A Trip in Amethyst (IC)

[Elvwitand]

RTNS Aka.
Following her with my trusty thrusters, I was impressed.
She seemed to know the library as much as the librarians did and directed me to Languages of the Empire, Volume 1, apparently a good start into the local languages.
I smiled and carefully took the book, then sat it down.
She offered me her aid in learning, but left that for me to decide, and asked me, if I couldn't tell her about myself and my being as a shipgirl, considering, that I was the first shipgirl she met. For me, it seemed a fair deal.
She aided me in finding a book, and a series, apparently, to work from, I'd help her in enhancing her knowledge.
I nodded.
"Gladly, Lady Takida.", I told her, "As mentioned, I am RTNS Aka, vessel of the Navy of Her Majesty, The Empress of Teienai. That means, that I am the personification or spiritual manifestation, the term in our language is actually tsukumogami..." I paused. "...I wonder if your spell translated that... anyway, I am the manifestation of the Satsuki-class Construction Ship RTNS Aka, which is in orbit. A hard-working little construction ship - not one of the big and fancy cruisers or even a carrier, but important in my own right, if I may say so."
I let a beat pass.
"As a shipgirl, I have full access to the abilities and specifics of my hull, including..." I smiled and reached into my Kimono's sleeves. I pulled out two strips of paper - but not any paper. Inscribed with symbols and sigils of our own folk magic, these strips of bamboo paper were charms. And, with a bit of concentration, it revealed, what these charms did.
A small flame erupted as I threw one into the air, forming into a small, yellow... pod. It was destinctively mechanical, dark-tinted windows obscuring the look inside. Two small clamps jutted out in the front, but underneath, a small bulge hid something more important.
The other also erupted into a small fire, but the thing coalescing out of the little red flame was different: Long wings jutted out from a main hull, twin booms extending backwards and covering air intakes. The pilot's cockpit cantilever jutted forwards. The canopy was not opaque, but translucent, a small, chubby fellow sitting in it, in a red, skintight suit and a helmet on his head. A large dish sat on the craft's back.
With a small whirr, the second craft's engines powered up and the craft lifted up to hover, while the yellow thing used a blue beam to open the book.
"...the yellow thing is a Hoseki X95H Workerbee, the one with the dish an Aozora D133A Eagle.", I explained, "I can call upon my small craft complement - luckily a bit more freely then what I currently have aboard." The workerbee flipped the pages open, while the Eagle hovered over them. The dish spun. "And I can call upon data they gather and my ship's systems. In this case, the workerbee flips the pages, the Eagle scans them and transmits the book into my mainframe, where it is analyzed and where I process it, learning the language."
I let that sink in.
"Sometime in the near future, Lady Takida, I will ask you to cancel the translation spell and then I'll try my new language skills.", I told her with a smile.

Aka described herself in perfect detail, it wasn't difficult to understand and even some of her native words could come through which she knew "It would seem where your from we have a similar language base." She gave a little chuckle, it was in regards to tsukumogami which was filtered but she could hear the native word come through. "But please do go on." She let her continue the explanations, she had plenty to tell of herself, it was lovely. Honestly, Aka seemed quite a bit like her own daughter, maybe that's what drew her to helping her more than just giving the librarians a bit of a break here, a bit of a maternal instinct kicking in. She also had some kind of magic to her as well, not too shabby really, different from her own but even here in Elvwitand, magic varies person to person so it's safe to say through the known universe and multiverse it'd be no different. "Quite advanced aren't you. I'm a bit surprised you'd come here then, when our world is still quite simple by comparison. But I'm glad you're here anyway. I know we only just met but I guess I'm already feeling a kinship here between us, if nothing more, than it's the teacher in me wanting to guide a student. And if I didn't mention it, your kimono is lovely. I'll be sure to lift the spell when you're good and ready to give the languages a try so just say the word. Based on what you told me, sounds like it'll be sooner than later indeed."

