three boards signifying the three probably battlefields with units from each able to traverse between them. Some pieces won't be able to leave its field while others can. And the dragon can attack and capture a piece without even moving with the right conditions." He then moved a dwarf piece.

    "I heard some army commanders play this to keep their minds fresh for tactics," she added after moving her hero piece to capture his warrior, "While my sense of tactics is not as great, it helps a little."

    "Well, you do you. I'll leave the planning to Temma," said Leda with a grin.

    "Ah-ha… right," muttered the knight as he observed the stacked boards in front of him. He then moved his warrior piece.

    "Check," he declared.

    "Urgh, again," muttered the half-snow elf as she pondered her next move.

    A furtive figure crept through the underbrush. The target was a brown rabbit that was nibbling some grass. It crept closer… closer…

    A snapping twig startled the target and the rabbit ran off. With a frustrated sigh, Botan stood up and stretched.

    "Hng, I'm getting rusty," she muttered to herself. It has been a long while since she had actually hunted for something, let alone doing it alone. Tracking prey down, sneaking to an optimal place, and striking hard and fast to take it down.

    The bushes rustled, putting her on edge. She aimed her shortbow and waited patiently. She let go of the breath she had been holding and glared at the squirrel girl's head that popped out of the bush.

    "I almost shot you, Risu," she stated with a deadpan stare.

    "Sorry," the druid replied with a cheeky grin as she emerged from the bushes, Baloo in tow, "What are you doing?"

    "A bit of hunting. It's been a while since I did and I want to see if I lost anything," she admitted.

    "Ah… you can help feed Baloo!" the squirrel girl exclaimed.

    "...What?" she muttered incredulously.

    "Yup! I was bringing Baloo around to search for something to eat," Risu explained as she hugged the young owlbear, "Maybe you can help."

    "Well...sure, why not?" Botan agreed after a pause, thinking that some motivation to improve might do her some good.

    With that settled, she went to where the rabbit was and knelt down. Quietly observing and touching its tracks, she saw its trail. She grinned and took off, intent on serving rabbit for lunch. Risu and Baloo moved as well, right behind her tail.

    "Oof, no more...please, I'm tired," begged Polka as she lay on the grassy ground. Her whole body ached and was drenched in sweat. A towel was tossed onto her head.

    "That's fine. Get some water then," stated Aruran as he gestured over to the table set up on his lawn. On it was a jug of water and two cups.

    She picked herself up and walked over slowly, dragging her feet as she moved. She poured herself a cup and guzzled it thirstily.

    "You really should slow down or you will choke," the lord said calmly as he slowly sipped his hot tea.

    "...You are really something else, teacher," muttered the fennec fox girl after staring at him dumbfoundedly, "You're still drinking hot tea even though the day is this hot."

    He chuckled and stated, "This is just my way of handling day-to-day affairs. Being calm and collected even during stressful times can make things quite bearable." Then, he placed the cup on its saucer and continued as he motioned to her, "You are quite the opposite. You revel in the chaos and find order within it. This is you, and the constant flow and movement of the drunken fist is a good fit for you."

    "Scary..." she continued muttering with wide eyes. Then, she asked him as she flopped down on the ground to rest her legs, "Hey, teacher? Why did you sign me up for the tournament? Was it really to test me?"

    "Hmm, it started as that," he reasoned, "It gave me a sense of how far you progressed. And I was satisfied with what you did. I had also hoped that it gave you the drive to improve yourself. So, are you?"

    "Hmm, I don't know. On what you're teaching me at least," she stated as she stared at the grass, "It has opened my eyes, sure, but I still want to chase my dream of leading a circus of my own." She then looked at him with a big grin on her face, "That's my goal in life."

    "...I have a feeling that your parents used to be part of one," he commented. Getting nods from her, he snapped his fingers and stated, "You simply want to see what it was like. Even if you should achieve it, there has to be more than that."

    "I may have another goal later on, but this is the one I have right now," she replied, keeping that grin on.

    "Hmph, right," he murmured with a smile of amusement. Then, he got to his feet and declared, "Alright, rest is over. Back to your training!"

    "Ha!? After telling you all that, I still need training!? Let me rest a bit longer!" she shouted in aghast.

    He only laughed.

    "You've been here for a few days now. I thought you'd be spending time with your friends," commented Towa as she put her demonology books away.

    Aloe sighed again. True… why was she cooping herself up here? It's been a few days already and she thought she'd be able to distract herself in the meantime. She wasn't as affected by the near-death situations the party got into as it was rather… commonplace in her home.

    "I'm… giving them their space. Adventuring is a stressful thing and they need some time away from it," she stated.

    "Huh… do you feel the same way?" asked the warlock, suddenly next to her with a notebook open. Where in the world did she get that?

    "I… No? I'm kind of used to it," she replied, wondering where this was going.

    "Hmm, perhaps while waiting for them to destress, maybe do something for yourself," the half-devil stated as she scribbled down some notes, "Learn a new skill… a new spell… something to pass the time. You are still learning too, after all, right?"

    "That… makes sense..." she muttered. She really did think so. Learning something new that can help her friends, even a little, would be worth it.

    "Could you teach me anything?" she then asked Towa.

    "Aloe, I have many books here. Maybe… try and pick apart a few and figure something out," the half-devil stated as she gestured to her small library, "I'm sure there is a demonomicon that lists some spells somewhere. Look it up."

    Staring at her in shock for a moment, the succubus got up and walked over to the nearest shelf to look it through. How in the Nine Hells did she get a demonomicon here?

    "Hmm?" sounded Miyabi as he looked up from his paperwork, "What did you say?"

    "I want to hire a team from the guild," stated a grinning Kiara, "I need at least six people."

    "Why exactly?" asked the guild clerk, a frown forming on his face, "The last request almost ended in a failure. I rather not put the other members through that."

    "That won't be a problem," stated the chef with a grin as she pointed a thumb to herself, "I was a decent fighter myself back in the day. They'll be safe with me."

    "Not reassuring," he deadpanned but put out his hand, "But fine, give me your request."

    The grinning lady handed over the piece of paper. He took it and looked it over. He then glanced at her and asked, "Where did you get this information?"

    "Prasadiv. He got this story out from some explorers that went up north," she informed him.

    "You do know second-hand information is suspect," he stated.

    "Well... I believe them?" she replied with a shrug while waving her arms around.

    "..."

    "Please! I really, really, want to get a few people together and find him! Think of the chickens!" she pleaded.

    "Huh...You and your chickens," he muttered after a sigh, "Fine. I will put this up."

    "Put what up?"

    Both of them looked to the doorway. Aloe was standing there with a puzzled look on her face. Miyabi sighed and stated, "She has another chicken request. If your party wants to take it, you are welcome to. At least she is offering to lead, so there's that."

    "Umm, I'll have to talk with the others first. Give me a bit," stated the succubus before ducking into the side room.

    He then turned his attention back to the excitable chef and asked, "I presume Roberu has agreed to let you take some time off."

    "Yup!"

    He sighed and muttered, "Fine… we'll wait until they get back to us."

    "Kiara is out there? She has a new request for us?" questioned Nene with wide eyes.

    "In Miyabi's words, another chicken request," affirmed Aloe with a nod.

    "Do we even want to take this up?" asked Polka, her mind drifting back to the last one, "If we are fighting monster chickens again, no thanks."

    "...Yeah, no monster chickens," agreed Botan, closing her eyes and crossing her arms.

    "Perhaps we should give her a chance and let her state her case first," suggested Lamy in an attempt to relieve the mood.

    ""...I think I agree with Lamy," mused the bard, "It might be the same. It might be different. We won't know until she tells us. Let's go see her."

    Leaving the room, they found the chef at the counter, already talking with another team; Temma, Leda, and Civia. The half-unicorn joined their duo team after her original team with Doris and Artia got broken up.

    "Hello, Kiara! What's this about a new chicken request?" asked Nene as the party joined up.

    "Ah! Hey, nice to see you again!" greeted the chef happily, "Yeah, gather around if you want to join up!"

    As they huddled around her, she started to explain, "Alright, I have gotten some juicy info that a cloud giant has settled down in the northern mountain ranges. And that he has chickens the size of houses."

    "And that's why she is asking for help," the bard thought with a bit of amusement.

    "Now, all we have to do is journey over to his place and ask permission or maybe even get a trade deal with him to let me have a giant chicken every new moon," she continued with ecstatic glee, "Oh, think of the dishes I can make!"

    "Ha… it sounds easy enough," Nene continued to think through the explanation, "But then we have to journey through the mountains to get there. It might turn out to be a long time before coming back to the city again." Her thoughts then turned to Doris, wondering how the mermaid princess was doing.

    "It does sound enticing," murmured Leda, interrupting her train of thought.

    "Yeah. I bet this would be an interesting journey," supported Civia.

    "Indeed," agreed Temma, "But, we will have to make a lot of preparations for this. There will be a lot of walking. Unless everyone here gets some horses."

    "Unless the guild can provide horses for us," stated Lamy.

    The knight shook his head and stated, "No, they don't. Right, Miyabi?"

    The guild clerk shook his head and explained, "We are still in talks about a contract with the stablemaster. Reviewing it will take time."

    "Huh, then I wish it was done already," quipped Polka, "We could have traveled a lot faster for our requests."

    "The more you know," added Botan as she shrugged.

    "You weren't too against to walking before," pointed out Aloe.

    "The cheaper thing to do," rebutted the fennec fox girl with a shrug, "If there's a discount, sure."

    "So, is everyone on board with this?" Kiara asked everyone present.

    "You can rely on my team and I," stated the knight, the two warlocks nodding in agreement.

    "We're in," said the lore bard, getting support from her friends, "We took the first one. Why shouldn't we help with this one?"

    "Alright!" cheered on the chef, "Now, I normally want to get going as soon as possible, but if you have any preparations to make, I'm fine waiting for you to be ready."

    "Very well. I am sure everyone here needs to double-check their equipment before moving out," agreed the knight, "Perhaps we should reconvene here tomorrow morning. Is that acceptable, Kiara?"

    "That's A-O-K with me!" she replied cheerfully.

    "Alright, let's do our best, everyone!" declared Nene with determination.

    AN: This time, two from Holostars and one from the dissolved HoloCN.

    First up, Temma.

    Temma Kishido

    Variant Human Fighter

    Cavalier

    The knight of the guild. Former/lesser noble who wishes to regain the honor of his family name. He still has a few retainers who will not be coming along with them as he cares for them. He will bring his horse though. I named it Casa.

    His friend, Leda.

    Leda Astel

    Lightning Genasi Warlock

    Great Old One pact

    Keeping with his supposed amnesia, he traded his memories for power with The Ancient One. The same One that Ina is under. Lightning since the guy has a lightning and sky theme going on. As for his mascot... I couldn't really find anything similar among the normal familiars, so I went with something out of the ordinary, a dybbuk.

    And then, Civia.

    Civia

    Half-Unicorn Warlock

    Celestial pact

    A victim of a bandit raid similar to Rushia's backstory, but instead of meeting a necromancer, she was found by a unicorn. Originally, I had the unicorn give her some of its lifeblood to save her life. However, after some time and some looking into it, I found that it kinda doesn't make sense. So, she was rescued and then taken care of by it until she came of age, in the Feywild. And after some time, she decided that she was ready to set out on her own. It was then the unicorn gave her it's blessing as well as a pact that would forever tie her to it. Of course, to justify her unicorn-like appearance, pact magic and feywild influence make some strange bedfellows.
     
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    • Chapter 31

    It was a warm morning when they reconvened. Everyone was armed and ready. Kiara led the party to the north gate, to the hired cart and they went to the village. Everyone rode on the large cart save for Temma, who had his own personal riding horse named Casa. They reached the village without any trouble. Then, they headed north, sticking to the chef's directions. Temma took it to himself to scout ahead on horseback after asking Aloe to hover over the traveling party to spot for enemies. Thanks to the formation, Aloe warned them about a pride of hunting lions. Instead of trying to go around the hunting area, they set up camp for the night.

    Much to their surprise, the chef had actually prepared some premade food that tasted quite delicious when cooked over the fire. Sleep was undisturbed thanks to the Tiny Hut Nene summoned. They still had to post watch but only to watch over the knight's horse.

    When morning came, they packed up and continued on their journey. It was then they came across a large watering hole. They stopped by to refill the waterskins and to rest a little. Suddenly, two loud roars echoed through the air. They looked up and saw two… dragons? Their arms were fused to their wings and they had a long barbed tail. Distracted, they didn't notice two watery figures making their way towards them as they rose up from the watering hole. However, this didn't escape Lamy's awareness.

    "Elementals?" she murmured in surprise. She then pointed at them, saying, "What are they doing here?"

    "This cannot be good," muttered Temma aloud as he ran over and mounted his horse.

    "...Better get ready," said Botan as she moved away from the watering hole and nocked an arrow. Meanwhile, the half-snow elf started chanting prayers and blessings on the party.

    It was then the elementals surged forward in spite of getting peppered with attacks. They engulfed a few of them, Lamy, Aloe, and Leda, in their watery bodies. At the same time, the wyverns dove down and snapped at a few of them with their maws. Of the three, the succubus managed to release herself, bursting out of the body with the flap of her wings.

    "Hurry! Get them out before they drown!" shouted Kiara as she slashed the watery body while Civia conjured a flaming sphere and rammed it into the nearest water elemental.

    Botan and Nene sprang into action, trying to get Leda and Lamy out respectively. Meanwhile, the knight had quickly circled around and charged by on his horse, his glaive cutting through the tops of the elementals while making sure he didn't hit anyone still trapped inside. However, they were persistent and continued to engulf more people. The succubus was dragged in again along with the half-unicorn warlock and the fennec fox monk, who was battering the nearest elemental.

    "Argh, out of the way," shouted Temma as the wyverns suddenly started targeting him as he finished his pass. He hissed as a stinger from one of the wyverns jabbed the back of his neck, injecting its poison load. The scratch was just that but the wound burned and was a little distracting. He had lashed out with his glaive and dealt a superficial blow, but it wasn't enough.

    As the wyverns circled around in the sky, he powered through and reined Casa on. The horse neighed and burst into a gallop, bringing him around for another pass. He grit his teeth as he sliced through the head-like construct of the water elemental that was trying to drown two of the ladies. With half the party trying to free the engulfed ones while the other half tried destroying the elementals, he was confident that everyone would come out alright. Then, he ducked down to avoid another pass by the wyverns.

    "Take that!" he roared inwardly as he lashed out at retreating wyverns, blood running down the side from one. From what he had noticed, Leda was busy shocking them with his lightning powers. Aloe and Kiara were keeping up with striking them while Nene and Botan were busy trying to pull the others out, who were also struggling to get out as well. Overall, making good progress in whittling down the elementals, in his opinion.

    He then turned around to make another pass. This time, he had a wry grin as he was able to slice through a significant chunk of the water elemental he was targeting. However, fortune wasn't favoring him when the wyverns dived down for another pass. He bit back a cry of pain when he could feel their stingers make contact with his skin and pump him full of poison. It was like several red-hot metal bars were being shoved down his spine. It came very close to making him pass out from the pain but he held on.

    "Damn it… keep it together, Temma. You can do this," he mentally urged, gripping his glaive tightly. Whipping the reins, Casa thundered down and he swung hard, his glaive dealing the final blow to one of the elementals. It's body burst as the water lost its shape and splashed all over, releasing its current captives. Nene and Lamy coughed and gulped down new air as they got to their feet.

    "One down, one more, then we do something about these wyverns," he thought with renewed determination. This time, the diving wyverns didn't find purchase as he actively fended them off with his weapon, parrying their maws and batting away their tails. Feeling someone touch his leg, he looked and saw the cleric. He then felt the pain running wild down his back numbing down to a dull throb.

    "Thank you, my lady," he stated politely, also full of gratitude. He noticed that a spectral sword had appeared and assumed that she summoned it. Reining his horse around, he then said, "Now that they are taken care of, let us settle these fake dragons."

    "Let's do this!" cheered on Nene as magic, daggers, and darts battered the wyvern that was already injured. Not to be outdone, the spectral sword went sailing into that wyvern's throat as a blast of light lit up its bleeding head.

    The second wyvern, ignorant of what happened to its hunting partner, still dive-bombed him. Letting a wry grin form on his visage, he twirled his glaive skillfully, turning aside its attack and drawing blood. As it rose up, it got bombarded by magic, darts, arrows. Apparently all that damage was too much for one, and it flew away instead of sticking around. As it did so, everyone cheered in victory. Glancing over at them, he blushed and quickly turned his horse around. As most of the fine ladies had spent time trying to survive their drowning attempts, the ones that had forgone wearing armor only had the clothes on their backs. It wouldn't do for a knight to stare. It wouldn't do at all.

    After the battle, Temma pointed out that he spotted a village nearby and suggested going there. Everyone else agreed, wanting to rest a little before continuing their journey, so they headed towards it. The village itself was relatively new and was built over another village that had been razed by a marauding band of goblinoids a few years ago. As it was still new, they didn't have much, but being a small hunting village they at least have some amenities. They got some food and drink while they rested, with Nene deciding to sing a little ditty to help the food go down.

    The village leader offered to house them but they politely declined as there was still some light and they could still journey on. Instead, after their meal, they helped to drag the wyvern they killed over from the watering hole. It was then presented to the village as a payment for the food and drink. This brought a smile to the village leader and he thanked them on behalf of the entire village.

    "Alright, good luck in your travels," he wished them as they got ready to go, "If you head north without any deviations, you would come upon a former bandit camp. I heard that it used to be the base of the raiders that attacked the village before us and that it was the Smiter of Fear herself that destroyed them with her friends."

    "Huh, I guess we'll head there next," stated Botan as they moved away from the village.

    "We should not take that long to get there," stated Temma while Casa trotted beside them, "Right, spot for us Aloe. I will ride ahead."

    After the fight at the watering hole, the party was thankful that nothing else decided to accost them. They reached the former bandit camp with the evening sun just about setting behind the mountains. Much to their surprise, the abandoned camp was deserted… as expected. The wooden doors were in disrepair and the wooden walls looked like they were going to fall apart any second. Inside, it was barren and desolate, as if nobody had ever lived here before.

    "I think we should camp elsewhere," stated Lamy after the party went inside, "The place seems strange, like something evil lives here."

    "Unless something is attacking us from above, I'm sure the place is perfectly safe," rebutted Leda.

    "...I actually agree with her," Civia spoke up, "I feel uneasy here."

    "I suppose being in a cul-de-sac is a bad idea right now," mused Temma as he looked around, "There does not seem to be anything resembling an escape route out of here should anything attack from the front."

    "If this place doesn't feel right, then we should camp elsewhere," spoke up Botan, agreeing with her friend.

    "Alright then, let's camp outside at the gates then," suggested Nene, "That way, we can see from all directions. I mean, we have to watch out for the horse anyway."

    "That is certainly a good idea," agreed the knight, "Then, that is what we shall do."

    With a decision agreed upon, they settled in for the night.

    Lamy yawned as she kept herself awake by staring into the fire. Occasionally, she would look away and her eyes would dart around to observe for any sign of danger. The flickering embers crackled outside the shimmering dome of Nene's magical construct. Casa slept silently, standing stoically against the dark backdrop of the night. It was only the first watch and she had to stay up until it was time to wake Polka for her turn.

    Suddenly, she noticed dark shapes moving towards them from the corner of her eye. Standing up and turning her gaze into their direction, her eyes narrowed. Several figures were moving towards the Tiny Hut at a slow pace. She could feel the lingering emptiness that emanated from them as they came nearer and nearer, step by step. Keeping her eyes on them, she went over to the monk and shook her awake.

    "Uwah… is it time yet?" murmured the fennec fox girl as she yawned out her words.

    "Something or some things are approaching us and I don't think they are friendly," she stated as the shapes slowly became clearer.

    This woke her up and she scrambled to her feet to shake everyone awake. Meanwhile, the tattered armors and pallor skin of the approaching figures were very clear to her. Undead. Ugly reanimations of restless souls in her eyes. And it was her duty to protect the beauty of life from this perverseness. It was time to lay them back to rest.

    "Gods damn it," swore Leda as he got out of his bedroll and got ready to fight, "There goes my sleep."

    "We better finish them off quickly then," snarked Aloe as the knight rushed donning his armor and ran out of the dome to get on Casa.

    "Alright, we go out and beat them down. No problem," quipped Kiara as she stepped outside.

    "Nene, this dome can't be damaged right?" asked Botan. Getting a nod from the bard, she continued, "Alright, you, me, and the spellcasters can take cover in here. Polka, Lamy, Aloe, and Kiara go outside and make sure we don't get surrounded. Temma… well, he's outside already. Let's go."

    One by one, the designated defenders stepped out of the dome. Upon noticing them, the undead increased the pace, the ghouls and zombies stretching out their hands to grab at them. Since they are faster, the ghouls reached them first and started clawing at them. As they were tied up, the ones in the dome would move out, cast their spells or in the archer's case, shoot, and then step back inside. The arrangement was doing well, as the ghouls and zombies were quickly cut down, with Temma making hit and run attacks to also whittle them down. However, instead of recklessly charging in with them, the wights had stopped moving.

    "Fire! Kill the living fire!" shouted the lead wight from his horse. They shot arrows around Kiara, focussing on the fighter.

    This didn't hinder her. As the arrows rained down, she ignored the scratches and pushed back against the last ghoul she was facing. Then, eldritch blasts from Civia sent it flying into the last zombie, causing them to tumble over each other.

    "Yosh! Nice one!" she cheered on as the warlock stepped back into the dome.

    "Fire! Kill the healer!" shouted the lead wight again. Arrows rained around Lamy.

    To everyone's surprise, she didn't raise her shield higher and a few arrows punched through her armor and sent her falling over.

    "Lamy!" yelled Nene in horror but was held back by Botan, who had just come back in.

    "No! Don't go out. We need you to keep the dome up," she said as halted the bard by hooking her arm under her shoulder.

    "But..."

    "We are already handling it," she assured sternly, "Look."

    And look she did. The ghouls and zombies were down, and the defenders were moving on to taking out the wights. Temma had started to hit their back end and threw them into disarray. Aloe was throwing daggers at the frontmost wight. Kiara had moved to shield the downed cleric while the half-unicorn girl knelt down, pulled out the arrows, and laid her hands on her barely moving chest. A soft, white glow washed over the half-snow elf as her breathing steadied. She then stood up and sent two more eldritch blasts at the lead wight, knocking him off his skeleton horse.

    "Keep it together, Nene," the archer chided one last time as she went out and shot her arrows to help the others.

    The bard stood there as she looked out from the dome. One by one, the wights and the skeletal warhorse fell. As the last undead fell, her unease did not abate. Until Botan came over to hug her.

    "You feel that you could do more. It's fine to feel that way," she stated as she released the hug, "Let me tell you this. If you didn't have this dome up, those archers would have shot at Leda and Civia. Then, we would have more people down and we might not have survived this. You've already done a lot just by keeping it up."

    A few moments of silence passed between them. Then, Nene let out a relieved sigh and replied, "Thanks. I needed that."

    "Anytime."

    AN: Alright, here is something about Kiara.

    Kiara Takanashi

    Half-Phoenix Fighter

    Battle Master

    Now, again with the half-phoenix but that's just a simplification as she is technically both human and phoenix. Phoenix as she was involved with a ritual that bound the soul of a phoenix to hers. They became one of the same and thus Kiara was created. Still following her HoloMyth lore, being that she still dies of natural causes and reincarnates as someone new every time, losing her memories as she does so. However, she can also have a Phoenix Rebirth to come back to life if she dies due to other causes. Of course, she loses her memories as well, but not as severe as her reincarnation. And since she also counts as human, this enables her to visit Calliope in the realm of the dead. Come to think of it, she is Hololive's very own Deadpool minus the 4th wall breaking.
     
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    • Chapter 32

    The party woke up late in the morning. After normal morning rituals, the party followed Kiara's lead. She led them to a wide dirt trail leading up to the mountains, saying that this was the path laid out by the exploratory expedition. She even got hold of a copy of a map the expedition drew out. The trail had a lot of twists and turns, slowly getting narrower the higher it went. They came across several branching paths but Kiara kept to the path.

    "Where do those go?" asked Botan as they avoided another branch.

    "From what was told to me, a few dead ends, a few cave entrances," the chef informed her aloud so that the others could hear her, "They were explored of course and found nothing living there. Not sure about now. Eh, anyway, right now, we don't need to go to any of them. But, night time? Sure, we can. They should be safe places to sleep."

    Eventually, the path started going across the range, with the trail narrowing enough to force them to travel in single file across the mountain range. At the same time, they came across multiple branches going off in different directions. Again, supposedly leading to dead ends and caverns. The wind was a lot more fierce up there as well as the danger of rock slides. Then, Kiara started talking about the animals and monsters living in the mountains. Territorial ones were the most troubling. Or at least that's how she talked about them.

    "Ah, right, seems like the sun is going down," she stated, as the party took in the beautiful sunset, "The next branch should be… here."

    She stuffed the map away and quickly led the party to a cave. It was a large one, enough to house them and Temma's horse with ease. As they set up camp for the night, they heard strange noises coming from further in.

    "What was that?" asked Polka.

    "I don't know..." murmured Nene, "Do we find out what's going on?"

    "Hmm, it depends, I suppose," stated Temma, "Are the noises going to be disturbing our sleep?"

    "I feel curious about it," said Leda suddenly, "I suddenly have the need to investigate."

    The knight sighed and asked, "Are you sure about this?" Getting a nod from his friend, he muttered, "Right, and as usual, you won't let up until you find out."

    "You know me too well," said the lightning genasi with a smile.

    Shrugging, the knight took charge. Being that the ceiling was a little low, he was forced to leave Casa behind. After making sure that the reins were secure, they ventured in deeper into the cave. Polka helped with her driftglobe, lighting up the place so that everyone could see. It was surprising to a few of them that the cave went that far back. All manner of stalagmites and stalactites dotted the place, sometimes narrowing the cave in some places. After a while, a voice suddenly called out to them, "Stop."

    "Eh? Who said that?" asked Civia aloud after the party stopped in their tracks.

    "Leave now."