Crap, what do I tell her, Autumn thought. She did not yet want to drop the ruse; for now she was content to act the part of a weary tourist. It would save her the trouble of having to explain planets, galaxies, and the Commonwealth.

"Just taking a break from work, that's all. Boss has been on my ass about getting that report done, but I'm just so burned out right now and really need a rest. I'd like to see more of this world, but my schedule won't allow it unfortunately. I only have two days off; then I must head back to the office."

"Aww that's really to bad." Rasha said sympathetically as their waitress returned setting cups of tea for the two girls and the coffee for Autumn. Along with the two bowls of soup for them. "Enjoy." She said leaving them to their food. Rasha continued, "Hopefully you'll get to see more. The Capital is wonderful of course but there's so much more to the Empire. Vast states the size of some small countries elsewhere! Even our home state is pretty decent but it's mostly forest and farmlands to be honest. But other big cities in the west can easily rival the Imperial Capital."

"Quite so." Vellorina agreed, "I'm hoping to take Rasha to see some more of the Empire in the near future." she said as she blew on her hot tea. "Hopefully you'll get to as well, soon enough."

Shava entered the cosy tavern, weaving gracefully through the crowd before reaching the bar. Dropping some money on the counter, she took her ale and went to find a secluded table to reflect on the day.

It had started fairly normally. Just finding a portal to a whole other world while in the woods, but to be honest that wasn't unusual for her at this point. Upon going through it, she had found herself in a strange city, unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Sipping her ale absent mindedly, she thought about her plan of action. There was no hurry to get back through her portal of course, but Shava disliked being in and around large crowds. She hadn't chosen the very corner table for no reason after all. She had seen so much in only a few hours, temples, street bards and markets and many a cosy looking tavern. That reminded her...
Stifling a sigh, she made her way back to the bar, "Got any rooms?" She put down some change on the counter and watched the barkeep expectantly, praying that no-one was watching the interaction.
"Certainly miss!" She replied, gesturing to the stairs, "Right up there."
Shava silently thanked the barmaid and, leaving her empty glass on the side, climbed the stairs to her room.

The next morning, she was up at the crack of dawn. Paying her nightly fee at the tavern, she slipped out into the streets of Amethyst. If she was going to be here a while, she might as well meet people, or at the very least learn their names.

Since Shava's arrival, she'd been followed. Not by anyone nefarious or with wicked intent but by a cat. Not just any cat, it was a witch familiar belonging to one Azura Kugi, a small witch girl from Shinzajiro. With so many people appearing out seemingly thin air in this vast world, how could one not be a bit curious. She was still pretty young though and probably naive. She'd wanted to meet someone from outside the Empire and word was out that Amethyst was finding itself inundated with lots of visitors. Of course using her familiar to sort of stalk someone was sure to get her in a lot of hot water from well everybody, her sister, her parents, her teachers but how else was a shy witch to find someone. But finding an elf was just as exciting, especially with so cybernetic types arriving. She'd once tried to read about advanced technology and it made her head spin, so naaah give her the gold old ways any day of the week.

"No need." A deep voice in a clear, rough accent remarked. He grinned, producing a brass-plated lighter from his pocket. Grateful for someone to talk to, however, he pressed on, eyes taking note of her style of dress. "I have just arrived, actually. Pretty far-off, if I can say so myself.
Say, what's a tourist like me to look for around these parts? Anything interesting, any must-sees?"

"Welcome to Elviwtand. I'm back from extended vacation myself. It's been a few hundred years since I was here in the Capital but before leaving I saw the Castle, that was a pretty sight. I know many like to see it. Other points that draw a lot of visitors would be the Battle Arena, spectators or participants. The Hunters Guild, the Clock. You can go to any place like that. Some times it's good to also just walk around and see what draw your eyes. That's what I did when I was last here but I wound up spending all my time in the castle. Word of advice when the Will-o-wisp guide says to follow her, you better follow her or you'll be wandering dark corridors forever. I was lucky they found me in a day." She gave a bit of a odd smile, it was pretty funny when she thought back to it.