    "Umm, so… Who is asking us to stop?" asked Nene with interest.

    "No come. Go away."

    "That kind of sounds like broken Common. Weird," said Civia, "That one sounded a little different too."

    "Two somethings?" asked the fennec fox monk, "What are they, guards?"

    "If they are guards… what are they guarding?" asked Kiara.

    "Allow me to try," spoke up Leda as he stepped forward. Focussing his concentration, he reached out with his mind, "Did someone bring you here? Do you have a leader we can talk to?"

    Silence. Then, the two voices spoke up in alternate sentences, "Speak with master? Do we bring them? We're guards, master's wishes. But they seek the master. I'll bring them. Yes, yes."

    From behind a shadow of a large stalactite, a green, floating head with a large toothy mouth flew out, shocking and surprising them. It had four extra eyes attached to eye stalks growing out the side of the head.

    "Follow," it rasped out before floating ahead of them. The party looked at each other for a moment and followed after it.

    The cave was very straightforward and they ended up in a large, cavernous area. They could see one corner of the place illuminated by candlelight. As they were led closer, a few strange voices started addressing them.

    "Saved by horse. Horse with horns."

    "Fire, fire, bird. Dead and life."

    "What in the world was that about?" questioned the bard as they got closer. The others were just as confused as the owners of the voices hid behind the stalactites.

    A robed figure stood over a magic circle, which was glowing with flowing power. Another of those green floating heads was observing from above. Slowly, a medium-sized chunk of stone materialized in the center and the glow died down.

    "Master, many guest want talk," the floating head rasped out.

    The figure turned to face them and spoke, "Guests? I was not expecting guests."

    "You!" shouted Aloe in surprise, "You're the guy that summoned me!"

    The summoner narrowed his eyes and backed away in suspicion. "What!? How did you find me!?" he shouted as he glared at them, recognizing some of them, "Who sent you now!? I will not be disturbed when I am this close! Kill them! Kill them all!" His voice echoed through the cave.

    "What!? Wait a minute!" exclaimed the succubus.

    The ground then shuddered as the chunk of stone suddenly unfolded itself, becoming an earth elemental. She quickly clamped her mouth shut. The green head that led them joined its hovering brethren. Behind them, the third head made its appearance. Two more aberrations appeared, the owners of the voices. Strange, twisted humanoids with taloned feet and hands, brown spikes and protrusions running all over its back, and a singular green eye.

    "My research will not be stopped!" declared the summoner as he teleported away.

    "Damn it," swore the knight as they got ready for a fight, "To arms! Defend yourselves!"

    Polka, being behind the front line, decided to take on the monsters at the back. One of those floating heads and the two muttering mini cyclops. At least that's how she sees it. As Botan and Civia tried shooting the floating head out of the air, she rushed towards the nearest muttering monster.

    "Eat! Eat!" it shouted as an emerald beam suddenly shot out of its eye.

    She tried cartwheeling around it and it almost missed, but it grazed against her side. She grit her teeth and swallowed down the cry of pain as she landed. She pushed herself forward and flew forward knee-first, her tattoos gleaming purple. The monster shrieked and covered its eye with both hands, her knee crashing against it. As she landed, she shifted her leg around into a sweep. As it jumped, she suddenly rose and landed a punch into its chest.

    "Tch," she sounded as it landed on its feet, clutching its chest. It then suddenly turned and ran away.

    "Hey! Get back here!" she shouted as she lashed out with a kick and caught it in the elbow.

    "Never mind that!" called out Aloe as she landed nearby, green blood staining her claws, "Help the others!"

    "Yosh!" she shouted in reply as she turned and ran like the wind, intent on joining Kiara, Nene, and Temma.

    A flying kick that missed later, she landed next to the earth elemental and punched its leg, cracking it a little. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed one of Leda's eldritch blasts getting reflected back into his chest. She grimaced inwardly as the elemental shrugged off the bard's and the chef's attacks as it slammed its rocky fists into the knight. He blocked one with his glaive but failed to react in time to another slamming into his shoulder.

    "Take this!" he roared as he fought back, his weapon chipping away at its natural armor. Then, he and the chef got their heads blasted by a multicolored beam fired by the eyestalks of the two floating heads. A translucent cloud of shifting colors covered their head and left them in a daze.

    As shocked as she was, she continued to focus on the elemental, her rapid punches slowly chipping away at the rock. Her hands were getting a little sore though. Suddenly, Nene sang a high note. Her voice seemed to echo through the cave and even reverberate through her skull.

    "Yikes, is she using magic to turn it up?" Polka groaned inwardly as her ears started to hurt a little. Suddenly, large chunks of the earth elemental crumbled and shattered to little pieces, falling off its animated body like rubble. It then started seeing the bard as a threat as it tried pummelling her instead of the knight.

    Suddenly, Kiara stabbed her in the shoulder with her sword. "ARGH! Hey, what's the big idea!?" she shouted as the cloud dissipated over the chef's head.

    "Oh, my gods! I'm so sorry!" yelped the chef as she leaped back in horror, "I thought I was hitting the rock."

    "...It's fine… those heads must have messed with yours. I forgive you," the monk stated as Temma finished off the elemental.

    "Thank you!" exclaimed the chef as she hugged her.

    "OW!"

    "Sorry!"

    "Is everyone alright?" asked Nene aloud.

    "We're fine here," said Leda while Civia waved.

    "Worn out but nothing that some sleep could not remedy," stated Temma with a tired smile.

    "Ah, some of us are injured but we'll live," replied Aloe with a smirk before saying seriously, "Although, those eye guys are still around." She then pointed to a cul-de-sac off to the side, "They went there."

    "Any idea what they are?" asked Lamy as the party made their way over.

    "Dunno," said the succubus with a shrug, "That summoner must have summoned them the same way he summoned me. They must be trapped here too."

    "Then, maybe we can reason with them," stated the knight.

    As they went nearer, they could hear them muttering non-stop.

    "Hello?" called out Kiara.

    "Fire bird? What fire bird want?"

    "Will you stop calling me that?" asked the chef with a frown.

    "Seen it! Seen it!" the speaker shouted.

    "Now, now, we should calm down," stated Leda as he and Civia stepped forward, "Now, were you summoned here by your master?"

    "Horn girl... but who you?"

    "Hmm… in that case… let us talk mentally," stated the lightning genasi and fell silent.

    The rest of the party looked on anxiously, keeping a firm grip on their weapons or foci. After a while, Leda announced, "Well, they have agreed to come with us."

    "EH!?"

    "Well, they, shall we say, are hungry for knowledge," he began to explain, "They want someone or maybe something that can cure them of their condition."

    "They weren't like this before. It's… horrible," muttered Nene, pitying the tragic story that was being painted, "Both of them are searching for it?"

    "Yes. And they are quite aware and have a sense of our capabilities," he continued, "After telling them about our quest, they became very interested."

    "Oh? Why is that?" asked Kiara.

    "One of them said something on spellcasters when I mentioned the cloud giant. Perhaps that was it," he mused and then he shrugged, "They might be useful to us… Anyway, let's get back to the entrance. I believe it's time to turn in for the night."

    "I will say that I do not trust them," stated Temma as he looked at the aberrations, "I insist on maintaining the watch rotation while they keep their eyes on the entrance."

    "I agree. They may have been people before but who knows how their mind has been twisted by their curse," agreed Lamy.

    "Sure, we can do all those things," decided the chef, "Come on, we haven't even had our dinner yet. Let's go!"

    The night passed without any complications. Those on watch didn't notice anything strange, other than the strange aberrations constantly taking turns looking back at them while they guarded the entrance. The morning was quite wet as it started raining the moment they left the cave to continue their journey. They didn't seem too bothered by the rain but the rest of the party felt quite cold when the wind picked up, except Kiara. The wind and rain soon stopped while the sun's rays grew stronger. It still felt very cold but that soon passed as well as the sun slowly moved to the highest point in the sky.

    Suddenly, a shrill cry pierced the air, stopping the party in their tracks. They looked around, keeping their eyes open for sudden attacks. Another shrill cry and suddenly three griffons swooped down to attack them. They flew down and started harrying them.

    "What the-!? Why are they attacking us!?" shouted Botan as she tried to fend off the swooping monsters, everyone joining in to try and fight back.

    "Argh!" yelled Temma as he was knocked off Casa's saddle, who he had just gotten under control as the griffons spooked it. She was then grabbed by another griffon and they flew off.

    "CASA!" the knight yelled as he scrambled to his feet and chased after them.

    He skidded to a halt at the edge of the path and looked despairingly at his horse, who was struggling in the monster's claws. Spinning around, he walked up to Kiara and asked, "Are there any places on your map that show where they roost?"

    "I don't know… let me see," muttered the chef as she scrutinized the large piece of parchment.

    "You do know that it is unlikely that she would be alive if we do reach them, right?" asked Leda solemnly.

    "...There is still a chance. A slim chance, I know, but… I must at least try," admitted the knight, "If I simply gave up like that… she has been with me since young, I have to try."

    "Hmm, alright. Based on the direction of where they are flying… we may not make it in time," stated the chef, "We follow the path and take the right branch at the first junction. We should end up circling around a small plateau that could have housed their nesting site."

    "Let's go," declared Temma resolutely as he went on ahead of the party.

    "He seemed pretty torn up," muttered Polka.

    "Well, since he must have grown up together with his horse since she was a foal," reasoned Botan as the party followed after him, "If anything, we should help him."

    "We better pick up the pace," mused Nene. Turning to Aloe, she asked, "Can you fly on ahead? To make sure they are there?"

    "Eyes in the sky again?" grumbled the succubus, "I guess… I could dry my wings faster, I suppose." Flicking her wings open, she took off and went on ahead.

    It didn't take too long to reach the plateau. Temma picked up the pace the moment they reached the path circling upwards.

    "Hey, wait! Slow down!" called out the lightning genasi but the knight threw caution to the wind and hurried on ahead.

    "Damn it," swore the succubus as she met up with the rest of the party again, "We better chase after him. The griffons are already eating his horse. And there are actually four of them. Hurry!"

    They quickly ran after him while taking care not to fall off the path. Unfortunately…

    "NO! CASA!"

    "Crap, he saw them," muttered Aloe as the rest caught up with him.

    Four griffons surrounded the dead horse and were busy feasting on its flesh until the knight's cries drew their attention. A large nest made of sticks and branches was off to the far side, near to the edge. Two of the griffons looked larger than the other two and had duller plumage. All four of them screeched and screamed loudly as they moved to surround them. Meanwhile, the knight had fallen to his knees and was staring at the dead body of his mount, his glaive on the ground by his side.

    "Er, Temma, snap out of it," stated Leda worriedly, "We're getting surrounded." It was then, the griffons surged forward and attacked.
     
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    • Chapter 33
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    • Chapter 33

    The griffon's beak crashed against her shield and the monster pulled back, the curve of the beak pulling down the ridges on the shield. Kiara stumbled forward and had to use her sword arm to protect her face. She hissed out her pain and swung wide, leaving a shallow cut on its paw. She then followed up with an overhead slash that gashed through its frontal shoulder.

    Several crackling beams shot past her. The first slammed into its shoulder, creating a large blast. As it flinched, two more crashed into its chest. The blasts were smaller but they pushed the griffon off the plateau. However, with the flap of its wings, it stopped itself from falling and it rose up into the air. But, instead of coming back to attack her, it flew past them. Surprised, Kiara spun around and watched the griffon ram into Aloe.

    "Argh! Get off!" the succubus yelled.

    At the same time, she saw one of the larger griffons assaulting Temma and knocking him over.

    "Kikiriki!" she cried shrilly as she charged towards it.

    Forewarned, the larger griffon leaped back a little and dodged under her sword swings. Unfortunate for it, it let Temma get up and with a loud, "Die!", he picked up his glaive and thrusted, sending the blade through its chest. As it reared up and fell over to its side, he grabbed the shaft of the glaive and plunged it deeper, killing it.

    The other larger griffon let out a loud scream as it noticed the other dying. Distracted, it wasn't able to dodge the other attacks sent its way. Leda's eldritch blasts to its neck. Botan's claws raking over its face. Stabbings from Lamy's spirit sword and Nene's rapier. A blinding flash of light to its eyes. It died unable to fight back from the onslaught. Meanwhile, Civia helped Aloe to kill off the last one.

    Kiara slowly walked over to the heavily breathing knight and placed a hand on his shoulder, asking, "Feeling better now?"

    "...No, but I, at least, avenged her," he admitted after a pause.

    "Er, everyone? Better look at this," called out Civia, "We have a problem."

    Everyone crowded around the large nest. There was worn armor and rusted, crumbling weapons right outside it. The inner part was lined with old feathers and old bones. Gold pieces were scattered everywhere. And in the center of the nest, was a lone egg.

    "Umm, what do we do with this?" asked Nene, breaking the silence, "Do we take it with us?"

    "If we are, we better take turns keeping it warm," stated Kiara, "Or if you want to cook it..."

    "Come to think of it, maybe this is a blessing in disguise," interrupted Leda aloud, "Casa was getting old. While you may want to keep her around, wouldn't a griffon be better as a mount?"

    "...I… it is not that the thought does not sound appealing… but I have no such training to handle a griffon," the knight replied after a long silence, "And I do not know anyone who knows how."

    "Maybe we can ask Risu or her elders for advice?" suggested Polka with a grin, "Since they know a lot about the wilds, they can help."

    "It does sound like a good idea," he mused. Then, he said, "Very well, we shall take it with us."

    "I'll watch it first," declared the chef as she clambered in and picked it up, "Maybe try and pick out as many gold pieces as you can from the nest too."

    "Hurry up and get on with it then," urged Aloe eagerly.

    After Kiara got out, egg in hands, Polka and Botan went in to scavenge around for gold. They were able to pick up around a hundred pieces as well as a surprising amount of gemstones. The gems were handed to the team of five to keep while the knight kept the gold.

    "Future expenses," advised the lightning genasi, "For the griffon."

    They retraced their steps to the path, where they rejoined the one-eyed creatures and continued on their way. Thankfully, nothing else accosted them save cold winds and the sun's rays. Slowly, the sun went lower and lower. The party got a little worried as they hadn't found a branch in the path for quite a while now. They then came upon a rope bridge traversing over a sizable gorge.

    "Huh, the expedition built this," stated the chef as she referred to the map, "Hmm, I think it should still be usable enough." She then motioned to follow, "C'mon, we can go two at a time. Follow me."

    True enough, it was still usable. The rope has yet to fray and the wood has yet to break. But, by the time they had successfully crossed over, it was quite dark. Several torches were lit and passed around. It took another hour or so before they made their way to another cave and settled down for the night. They still kept watch, if only to make sure the one-eyed creatures didn't do any funny business. Once again, other than taking turns looking back at them while they guarded the entrance, they didn't do anything else.

    Setting off in the morning, they continued on their way. The party followed Kiara's map diligently and they eventually reached another plateau, which seemed unnaturally made. On the opposite side was a big path going up another mountain… made of clouds. And it led up to a… huge house on a cloud. The party just stood there in awe at the sight.

    "Woah," muttered Nene in awe, breaking the party's silence, "It looks amazing."

    "This is the first time I've seen such a thing," added Civia as the party walked onto the plateau and looked around.

    "I feel like I'm looking forward to meeting this cloud giant," stated Leda, "I wonder how he made this."

    "Agreed. This will be a novel experience," affirmed Temma with a nod.

    "...Does anyone hear that?" asked Lamy, her ears suddenly twitching.

    Everyone looked around but not seeing anything. Then, Kiara looked up and shouted frantically, "Botan! Catch!"

    The surprised lion girl caught the griffon egg while the chef ran and pushed Nene out of the way. A second later, a large boulder crashed into her body as she flopped on the ground.

    "KIARA!" shouted the party in horror as they ran over to push the boulder away. They took a few seconds to collectively push the boulder away. It rolled off to one side, its point of impact… surprisingly devoid of blood. Instead of a body, they found ashes in the shape of the chef, her clothes, and equipment. There was a strange lump under her clothes. Nene stepped near it and reached inside to grab it. In her hand was a medium-sized, pulsating, egg-like thing. It was orange and red in color and emanated a blazing warmness from it.

    "What in the world is this?" asked Nene as she held it in her hands.

    "Fire bird! Fire bird!" shouted one of the one-eyed creatures, "Seen it! Seen it!"

    "Fire bird… this strange egg-thing… you don't mean… is she a phoenix?" asked Civia in astonishment.

    "...EH!?"

    "Why are you here!?" bellowed out a voice.

    They looked towards the house and saw a sky-blue skinned giant with smoothly-combed silvery hair and iridescent blue eyes. He was barefoot but wore a simple but finely made shirt and pants colored blue and green. He had a cloud-white cloak draped over his shoulders to complete his outfit.

    "Leave. I have no interest in entertaining guests today," he continued to shout out.

    "Wait! Please, we come seeking trade," called out the bard, the first thing coming to mind was what Kiara hired them for.

    "Trade!? I see no goods anywhere!" he bellowed back, "If you wish to deceive me, you better come up with better lies!"

    "Sir, please, if you would allow us to approach and explain better-"

    "Enough, you will leave now or I shall shower you with rocks," the giant interrupted the knight.

    "WAIT! Please, we need to help our friend! She is a phoenix!" shouted Civia, desperately not wanting the rest of the party to get into further trouble.

    Silence.

    "Fine, you can approach. But make any funny moves and you're getting booted off the mountain," he threatened as he gave them permission.

    The party quickly picked up Kiara's things and immediately hurried over, Botan and Nene clutching their eggs carefully. As they approached, the giant raised an eyebrow at the one-eyed creatures following them.

    "Why are these nothics following you?" he asked as he pointed at them, his voice rumbling like faint thunder.

    "Ah… they were brought here by some mad summoner," replied Nene after some hesitation, "They decided to follow us after we mentioned we were trying to meet you."

    "Hmph," he sounded with a frown. Then, he said sternly, "I am Svasdir. What is this trade you want?" Then, catching sight of the pulsating egg-thing in the bard's hands, he added, "And is this the phoenix you are talking about?"

    "Er… well, she is that one that wanted to talk to you about trade," replied the lore bard.

    "And of course things must be difficult," he grumbled. With a loud growl, he headed towards his house while saying, "If that is the case, come. We will have to keep it hot to bring her back."

    The party quickly hurried after the giant. After he opened the door and allowed the party to go in, nothics included, he shut the door. They were amazed. While a little threadbare, it was still a little amazing. There were two other doors inside to two other rooms. A fireplace on one wall, logs crackling warmly. A huge sturdy chair and table set in front of it, with intricate carvings along the armrests and the table edge, inlaid with gold leaf. On the wall hung a huge tapestry woven with vibrantly colored threads depicting a scene of some sort of fight. There was also a large, ornately carved wooden mask. It reminded them of the performance masks that actors of plays used. It was half smiling, half frowning. It was gilded with silver with gold trimmings. On the table was a golden candelabra that bathed the room in its candlelight.

    He pulled out the chair and stated while he sat down, "Go place the egg in the fireplace. It should be warm enough."

    As Nene did so, he spied the griffon egg in Botan's hands and asked her, "You there. I see you found an interesting egg. Did you intend to find it or was it happenstance?"

    "Er… well... " she sounded as she looked to the others. Turning back to the patient giant, she replied, "Well, they took Temma's horse and after chasing them… we had to fight them. They died. The horse died. And now we have this egg."

    "We are going to raise them to replace Casa," spoke up the knight, "While I do not begrudge her death any longer, I still wish for recompense. Hopefully, they will serve me just as well as she did."

    "I see. Have you any idea on how to raise such beasts?" the cloud giant asked as he lifted a large silver mug to drink from.

    "I must be honest, I do not," he admitted. Meanwhile, Nene placed Kiara's egg in the fireplace itself, which began glowing and pulsating upon contact with the flames. Then, she hurried back to the group, who were listening intently to the giant.

    "Hmph, I suppose I can bestow on you some information while waiting for the phoenix to revive," Svasdir mulled over, "I do not know when the egg was laid, but when it hatches and goes through the motions, you must spend at least six months with it. You must personally exercise and train it during that time for it to get used to you and the equipment you wish to use to ride it. This is to strengthen the bond between rider and mount. Then, when it is half-grown, there must be at least four months of intensive training with the same equipment on you riding it. It needs to get used to your weight and whatever armor you are intending to wear. A daily routine needs to be planned for those months and you must follow it to the letter or you may lose any progress you made in limiting its wild nature. Once at least two months of the training is complete, you can try and fly on the griffon as part of the training to get used to aerial mobility. Hmm, what else… ah, during that time of intense training should be when it would be needing a lot more meat than normal, perhaps even a horse. Best be ready to pay a lot of gold to have a steady supply unless of course, you know how to conjure some out of nothing."

    "That is… a lot to take in," the knight stated before bowing, "Thank you for your advice. I shall endeavor to follow them the best of my ability."

    "That's a lot to take in, sir," said Civia respectfully, "Have you reared griffons before?"

    "Hmm, I have. Not anymore," the giant replied, suddenly looking a little somber.

    "If you don't mind, what happened?" she continued to ask.

    He took another drink from his mug and stated, "Ah… I lost a bet… well, several bets with my brothers. Thus, I am reduced to this. At the very least, I still have my tomes and knowledge." Then, he smirked as he continued, "But, I will surely win everything back with interest the next time we meet up again. Ho ho ho, I have several things up my sleeves for that. Hah!" He tapped the side of his head as he said so.

    Their eyes blinked in response, not knowing what to say to this revelation. The giant noticed them doing so and said, "Hmph, anyway, I don't see why you'd care. My affairs are none of your business."

    "Sorry, sir. Erm… how long do we need to wait for Kiara?" asked Polka.

    "The phoenix? Hmm, give the egg a few hours and she'll be reborn," he informed them. After some thought, he asked, "Why does she want to talk to me? I cannot think of anything of the sort a phoenix would want to ask of me, trade or not."

    "Well… she mentioned something about asking to trade for a giant chicken," Nene stated politely.

    He barked out a laugh and finished his drink. Then, he replied, "Gods, I've never heard of such a thing in my long life. Hah! Phoenixes wanting my chickens." Seeing that none of them are laughing, he asked, "You are serious?"

    "Unfortunately," confirmed Temma.

    Svasdir shook his head in disbelief. Getting up, he then headed to one of the doors and went in. At a glance, they could see something of a storeroom with another door leading somewhere else before the door closed again. Not knowing what else to do, they headed to the fireplace and sat down in front of it. They savored the warmth of the fire, remaining that way for a few hours until they heard a crack coming from the fireplace.
     
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    The dreary, eerie green lighting lit the dark surroundings outside. The inside of the office was no different. A simple wooden desk was the centerpiece of the room with a used candle holder on one side and a stack of papers on the other. Calliope raised the glass of wine to her lips and took a dainty sip. She breathed in deep as she swirled the red liquid around before letting the intoxicating drink flow down her throat. Placing the glass on her table, she let off a sigh of relief. She had finished her paperwork. Finally.

    "Geez, thank goodness I'm done," she muttered as she glanced over to the smaller table next to the desk. Three other stacks, neatly arranged on it, she looked at it with disdain.

    "I think that's the only thing I don't like about my job," she mumbled as she took another sip, "Fricking paperwork."

    Suddenly, she felt a link forming in her mind.

    "Mistress? Erm, we have a problem."

    "...Please, no more paperwork for the day," she droned back mentally.

    "No, of course not. It's just that..."

    "Well, out with it then. I haven't got all evening," she retorted grumpily. Seriously, why can't those ghosts get to the point already?

    "...The phoenix is here again. She is on her way up to your office."

    "...What?"

    "The phoenix-"

    She immediately cut the connection. She got up from her desk and headed straight for the door in haste. She used up so much of her pay on repairing her door the last time that bird decided to die and visit her. She was not going to have a repeat of that. She immediately unlocked and flung the door open wide.

    "CALLI!" shouted the phoenix as she sailed through the doorway in all her fiery glory... and landed face-first on the floor.

    The apprentice reaper sighed and greeted, "Hello, shitty bird. Why are you dead again?"
     
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    • Chapter 34

    A great flame erupted as the cracking sounds continued, the fire rising up the chimney. A plume of fire shot out and formed into the shape of a bird. The fiery figure flapped a few times and started flying a loop around the fireplace before landing. As it came in to land, it slowly transformed into Kiara. Temma immediately turned around, dragging Leda with him.

    "Kikiriki!" the phoenix exclaimed as she got surrounded by the girls, "Hello… why are all of you here?"

    "You don't remember?" questioned Nene as the others returned the clothes.

    "A little… I thought we were sleeping in a cave. When did we get here?" she asked as she got dressed.

    "Er, today?" quipped Polka, "We already left the cave."

    "Oh, they're still here too," she continued, noticing the nothics. They took one look at her and sniggered, muttering about fire birds.

    "Ah, so you're awake."

    The whole party looked up to the giant who had reseated himself on his chair.

    "Well, what is this trade you wish to ask of me?" asked Svasdir.

    The chef blinked and asked, "What trade?"

    Silence reigned save for the crackle of the logs in the fire.

    "Urgh… of all things, she forgot that?" muttered Aloe. The nothics started cackling to themselves.

    "Wait… ah, yeah, I was wondering why I remember sleeping in a cave," exclaimed Kiara with a clap of her hands. Stepping forward she addressed the giant, who had raised an eyebrow at her antics, "Right, I have come to ask for a giant chicken." And the giant just laughed at her.

    "Ah, it has been a long while since I laughed like that," he admitted as he composed himself, "Ahem, I'm afraid I don't have any chickens, giant or otherwise. I merely have a garden and a copse of trees I tend for myself. As for what they saw…"

    He then pulled out a big chicken-shaped item from his pocket. It was also gilded gold and intricately made, looking quite life-like. He pressed a button on it and it showed a display they couldn't see as it was too far away. "This little thing helps to predict the weather for me whenever I feel lazy to do so," he informed them, "I got this from an interesting wizard I met on my travels. Smart feller." He then returned it to his pocket and turned to them, saying, "Well, as amusing as that was, you lot came here for nothing."

    "What about them?" asked Civia as she pointed to the nothics.

    "Hmm, I suppose they can stay. I don't know if I can do anything for them but I'll see what I can do," Svasdir mused as he stared at them.

    He then got up and walked to the door. "Right, thank you for the laughs," he stated as he opened the door, "Now, get out of my house. I have things to do."

    The crestfallen chef led the party outside. He noticed this and stated, "Look, you might have not found your chickens, but you learned something from this, yes?"

    She nodded sadly.

    "Hmph, alright. Goodbye," he wished them before shutting the door,

    "...Are you alright?" asked Lamy, placing a hand on the phoenix's shoulder.

    "...Let's just get a move on," she finally said after a moment's pause. She shrugged off the hand and walked on ahead.

    They were concerned with the chef behaving the opposite of her normal nature, but nonetheless, they followed after her. The party made their way back down to the plateau in silence, with only the blowing wind accompanying them.

    "Not sure if I need to ask this again, but are you alright, Kiara?" asked Nene, looking a little anxious, "Some of us here have worked with you before and I think I can say that we are concerned."

    "...I'll be fine, I just need to work some things out in my head," the chef told her after a pause, "thanks for your concern, though."

    "I just don't want… well, another Temma incident to happen again," she added.

    "Hey, I wasn't that bad," protested the knight.

    "You almost died trying to avenge Casa," stated Leda in deadpan.

    "Erm… ah-ha..." he murmured embarrassedly.

    "Anyhow, let's get going. I'm sure all of you would prefer beds over bedrolls," spoke up Kiara, prompting everyone to hurry along with her.

    They reached the cave they used yesterday. As they made camp and started to settle in for the night, the chef suddenly said, "Maybe I should stop going for gimmicks."

    "Hmm, what do you mean?" asked the half-snow elf as the bard started materializing the domed safe space. Instead of a full dome, the spell's area conformed to the cave in an oddly-shaped space instead.

    "I mean, maybe I should be working on the taste of my chicken dishes," explained the phoenix as she sat on her bedroll, "I've tried cockatrices and now this failed search for giant chickens. I wanted something unique to identify my dishes. But maybe, I should be looking for the best blend of flavours instead of using a gimmick."

    "That would probably be an interesting path to go," agreed the knight, "I can speak for my team that your cooking is quite delectable."

    "He just means it's delicious," spoke up Leda to the confused chef.

    "Oh! Thanks!" she replied with a grin.

    "You know… I was wondering… how are you a phoenix?" asked Polka, her face scrunching up in puzzlement, "You aren't on fire. You don't look like a bird. You-" She stopped as the chef started giggling at her words.

    "Ah, sorry. It's been a long time since anyone knew what I am," Kiara admitted with a grin after getting herself under control.

    "Well, what can you tell us? I'm sure everyone wants to know," stated Civia, her eagerness, as well as the others, were very clear on their faces.

    "I guess..." murmured the phoenix hesitantly, "Well, I don't remember when I became like this nor how many lives I lived through already..."

    "Hah!? You lived this long already?" exclaimed the fennec fox girl.

    "Shh, let her speak," said Botan, smacking the back of her head.

    "Umm, anyway, I know that I used to be human," the chef continued, "The human and the phoenix merged their souls to make me. Hard to see where the human ends and the phoenix begins but that's why I look like this. So, I can die a normal death. Dying of old age is what happens for me. But, for sudden deaths like the boulder earlier? It isn't as permanent."

    "So, you turn into that egg-thing we found earlier," spoke up Nene.

    "Yup," she confirmed, "And normally, I need a long time to come back but apparently putting it near a fire makes it faster." She then chuckled at their incredulous looks, continuing, "Aww, don't be like that! I can't really remember everything, you know?"

    "Ah, so that's why you are bird-brained at times," stated the lightning genasi.

    "Don't I know it," she agreed with a smirk, "But in the kitchen, I am king. And I'm very sure I can come up with a unique flavour that will make my chicken dishes famous."

    It rained that morning. Before they moved from the cave, they made sure the griffon egg was wrapped up warmly in a blanket from Lamy's backpack. The ground was wet and slick but they were still able to traverse through the mountain. The move across the bridge was a little riskier than normal due to the slipperiness but they made it with little to no trouble, even if they gripped the rope railings a little stronger. After that, the rest of the journey back was uneventful over the next two days, if you don't count the several times that they heard a griffon's cry and they pressed against the side of the mountain to avoid being seen. After the passing of Casa, it felt like the griffons stopped paying them attention. While it was a good thing, it made Temma morose from time to time.

    On the second night of their journey back, they ended up in the summoner's cave. Aloe grimaced at the thought but joined them inside anyway.

    "You really don't like him," stated Nene when most of the party had finished settling down.

    "Hng… I was supposed to grant his wish and go back to finish my test," the succubus told her softly, "Then again, I wouldn't have been able to meet all of you. I've been… enjoying? My time here. Boring parts aside, it's been a nice time. Different from my time back home."

    "What's your home like?" the bard asked in curiosity

    "...Literally fire and brimstone. And the people... well, fiends, are very competitive and the rivalries between factions are very intense," she described hesitantly, "Very cutthroat. Violent. Nothing like this. It's… relaxing not having to watch your back fifteen hours a day."

    "Well, then I'm glad you got out of that-"

    "Ah, not so fast. Eventually, I will end up back there," she interrupted, "I just hope… after being with all of you, I don't want to go."

    "No worries. You won't be going just yet. I'm sure we still have a long way to go before you go back," assured the bard.

    "Hi, hi, right? No way I want to go back so fast," stated the succubus with a grin.

    The morning started off swimmingly. It wasn't raining, but it was still a little cloudy. The party was thankful nothing interrupted their journey. They were quite relieved when they reached the end of the dirt trail and the wide-open grassland began.

    "Ha… now all we need to do is get back to the city," muttered Polka tiredly.

    "We'll get back soon enough," said Kiara, wanting to cheer up the fennec fox girl, "Meanwhile, we should visit the village to restock. I'm out of precook, so I'm looking to find out what sort of stuff we can get."

    "Very well, let us head there now," decided Temma.

    However, when they reached there that evening, the villagers seemed to be running around in a panic. The village leader then ran up to them with fear in his eyes and fell at their feet.

    "You must help us! Our hunters discovered a raiding force coming to our village. Please help!" he pleaded desperately.

    "And we will. Which day are they coming from?" asked the knight.

    After getting frantic directions from the leader, the party headed out. After Aloe was asked to scout ahead, everyone got ready to fight the raid. Since there was a low hill off to the side, the party decided to set up an ambush there. With fighters front and the rest behind, they waited patiently for Aloe to return. That didn't take long to happen.

    "They're on their way," she announced after she landed. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "There were hobgoblins on horses, a small group of goblins, and two ogres."

    "Hmm, they have horses. That… unless we can spook them, they will overrun us the moment we attack," muttered Temma aloud with concern on his face.

    "I… might have an idea," stated Leda, drawing everyone's attention to him. He smiled and turned to the side.

    "Poruneu, time to come out."

    A translucent, jellyfish-like thing suddenly appeared next to him. Along with it came a sense of… loss and grief. As if everyone could feel and understand what the knight felt several days ago.

    "Now, now, try and reel it in," he told it in a chiding tone. Slowly, the feeling receded. It was still there but it was reduced and not as prominent.

    "Alright, Poruneu will help us," stated the lightning genasi as he clapped his hands. Then, he directed, "Please Poruneu, go to the middle of the path there and lie flat on the earth, spreading yourself out."

    As it floated away, he continued, "I can direct him remotely and cast my spells through him, so I should be able to do something to scare the horses."

    "Just… just how in the world did you get that?" asked Aloe in disbelief.

    "What is it?" asked Nene.

    "A dybbuk."

    "Oh so that's what it is," exclaimed Leda with a smile.

    "More importantly, how in the world did you get it?" pressed the succubus, "It is supposed to be really difficult to bind one. And you have one."

    "I don't really know. It was with me when I woke up with my memories gone," he stated as he shrugged, "Up to you if you don't believe me or not."

    "Well, regardless, we do have a way to ambush the reading party now," said the knight as the succubus narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Let us take our places and we wait for them to pass us. Then, we strike."

    While everyone was waiting tensely, Leda was relaxed. The plan had been decided on and all they had to do is wait. It didn't take long for the raiding party to move past their hiding spot.

    "Are you ready? Poruneu?" he asked mentally.

    "Yes, master."

    As the horses walked over the area his bound familiar was hiding in, he began to seep into its mind and linked his hands with its tentacles. He then began to chant softly as he splayed out his fingers while reaching out, "The power of my birthright, the lightning strikes and will be felt by all."

    A loud zap ripped through the calm as his eyes flashed white. The shock emitted from its tentacles raced up the horses. Damage was minimal as it was dulled by the earth, but it successfully spooked the horses. They threw off all the hobgoblin riders and galloped off in fright. Meanwhile, the goblins and the ogres were looking at them and giving confused looks. That confusion ended when he noticed Civia gesturing and chanting softly to herself, causing a pillar of radiant light to rain down from the sky. Unfortunately, it missed its target and spurned them to decisive action. Almost immediately, the hobgoblins got to their feet and split up into two groups; one started shooting arrows at the party while the other got into formation and marched at them. The goblins also sprung into action and shot at them too.

    "Well, this is a start," he muttered as arrows started pelting the front line consisting of Kiara, Aloe, Temma, and Polka.

    "Inevitable frost of the north, beware its spread," chanted Lamy as an ice knife formed in her hand. She then flung it at the group of goblins. The knife and the resulting burst killed all but two of them.

    "ELF!" roared out one of the hobgoblins, but his voice was drowned out by a loud note that rose up courtesy of Nene. Five of the advancing goblinoids keeled over dead as blood dripped out of their ears.

    Suddenly, one of the dead hobgoblins rose up, its back bending at an unnatural position. It then jerked forward and let out a wail as it vomited blood on the ground. Leda sighed and facepalmed as he figured out what Puroneu was doing. Four of their party became terrified; Kiara and Civia let out squeaky sounds while Botan and Temma flinched at the sight. The archer was so disturbed she missed her shots.

    "Shake it off. That was just Puroneu," stated the lightning genasi calmly as he sent out eldritch blasts on the advancing group of hobgoblins.

    "Even if you say that..." muttered the phoenix with a shiver. But, she got herself together as the ogres began walking up to them. It got attacked as it got near but it shrugged it all off and slammed its greatclub on her shield. An audible crack made her wince as a lance of pain surged up her arm.

    Thankfully, Civia's eldritch blasts were able to knock it back and get it away from their front line. She then yelped as two arrows grazed her arm as she and the cleric were showered with them.

    Then, for some reason, Polka announced, "I'm going in."

    "Wait-"

    She didn't stay to hear out the knight, but charged straight at the blasted ogre, landing all her punches on its bare belly.

    "Shoot the fox!" shouted one of the lead hobgoblins while the other cut down the possessed body. Puroneu escaped by sinking into the ground and disappearing out of sight.

    Temma sighed and told everyone else, "Alright, let's go stop that from happening."

    The frontline broke off. The knight charged into the goblins and took them out while the rest chipped down the ogres. Due to the unrelenting barrage of attacks, the ogres fell quickly.

    Upon that happening, one hobgoblin captain shouted for a retreat. They shot the monk and retreated. She was able to fling back one arrow and bury it in one of their archer's skulls.

    "Don't let them escape!" shouted the knight as he charged straight for them, the reach of his glaive ending their archers.

    The hobgoblins fell one by one until only one of the captains was left.

    "You're surrounded. Surrender now!" shouted the knight as he faced the badly injured hobgoblin.

    "Go and die, human," he snarled back.

    "Come, look into my eyes," said Aloe as she stepped up.

    "What are you… yes, mistress?" he started to shout before replying blankly.

    "So, why do you want him to surrender? Weren't you trying to kill them?" she asked as she turned to the knight.

    He sighed and replied, "I was hoping we could find their base and maybe put a stop to their raids permanently. Yes, it may delay us from returning to Rivirapolis, but I would be remiss if this threat to the villages south of here is left unchecked." Turning to the charmed hobgoblin, he continued, "Now, let us see what he knows."
     
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    Kiara quickly got up and tried grabbing Calliope's waist. The reaper quickly got out of the way and the phoenix flopped on the floor again.

    "Aww, Calli! I want a hug!" groaned the chef as she got to her knees and just sat there.

    "No. I want to relax and enjoy my wine, thank you very much," she stated as she moved over to the table to get another drink, "On another note, what did you do now? At least the last time you showed up here, you died of old age."

    "A giant tossed a boulder on me."

    She blinked. "What?" she asked as she turned to face the phoenix.

    "A cloud giant tossed a boulder. I saved my friends and got killed," Kiara explained.

    An exasperated tone escaped her throat as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes as she did so. She then downed the rest of her drink, setting the glass on her table, and then faced her friend as she opened her eyes.

    "How in this world did a cloud giant show up at the capital city?" she asked seriously, wondering if she had to make an appearance in Rivirapolis.

    "Oh, I gathered a party from the adventurers guild and went north to meet him," the chef stated with a proud grin.

    Calliope stared at her friend with a most incredulous look. "You mean to tell me..." she started slowly as if talking to a child, "You went north... to search for this could giant, and you got flattened by a boulder he tossed."

    "Er, yeah!"

    "Ha... you shitty bird," groaned the reaper as she slapped her forehead and shook her head, "Why... just... why... fine, I guess this warrants a hug from-"

    "Nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice," the phoenix exclaimed cheerfully as she suddenly teleported over and started caressing Calliope's cheek and temple while nuzzling her cheek into the other side of the reaper's head.

    She grit her teeth for a few seconds.

    "Get off, shitty bird!" she shouted as a scythe appeared. Its blade swung through the phoenix's body and slammed her to the floor with the rotation. It was bloodless, as it was just her soul getting hooked, but she was groaning as she lay splayed on the floor. The reaper huffed in annoyance and muttered about clueless chickens as she dismissed her scythe. It was then, Kiara's body started dissipating.

    "Ah, I'm going back now," she muttered out dizzyingly, "See you next time, Calli!"

    The pinkette waited until her body disappeared, replying softly with a smile, "Til next time, Kiara."
     
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    • Chapter 35

    Through Aloe, they found out that the raiders were only recently formed after having come in from the north. Apparently, there were other paths going through the mountains that led to other places. They also got him to lead them to their base. It was in a small wooden fort built in front of a large cave. There was very little cover approaching it so they had to hug the mountain to get near it.

    "Hmm, this will be difficult," muttered Temma as they observed from afar.

    "Hmm, maybe we can trick them into letting us inside?" suggested Leda suddenly, a smile slowly forming on his face after a pause..

    "How do we do that?" asked a curious Nene.

    The lightning genasi's grin was in full form as he explained, "Right, you know how to create minor illusions?" Getting a nod, he continued as he gestured around, "You and me. We pretend to be hobgoblins with the illusions over us. Then, miss succubus here can get our friend here to lead us. Also, she can transform into a hobgoblin as well to complete the bluff."

    "What about all of us?" asked Kiara.

    "Well… you can pretend to be mercenaries that want to join the raiders," stated the genasi after musing over it, "We definitely look the part right now."

    After everyone agreed with the plan, they prepared everything according to Leda's plan. Civia even healed the charmed hobgoblin captain to sell the illusion that he had won a fight and had successfully persuaded some mercs to join them. Once they were ready, the polymorphed Aloe ordered the charmed captain to lead them to the fort. There were a few hobgoblins on the walls looking at them as they approached.

    They were stopped at the gate by two guards. After an exchange of words, they opened the gates. Inside, there were goblins milling around doing odd jobs, with a few hobgoblins standing at the firepit in the center of the fort speaking with another who was holding a quarterstaff with iron bands at the tips. However, once that one glanced over at them, he started shouting at everyone.

    "I think they figured it out," stated Botan as the raiders scrambled to get or draw their weapons. As they drew their weapons as well, she quipped, "If that one saw through the illusion... is he a mage?"

    "Might be, Take him out first. Quickly!" ordered Temma as the fight began, while the fake hobgoblins got ready to fight as well in spite of their transformations.

    There was a sudden shout coming from the left side. A hobgoblin patrol, on the way back to the fort, also showed up and moved in to attack them too. Temma broke off to take on the patrol while Kiara moved up as backup for the fake hobgoblins. In the melee in front of the fort, the charm on the hobgoblin captain somehow broke. However, as he turned around to draw his sword, he got struck down almost immediately. An ear-shattering sound imploded in the mass of goblinoids crowding in the fort entrance. Meanwhile, the rest of the spellcasters as well as Botan rained their attacks from long range on the patrol and the hobgoblins on the walls, with Civia's blasts knocking them off the wall if they hit.

    "Damn fools! Must I do everything myself!?" roared the hobgoblin devastator before he raised his hands and his quarterstaff up while chanting, "Hear my call, elements of-"

    "The elements will not help you today!" shouted Nene as she hastily weaved her own song to disrupt his casting, the tune of her whistling piercing his ears and causing him to stumble on his words.

    "You dare!?" he roared in rage as she darted off to the side. She had spotted one of the hobgoblin archers that was knocked off the wall trying to shoot her.

    His aim was off and he missed, but this let her run up to him to stab. It didn't work too well as it glanced off his armor. Thankfully, before he could fight back, he was blasted onto his back by an eldritch blast. Leaving the unmoving goblinoid, she hurried back to the fort entrance. However, a badly injured goblin ran out frantically. A pillar of radiant light missed as he ran past it.

    "Hurry, get it!" shouted Civia.

    Nene wasted little time; she intercepted the goblin, who wasn't looking, and stabbed him in the side with her rapier. Withdrawing her blade from its body and flicking the blood off, she quickly headed into the fort. Looking inside, she saw a lot of dead goblins off to the side while the devastator that was shouting at her was lying down on the other side while Polka pulled out her darts from his eyes. It was… a bit too gruesome and she almost lost the contents of her stomach.

    "Nene, we can change back now," Aloe told her, already having reverted back to her succubus form. Leda had already done so. The bard nodded and undid her illusion.

    However, while Lamy and Civia took a moment to heal some of them, several figures stepped out of the cave. More hobgoblins, one with a longsword and a shield, three with greatswords, and one wielding a staff, and two ogres. Inwardly, she groaned. They didn't have that much time to rest up and they just showed up. Then again, she sort of expected this as this was the raider's base.

    "You dare attack us!?" the presumed leader, clad in full plate, shouted at them angrily, "I will have you executed for this!"

    "Who are you to tell us that!?" shouted Temma in reply, "We are here to defend our peoples."

    "Pah! Know your place, fool! I am Warlord Maul and I answer your insults with death! Destroy them!" he roared his orders as he raised his javelin to point at them.

    "It is you who will fall this day!" cried out the knight as he led the charge forward alongside Polka and Kiara.

    "Under pressure, walls closing down on me, surrounding my life, looking down on me..."

    "Enough! You'll be singing a different tune when we're done!" the warlord roared over her singing while the ogres groaned loudly.

    Those words seemed to bolster the morale of his guard as they also charged forward to defend their leader. The phoenix was unexpectedly trashed and cut down, much to the horror of the others. In spite of that, spells, arrows, and Aloe's daggers began flying. A flaming sphere burst into life in the middle of the hobgoblins, slamming into the warlord while Nene diffused the fireball that was being formed by the hobgoblin devastator. Polka even baited an ogre's greatclub into hitting one of the guards, killing him in the process.

    "Die, human!" the warlord growled as his shield crashed against the glaive, "Hurry! Finish this one off!"

    "You're welcome to do so first," the knight retorted as he twirled his glaive, nicking the side of the warlord's head with his second swing. Then, he yelled when one of the guards stabbed him in the side after missing the first swing.

    "Heal them, quick!" shouted Aloe as she threw another dagger at that same guard.

    Botan's arrows, both real and copied, peppered one of the ogre's heads. It froze for a second before falling over onto its side. Beams of crackling energy steak across the fort's yard as eldritch blasts slammed into the hobgoblins, the warlord staggering backward and falling over Kiara's prone form, the chef getting some reprieve from danger thanks to the bard. The devastator then screamed as he got burned and frosted over at the same time. Meanwhile, the remaining ogre lumbered over to Temma and slammed its greatclub down on him, knocking him flat onto the ground, bleeding from his head.

    "You are next!" declared the warlord as he got up and charged at the monk.

    "Nope!" she jeered as she dodged out of the way, slamming her elbow into the nearest guard's face, breaking his nose. She tried using her other elbow, but it slammed into his half-plate, then followed with a flip kick, her heel crashing into his forehead. She then slammed the back of her fist into his half-plate, causing him to stagger into Kiara, who got up stabbing.

    "Kill them, you fools," roared Warlord Maul.

    The last hobgoblin guard standing answered his shout and stabbed the phoenix in the back while getting several arrows stuck in his arm. In turn, he got blasted apart by Leda.

    "Yosh, keep it up, everyone! We can win this!" shouted Nene as she jumped back to avoid the ogre's swing.

    "No! I will not let you!" roared the warlord furiously as he continued to tangle with Polka.

    She avoided his first swing, leaning backward to take a swig of alcohol. She then lurched back up but stopped just in time to avoid getting a deeper slash on her chest. She yelled as she got stabbed in her leg and responded with a backhand to his face with the same hand that was holding her portable cask. She tried punching him another time but missed as he staggered back, reeling from the blow.

    "Yah! This way!" shouted the bard as she continued to stab the remaining ogre before singing a stanza for Temma's health. Aloe got the final blow after flying down from the wall, clawing its throat and drawing blood. The large, hulking brute staggered before toppling over backward, blood flowing freely from its throat.

    With the warlord remaining, both warlocks focussed on him, continuously blasting him with eldritch energies.

    "Enough!" he shouted and made a desperate charge at the nearest person, Polka. The monk tried dodging out of the way, narrowly avoiding his stab. Unfortunately, he swung at her faster than she expected and slashed her stomach. Stunned, she couldn't do anything as she was stabbed in the same place.

    "Get off her!" yelled out Temma as he suddenly charged and thrust his glaive, finding a gap in the warlord's armor under the shoulder.

    His second thrust was deflected with the shield.

    The third found the throat.

    Warlord Maul sank to his knees, his hands grasping his gurgling throat, and he fell forward, dead.

    "Hmph," the knight sounded off as he glared at the dead body. Turning away, he headed for the injured. "Is everyone alright?" he asked as Nene tended to Polka.

    "O goddess, grant us your healing light that we may see the beauty of the dawn once more," prayed Lamy aloud. A few seconds later, almost the entire compound became bathed in soothing light that seemed to uplift the injured and ease them of their wounds.

    "Temma, I think we should look around for information," stated Leda as the rest of the ranged party members joined up with them, "I find it strange that these raiders suddenly appear here. Perhaps we can find out where they are landing."

    "And then, we can inform the relevant authorities in that region. Good idea, Leda," the knight agreed with a nod. Turning to the others, he continued, "Well, you heard him. Let us-"

    "Not so fast. You are staying here," spoke up the cleric as she tugged him over to Kiara and Polka by the collar of his splint armor, "You still need healing."

    "But-" he began protesting but clammed up when she glared at him, so he held up his hands and muttered, "Alright... Alright..."

    Botan snorted and muttered something jokingly about a 'Mummy Lamy' before joining the others in searching the place.

    "Oh? This looks interesting," muttered Polka, "Hng… but maybe Temma might make better sense of this..."

    She had decided to drag Botan into the cave with her to explore while the others searched the tents outside. The large cave had some furniture set up; a desk and chair with a bed beside it. On the desk were scattered pieces of papers, a few of which looked like maps of some sort. Several stumps of candle wax were clumped on one of the corners. Opening the two drawers showed nothing.

    "Hey, Polka! Come here!" called out her friend, her voice echoing a little.

    She blinked for a moment before heading deeper in.

    "This way," she heard as she came to a junction. Taking the right turn, she ran down the torchlit passage, which eventually opened up to a large dead-end space illuminated with a few more torches. Her eyes widened as she took in the number of crates, large ceramic pots, and chests in there.

    "Look at this," the archer called out as she dragged a medium-sized chest to the center of the room. To their surprise, the chest was unlocked. She opened the chest and found several daggers buried in lots of gold pieces. It was pretty much full to the brim in gold. Both of them goggled at the sight, unable to speak for a while.

    "...What did we just find here..." muttered the fennec fox girl in disbelief.

    "...I should call the others, I think," replied the lion girl, also in disbelief but a lot more composed.

    As Botan left the cave, Polka started checking all the other containers. The pots had various liquids, some had plain water while some had something that tasted fruity and alcoholic. The crates had various foodstuffs like grains, dried meats, and preserved vegetables. The other chests had varying amounts of gold and weapons. Further back in the cave had metal ingots and some blacksmithing tools.

    "Hey!"

    Her ears pricked up at the faint voice. She turned around and looked around. Nobody was there. The lion girl hasn't come back yet.

    "Hey!"

    A shiver ran down her spine. There was that voice again. And she still didn't see anyone. She quickly went around the cave, looking into every nook and cranny to make sure nobody else was around. That she was completely alone. And she was.

    "Hello? Is anyone there?"

    A thought popped in her head. Maybe there was a ghost here? Is the cave haunted? Did the hobgoblins kill people here before getting the bright idea of storing their stuff here? Who died? Was it a man? A woman? Dare she say… a child? The voice sounded child-like. Was it a child? Please don't…

    "Hellooo..."

    She shrieked as she fell to her knees, shouting, "Please don't kill me!?"

    "Polka? What are you going?"

    She looked up and saw Botan, Nene, and Aloe standing there, looking at her incredulously. She hurriedly crawled over to them and hugged the lion girl's legs, saying in a freaked-out tone, "G-g-ghost..."

    The three of them blinked in surprise. After looking at each other, they said in unison, "Eh?"

    "Is anyone there?"

    Silence.

    "Who said that?" asked the succubus aloud and looked around. The other two did the same.

    "Here I am."

    The lion girl's ears twitched, attempting to figure out where the voice came from. "It sounded like it came from the center of the cave," she mused as her eyes observed her surroundings.

    "I think… here?" added the lore bard as she went up to the open chest.

    "Hi!"

    Sifting through the coins, she picked up a dagger with a serpentine blade. The handle had a small guard and was plain, without any decorations and engravings.

    "Hello. Nice to meet you," the dagger said in a sweet voice.

    She blinked a few times in astonishment, almost dropping the dagger itself. After a moment, she gathered herself and said, "So… you were the one talking?"

    "Yup!" it exclaimed as its blade hummed a faint blue glow, "Erm, I'm sorry if I scared anyone. It's just very… well, lonely in the chest."

    "Eh? How did you get in there?" asked Botan.

    "Well… my creator's shop got raided by these red-skinned meanies," it stated, "I've been with them ever since. I kept quiet because I didn't want to be used by them. Thank you for saving me."

    "No problem," quipped the fennec fox girl, now getting over her fright. She then went on to introduce themselves, "My name is Polka. This is Botan and Aloe. The one holding you is Nene."

    "Oh… hello… I guess I should introduce myself then," the dagger said in an embarrassed tone, "My name is Anya and I am lucky to meet you."

    AN: Okay! So, HoloID 2nd generation, the sentient keris Anya Melfissa.

    Int 13

    Wis 13

    Cha 13

    Neutral Good Sentient Dagger

    Languages: Common

    Senses: Hearing and normal vision out to 30ft.

    Right, so she is essentially a +1 dagger. However, since her creator was using her base model as an experiment platform, he also added an extra enchantment to it. Mechanic-wise, you can choose to re-roll one attack, one save, or one ability check. The second one must be used. Yeah, in simple terms, she got one luck dice attached to her, all because she plays FGO. This re-roll can only be used once per day. Her main motivation would be making friends. Later down the line, she could earn more enchantments, but debatable. Maybe we can let Pekora tinker with her.
     
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    • Chapter 36
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    • Chapter 36

    After the round of introductions, they left the cave to inform the rest. Anya was tucked snugly into Nene's belt. In the large cave at the entrance, they found Temma and Leda pouring over the papers at the desk.

    "Hi, hi, Lamy finally let you go?" teased Polka.

    "Yeah, laugh it up," he retorted good-naturedly. Turning back to the papers, he said to Leda, "We should get these to the head guard… maybe we might be able to persuade the king to create another knight squadron."

    "If so, we should push that through Lord Aruran," suggested the lightning genasi.

    "Hey, let's leave them to do their thing and intro Anya to the others," said Aloe as the succubus pulled the other two outside.

    The rest were searching the tents. Lamy, Civia, and Kiara were busy hauling stuff out of the tents and placing them around the fire pit.

    "Hey, come here. We found something cool inside," she announced as she pushed the bard to the forefront.

    "Erm, okay..." said Nene hesitantly as she pulled out the sentient dagger, "Here. Introduce yourself."

    "Hi!" it said as the bard held it up to show everyone else, "My name is Anya."

    "Woah..." sounded off Civia in awe, the other two having eyes going wide.

    "That's so cool," said Kiara, "Are you alive? Are you trapped inside? Are you a spirit? Are you-"

    "Erm… n-no?" the dagger said hesitantly as it interrupted her, "I don't know how I became like this. I just… happened. I don't really remember anything else."

    "Well… do you want to go back to see your creator?" asked Lamy.

    The dagger fell silent. Then, a strange sound came out from it. "I apologize if I brought up something painful," the half-snow elf quickly apologized, having realized that she may have hurt its feelings.

    "...No… it's fine..." it muttered after sniffling a little, "My creator passed away. I don't remember how long ago. I just… know." And then, its voice perked up a little, "But, I'll continue existing. I don't know why I was made, but at least, now, I'm with friendly people. I'm happy. You'll be my friends, right?"

    "Sure!" said the bard with a smile.

    "Yay!"

    "Alright," said Temma, drawing everyone else's attention to the entrance of the cave, "Let us head back to the village and let them know about the base."

    "But, not before we get to take some rewards for ourselves," chipped in Leda with a grin, "We took a peek in the storeroom you found. I think there's enough for us and the village."

    The knight sighed and replied, "I suppose that is fair… but we are telling the village head of how much we took."

    "Well, we can help the villagers carry everything in the storeroom back there. Then, we divide the stuff up," suggested the phoenix.

    "Ah! I can agree with that," stated the blonde knight with a smile, "Let us do so."

    The village leader was overjoyed to see their return. Then, he became astonished by the news of the spoils of the fight. He called everyone in the village together and told them the news. Then, every able-bodied person went with the party to the fort to help carry everything back to the village. It took several trips to transport everything, but they did it without any interruptions. By the time they were done, night had fallen and the party was invited to spend the night there. Everyone accepted and they had a feast in the middle of the village.

    The next day, they decided to pick apart the spoils and see what they wanted. Temma traded his armor for a set of full-plate, which he took to the blacksmith to get fitted. Aloe got some replacement daggers. Botan got a new bundle of arrows. And everyone in the party took two hundred gold pieces each. After Temma's new armor was fitted properly, the party made their way back to the capital. It was quite the opposite from yesterday, as nothing disrupted their travel. Instead, they decided to quiz Anya on what she knew of the hobgoblins, which wasn't much to begin with. What she did reveal, however, was that her creator and former master was a mouse-folk.

    With that fact out in the open, Botan suggested that she might have originated from Gekko, where she and Polka were from. She then suggested that maybe they should go back there someday to find out what happened to the dagger's creator.

    "Really?" muttered out the dagger from her place on the bard's belt, "I didn't expect that. I do want to find out but… I have a feeling that they are already gone. But… yeah, it's nice of you to do that for me."

    "We're friends now. Why not?" declared Nene with a smile as she glanced down at her belt.

    "...Thank you..."

    The party reached the last village before the city and Anya fell silent. The knight hired a cart and added a little extra to get the driver to pick up the pace as they continued on their way. How fortunate that nothing came in to disrupt their journey and they reached the capital without a problem. Thanking the driver, they headed straight for the guild house. Upon reaching there, Lamy's snow fairy flew down the stairs and threw themselves at her.

    The cleric giggled and said as the fairy nuzzled her cheek, "Aw, I missed you too, my friend."

    As the other girls cooed at how cute it was, Temma and Leda went straight for the counter and addressed Miyabi, "We need to speak with Lord Aruran."

    The clerk looked at them for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll contact him for your request." He then picked up a smooth stone with a symbol carved on it and grasped it in his hand. Closing his eyes, he stood still for a moment. Then, he opened his eyes and said, "He will be here. If you would wait in the side room for him."

    The guys then walked over to the ladies and the knight said, "Well, Lord Aruran is on his way. If you wish to stay, you can join us in the side room. If not, do as you may."

    "Right, I should thank everyone for joining me for this weird trip to the mountains," stated Kiara, "Sorry that it wasn't really worth it for you all."

    "Aww, don't worry," spoke up Nene, "Sure, we didn't really succeed but, I'd like to think we learned a lot about ourselves and each other during that time. The more you know, you know?"

    The phoenix chef giggled and said, "Yeah, that's true. And… I better get back to Robel's and make sure my helpers didn't burn the kitchen down. Seeya!"

    "Goodbye!" chorused the others.

    "Ah, good morning, ladies," greeted Miyabi as the four girls came downstairs the next morning, "Lamy, a package came in for you today." He then pointed to a medium-sized crate under the bulletin board.

    "Eh? Are you expecting anything?" asked Polka as they went over to examine the crate.

    "I have no idea," replied the half-snow elf. Turning to the clerk, she asked, "Can you help us to open this? I do not have a crowbar with me."

    "Alright, give me a moment," he said as he ducked under the counter to look for one. A moment later, he was pushing down on the crowbar to pry the top of the crate open, which popped off without any difficulty. All five of them peered inside and found a shield that seemed to be made of strange material. The cleric ran her hand over it and felt it strangely familiar.

    "Actually, this feels like… oh, I think this is from Doris' captain friend," she stated in realization, "I believe he said something about sending me some armor." Carefully, she picked up the shield and turned it around. It looked well-made and well-shaped. Sturdy and protective. And when she picked it up, it started glowing blue.

    "Eh?"

    "Wow, where did you get that?" asked Aloe as she came in through the doors.

    "Hey, Miyabi, why is it glowing?" asked Nene, turning to the clerk.

    "Well, I'm not sure myself… but maybe you can bring it to the school to find out," he suggested.

    They agreed that this was a good idea and brought the shield to the school. At first, they wanted to ask Rushia to introduce them, but she was busy in a class. Artia was in the same class so they couldn't ask her either. So, they waited outside the library while Nene went in to ask Rosalyn since she worked there. She found her easily as she manned the front desk at the time.

    "Hello, welcome back, Nene," the librarian greeted.

    "Hello, Rosalyn. I need a bit of help," she replied and quickly explained what was going on.

    "Oh, alright. Then, you will need to see Professor Eriatta," the librarian explained and gave her directions to the classroom, adding, "Her class should be over by now."

    Thanking the helpful lady, she rejoined her party and they went off to find the wizard's classroom. Finding it was not a problem. The wizard was a water genasi with blue-green skin and damp, slick blue hair tied up into a ponytail.

    "Oh, hello there," she greeted warmly with a smile, "Do you require aid?"

    "Yes. Sorry for disturbing, but can you help identify this shield?" asked Nene as Lamy brought over and placed the blue glowing shield on the teacher's table, "My friend received this as a gift and we're wondering why it was glowing blue in the first place."

    "Hmm, do you know what it is made of?" the teacher asked as she gave the shield a once over.

    "Umm, I believe it was made from chuul shells," replied the half-snow elf, "There was an incident during our travels and we ended up fighting a few. Then, it was mentioned that I would be sent a gift for our help."

    "Ahhh, that makes so much more sense," the wizard said with understanding, "Right. What you need to know is that chuuls have a sixth sense concerning magical items. It is probably just reacting to any magical items present either on yourself or nearby."

    "Ah… so, our amulets?" quipped Polka as she held up hers that was around her neck. The other four mirrored her actions.

    "Indeed. So, perhaps once enough time has passed, the glow will die down and reset for detecting something else," reasoned Eriatta. Getting nods from the adventurers, she clapped her hands and asked, "Alright, is there anything else you need?"

    "Well… how about this?" asked the bard as she produced Anya's body while Lamy took the shield off the table.

    "Oh? Hmm, give me a moment," she stated before she went to a side table and picked out a pearl and an owl's feather. Coming back to the table, she requested, "If you would please place the dagger on the table."

    Nene did so. The wizard placed both items on either side of the dagger. Then, she pulled a piece of parchment and a bottle of ink. She placed both items next to the feather. Taking a deep breath, she started chanting, placing one hand on the dagger while the other hovered a distance over the feather. As the chanting continued, a crack was heard and the pearl began turning into dust, swirling around the dagger making an arcane symbol. The feather then started levitating above the table. It dipped its tip into the ink bottle and started writing on the parchment. As the chant ended, the dust flashed and disappeared into the ether, the feather falling down lifelessly onto the piece of parchment.

    Eriatta picked up the parchment and began reading off it aloud, "The enchantment on the dagger is strange and unknown. It is possible that the gods of luck have looked favorably on the enchanter and blessed it to bring some minor luck to their endeavors." She then looked at them and said as she placed the parchment on the table, "I must say, it seems Lady Luck has definitely smiled upon you if you actually found this."

    "Woah, cool!" exclaimed Polka. By that time, the glow on the shield had died down and several students had made their way into the class.

    "Ah, it seems my class is starting soon," the wizard stated.

    "Thank you for your help," replied Nene with a grin, taking the dagger from the table and sliding it to her belt.

    "Miyabi! Anything new!?" called out Polka loudly as the party of five entered the guild house.

    "Other than the everyday stuff, check the board, Polka," stated the guild clerk, "You don't have to ask me. Unless there is an emergency request, everything will be on the board."

    "Ah, okay then," she quipped in reply before the party went to peruse it.

    While that was happening, someone else stepped into the guild house. She wore traditional religious clothes colored red and white. Her hair and her furry ears were snow white. She stepped up to the counter and asked, "Hello, are there any members present for help?"

    "Ah, Miss Fubuki," greeted Miyabi politely, "Yes, there are. Over there." He motioned to the bulletin board, where the five of them are still looking through the requests.

    She clapped her hands with a happy face and said, "Wonderful!" She approached them and asked, "Hello, everyone. Can you help me with something?"

    "Oh? Help with what?" asked Aloe, a little puzzled by the sudden appearance of the fox girl.

    Looking at the five members present, she frowned as she looked at the succubus, "Hmm, a problem. I need some help cleaning the shrine near the city… but I don't think you can get in."

    "Ha? Another shrine..." muttered the fiend with a pout, "Looks like that's another place I can't get into."

    "You are taking things much better than I expected," stated the fox cleric with a raised brow.

    "Erm, you see, it was like this," started Nene as she proceeded to fill her in about the island shrine.

    "Oh… right, right, right, that makes sense," she replied, her frown now absent. Turning to the succubus, she apologized, "Sorry you can't help, but rules are rules."

    Aloe waved it off, trying to show unconcern about this, "This is fine. How long do you need to tidy up a shrine, anyway?"

    "In any case, we should be done by evening, so you can reunite for dinner," assured the fox cleric with a gentle smile.

    "Alright, let's get started," said Polka eagerly.

    "Indeed. Let us settle this quickly," agreed Lamy.

    Smiling all the way, Fubuki led the group of four out of the guild house, leaving Aloe and Miyabi behind.

    "So, what will you be doing while they are helping Miss Fubuki?" asked the clerk behind the counter.

    "Eh, I'll think of something."
     
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    • Chapter 37
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    • Chapter 37

    Aloe thought she would be able to figure something out… but she couldn't. Without her friends, she couldn't really feel safe in this mortal city. She couldn't help but feel judging stares from the ordinary folk. Hence, once it became a bit too unbearable, she ducked into an alley and stretched her wings. Taking to the air, she found a freeing feeling as she went across the roofs of the city. She could feel all her worries fall to the wayside as she soared through the air. Truly liberating.

    "Stop, thief!"

    The shout tore her out of her reverie. Steadying herself into a hover, she turned around to try and find the source of the voice. She spotted a cat girl, Okayu if she wasn't mistaken, chasing a cloaked figure with pink hair peeking out from below the hood. They nimbly jumped across the roofs of the buildings.

    Making her decision, she flew over with intent on intercepting the fleeing thief. She flew above the chase scene, making sure she couldn't be spotted. Then, she suddenly swooped down and flew right at the runner, slamming into their stomach. With a groan, they got knocked onto the roof. The hood had slipped off, revealing Spade Echo.

    "Ah! Thanks for the help," said the cat girl as she caught up with them. She immediately slapped a pair of manacles on Spade Echo's wrists.

    "Uhm… no problem," the succubus muttered hesitantly. As the urban hunter hauled the thief away, she noticed a small pouch in the crack of the roof. Glancing at the leaving duo, she reached down and picked up the pouch. Making another glance, she flew off, intending to examine the pouch later.

    "Huh, looks easy enough," muttered Polka as she hammered on a nail.

    When Fubuki brought them to the shrine, it looked like it had seen better days. It was housed inside a simple hut with a wooden fence around it. Several wooden archways bordering the path through the forest leading up it. The fox girl then sent them around to help spruce up the place. The fennec fox girl was asked to help replace parts of the wooden fence. Lamy was asked to help clean the shrine and the hut itself. Botan and Nene were asked to repaint the archways, or gates as the fox girl called them. Some wood blocks, paint jugs, brushes, and buckets of soap water were prepared by some attendants and set beside the entrance of the shrine with some tools.

    They quickly got down to work. Everyone had an attendant or two to help them with their tasks. The monk cut apart the blocks to fashion new posts for the fence. The cleric took time to use Mending on torn cloth, and the rice paper walls and doors. She then worked with her helpers to clean the hut, both the floors and the wooden parts of the walls getting wiped down with soapy water. Meanwhile, the archer and the bard painted the gates with their helpers making sure the ladders were steady.

    And what was the fox girl doing at the same time? The snow-white girl had vanished elsewhere as after assigning the attendants to them, she disappeared. However, the party was busy with their respective tasks and didn't pay too much attention to her absence.

    But, when they finished, it was a different story.

    Aloe ran into the house and slammed the door. Towa glanced at her for a moment before going back to her book. The succubus slumped to her knees and produced the pouch she picked up. Undoing the strings, she poured out the contents. Her eyes shone when she found a few pearls and a gleaming diamond.

    "Oh… this must have been Spade's stuff," she mused inwardly with glee. Then she frowned, "Hmm, did she put it in the crack on purpose? Sneaky thief. If she didn't have this on her, she could pretend to be innocent."

    "I hope you didn't bring any guards here during your larceny," stated the half-devil as she continued to read.

    "I didn't steal anything. I just picked this up after someone else stole it," she explained as she got to her feet.

    "Well, I suppose it isn't stealing if you aren't caught," stated the warlock as the succubus made her way over and sat in the adjoining chair, "I just hope the thief you took that from didn't decide to find you."

    "If she does..." she stated as her eyes gleamed an otherworldly glow, "I can just… use my charms to get out of it."

    "Just don't get caught."

    "I know, I know," she muttered before yawning. Flying, as free as it feels, is a little tiring after the rush fades away. She slowly drifts off to sleep after a while.

    "Thank you for the assistance!" chorused the attendants as they bowed to the party of four.

    "Thank you for your help!" they replied in unison.

    Both parties then parted, waving as they did so.

    "Where's Fubuki?" asked Polka as her head looked around, trying to see if she could spot the fox girl cleric.

    "Hmm, she disappeared, didn't she?" mused Botan, "You know… I'm curious too. Where did she go?"

    "Let's try and find out then," Nene declared as she stepped off the beaten path. Their interest peaked, the rest went after her.

    After a few minutes of walking around, they heard the sounds of fighting. They quickly hurried forward and hid behind a large tree. In a very small clearing, they found four Fubuki's and of all people, Korone. It looked like they were sparring. The Fubuki's were all attacking at once while the dog girl was expertly fending them off with punches and kicks.

    "Woah," sounded the fennec fox monk softly in awe. One Fubuki got punched through the chest and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Another got kicked in the face and disappeared in a similar way.

    The remaining two Fubuki's dashed away, putting some distance between them and the bounty hunter. One of them then chanted, "Wind and shadow form around me. Obscure their sight with more to see."

    "Not again!" shouted the dog girl as she charged at them. The non-chanting fox tried getting in the way but a punch and a kick later, became a puff of smoke.

    To no avail. Three more Fubuki's puffed into existence. Two immediately threw punches, which were blocked by Korone. As they chased after her, she kicked both of them in the face, smoking them. She then flew forward, sending a flying kick into the third mirror image and dispelling it as well. Sidestepping the last Fubuki, she grabbed the kicking leg and threw her to the ground, followed by kicking her head. Strangely enough, the fox girl was uninjured.

    "Bye bye," she said before shimmering out of existence.

    The dog girl blinked a few times in disbelief, and then shouted, "Hey! Where did you go!?"

    "So… why are you here?"

    The party of four spun around and found the fox cleric standing behind them with a questioning look.

    "Erm… ah-ha, you see, we were looking for you," stammered Nene in embarrassment, "We, er, we finished... cleaning up the shrine."

    "Oooh, thank you for your help," she stated with a happy smile.

    "There you are!" cheered Korone as she came round the tree, ready to fight. She then blinked when she caught sight of the party there. "Oh, hey guys. How's everything?" she greeted them with a big grin, "Oh, hi Polka,"

    "Erm, hi..." replied the fennec fox girl as she waved hesitantly.

    "Alright, Korone. I think we need to put our sparring on hold," stated Fubuki, "I need to check on the shrine. Please help them out of the forest."

    "Okay! See you next time," she replied.

    Waving goodbye to each other, they went their separate ways. It wasn't long before they found the path again, leading to the main road to the city.

    "I have to go now, see you next time," said the bounty hunter cheerfully as she went the opposite way.

    "Bye!" replied the party of four as they separated, heading back to the city.

    "Ah, and done," declared Lamy before handing the report in to Miyabi, "Here it is."

    "Thank you, Lamy. Well written as always," praised the clerk as he filed the piece of paper away.

    After leaving the guild house, they headed straight for Robel's, meeting up with Aloe on the way and entering together.

    "So, how was your day?" Aloe asked Nene as they sat down.

    "Ah, a lot of painting for me and Botan," the bard started, as the half-snow elf told their usual orders to the waitress, "Polka replaced their fence while Lamy cleaned up the shrine. It wasn't as big as the one on the island though. I think you should have come along though. The area around the shrine might have been off-limits for you but you might have been allowed to paint the gates. They are these giant wooden arches that lead the way to the shrine."

    "Huh… maybe," mused the succubus, who then shrugged, "Eh, doesn't matter much."

    "Ah, what have you been doing then?" asked the fennec fox girl with interest.

    "Well..." the former started hesitantly, not knowing if she should say anything. Eventually, she did, "I didn't do much. A bit of flying over the city… then I helped to stop a thief Okayu was chasing. It was Spade Echo."

    "Ooh, nice!" stated the lion girl with a thumbs-up, "So she is finally going to be thrown in the goal?"

    "Er… I hope so?" she replied as she moved her hands under the table.

    "Enough talking about thieves. Let us eat," declared Lamy as their waitress came back with their food.

    "Aye!" cheered the other four.

    After a rather cheery dinner, Nene, Botan, and Aloe left, leaving Polka and Lamy at Robel's to continue drinking. The lion girl went back to her room to sleep while the bard accompanied the succubus back to Towa's house.

    "You don't have to do this, you know?" the fiend asked, the both of them walking slowly as to let their food settle.

    "I know. I was thinking of meeting this Towa person," her friend stated, "Maybe I can learn something new from her."

    "Not sure if you want to once you meet her," muttered the succubus.

    "That doesn't sound promising at all," quipped Anya.

    "You be quiet," Aloe retorted.

    Someone then bumped into her. "Hey!" she yelped as she steadied herself before walking away.

    "Weird, why did they bump into you?" asked Nene as she looked behind them. A cloaked figure continued walking away..

    "No idea… wait, where's my pouch?" she suddenly asked as she started patting around her belt.

    The figure suddenly booked it.

    "Stop thief!" shouted the bard and both of them chased after the fleeing figure, with the succubus using her running start to go airborne.

    She went to the rooftop level and flew after the thief, who was leading the two on a merry chase across several streets. Suddenly, she turned into an alley two turns later, ran into a dead end.

    "Hah! We got you now!" shouted Nene as she tried speeding up.

    Much to their astonishment, the thief ran up the wall. After a few feet, the thief sunk their fingers into the cracks and started scaling upwards.

    "Oh, no, you don't!" shouted Aloe angrily as she slammed into the thief's back and grabbed them by the neck.

    "Argh! Get off damn it!" they yelled as their hood slipped off.

    "Huh, you again," the fiend stated as she flew down to the lore bard and held Spade Echo against the nearest wall. She then ripped the pouch away with her free hand, saying, "Thank you, very much."

    "Guah! Give that back! That isn't yours!" protested the thief as she struggled against her grip.

    "Huh, funny, coming from a thief," snarked the succubus as she returned the pouch to her belt.

    "I have a reason, stupid devil," the pink-haired thief retorted.

    "Then, tell us why," stated the bard.

    "Nene, I don't-"

    "I want to know," she interrupted her friend as she came over and placed her hand over Aloe's shoulder, "Please. Let her say her piece."

    After a few seconds, the succubus sighed and muttered, "Fine." Then, she released the thief.

    Gingerly rubbing her neck, she started as she turned around and leaned against the wall, "I steal to help the place I used to live at. That orphanage you visited all those days ago? I'm an anonymous donor that helps to keep the place running. The people there are nice and really care for them. They never knew I got involved in bad company. After coming of age and striking out on my own, I decided to go up from pickpocketing and lost kid scams, I used what I learned to get into burgling. I'm pretty good if I do say so myself. I may enjoy being a thief, but I also remember where I came from. If anything, keeping the kids well off there means less future competition for me." She said the last sentence with a wry grin.

    Silence.

    "So, what are you two going to do now?" she asked further, "If anything, you two should give me that pouch back."

    "No… I don't think we should," drawled out Aloe with a frown, "I 'found' that pouch by myself. Doesn't matter if you stole it or not. Finders keepers, little girl."

    "Spade Echo… are you going to sell off whatever is inside the pouch and give it to the orphanage?" asked Nene.

    The thief quickly nodded and replied, "Most of my money goes there… well, after paying my expenses of course, a girl's gotta eat."

    "Aloe… return the pouch," the bard decided.

    The succubus frowned. After her friend gestured to the thief, she made an exasperated sound and pulled off the pouch. Before handing it back, she pulled out the diamond and a pearl, and tossed the pouch at the thief.

    "Aloe..."

    "Look, I understand she is doing this for the orphanage and for herself," she said exasperatedly as she watched the thief run off with the rest of her goods, "This is me holding back from going fire and brimstone on her. Not to mention I know there are a few spells that need these kinds of things." Saying the last sentence, she holds up the two things she took from the pouch. "This way, I can at least satisfy my needs and actually help my friends that I rather not turn away to satisfy my needs," she ended, her face almost red during her tirade.

    Silence.

    "...You feel the need to do bad things?" Nene asked hesitantly.

    Aloe sighed and said, "You do realize I'm a succubus summoned here without fulfilling my summoner's needs or wishes. And I am stuck here until I am killed or that idiot actually asks me to fulfill something. And while I'm here, I have needs too. So, I'm sorry if this… makes you dislike me, then I-"

    Shocked by the interruption of Nene's hug, she asked, "What… are you doing?"

    "I won't dislike you or hate you or whatever. You're my friend and that's that," the bard stated with a grin, "So… if you absolutely have to do… something bad, I can keep a secret."

    "You… you are… alright with this?" she muttered in disbelief but continued with a smile, "You are unbelievable."

    "You can say that again," quipped Anya, "My new master has a real big heart it seems."

    "Erm, 'master' doesn't sound appropriate," said Nene with a blush.

    "Well, you are my new owner, why not call you master?" the dagger told her, sounding confused.

    "That… nevermind, I guess you can call me what you want," she relented, suddenly feeling quite tired.

    "Okay, master."

    "Not in public, please."
     
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