As Tysteus looked over the sights of the city from the ship's deck, she couldn't help but notice a few eyes on her, including that man in the gold sunglasses. Not that she minded the looks at all; for adventurers and gladiators alike, being able to be easily recognized was a boon, it made them easier to remember and to be sought out for commissions, matches and quests, making their livelihood easier. She even flashed a smile in his direction before looking out again.

Of course, her sight-watching was interrupted by the little dragon girl! She was actually quite happy to meet a local, her own knowledge of Amethyst was rather limited, after all. "Heh, yeah, I'm new in this place. Name's Tysteus, and I'm guess y'don't see people who look like me a lot? But yeah, I'm hopin' t'look around this place, just enjoy th'sights an'take it all in. I'm an adventurer an' warrior by trade, so I'd imagine there's places that deal with people like me?"

"Truth is, I really don't get out much. Only just recently got to leave my home in Fa to see some of the greater world beyond our Empire. And even then, I think you're the first I've seen!" She smiled "Adventure and a warrior huh? Well there's two good places you can go if you want to do what you do best. The Battle Arena is where great fighters gather to do combat! Nobody dies anymore, not since the days of my Grandpap and Grandmam but it's still a lotta fun. I did compete once, did pretty well for myself but knocked out in the 6th Round. That was a local tourney and sad to say I didn't make it to Regionals. Anyway, there's that and the Hunters Guild but everyone simply calls it The Guild. You can pick up a job for some gold. Usually monster hunts or escort journeys or something. Otherwise, I'm always glad to show you around the city. I was here for a while before I went overseas for a bit so I know the city pretty well! Plus sad to say I didn't spend much time talking to the folks when we were out to sea! Usually I'm quite social but I don't know just kinda wanted to cloister up for a while."

"Ten four! Register us! We gonna be our own party. After all, we are from one squad."-Vadim says and then prepares a speech to his party.

-"Alright, people! Tonight we gonna try everything we learned during the exercises and score some good money to spend on booze! Werevolves and troll are tough, not gonna lie, but we are also an experienced squad! Now, let's create a plan for two operations."-Vadim and his companions started to draft plans for the hunts, they would commence this night, that promises to be fun.

First - Operation "Terra Cotta", a codename for troll hunt. On the way to the marked cave, Reavers planned it, discussing various ideas to hunt him. After several bottles of beer, they have agreed to dig a small pit with an enternching shovel and other tools they have at hand, put some sharpened wooden stakes in it for extra damage and cover it with branches and grass. Plan is to lure the troll to the pit, disorient it with flashlights on strobe mode and then the pit would hopefully make troll either fall and trip or just fall through, in which case it will still be easier for Vadim to strike right in the eye with a bayonet due to troll being on somewhat lower ground. After falling through, troll would be either blinded by Vadim's strike, or just disoriented with strobe flashlights, while all four Reavers would attack from different sides. Seth would attempt to hit troll in the back with his warclub, attempting to damage it's spine. Seth belives, that displaced spine could neutralize even fast regenerating creature. If they manage to kill troll, they would gather it's head, hand and blood sample, and then plan an operation against werewolves.

Reavers went to the location of troll, where they would try to execute the operation.

"Very good then, I shall register you for the Quest. Best journies to you and good luck on the mission!" She took care of their information getting them set and it was now up to them how to approach their new mission. The so called Terra Cotta troll could be found right now laying backside up and asleep but with a close enough approach it wouldn't take much to get him up from his slumber. He stood as a massive 15 feet (457 centimeters) tall, a single cyclopes eye to peer back at the fools who'd get to close (though likely he's just about to meet his match now) a single horn protruding from his head. His feet he could stomp and cause the ground to shake around him, he could pick up trees and use them as projectiles. How they'd go about fighting him would be up to them, but it was clear this troll was going down!

It had been a long time since Yali actually had to use weapons in battle. Years, perhaps, as she could barely recount the time she had her machine pistol in hand. She has since gotten stronger, and more comfortable with her fighting style, with her Megaton Punch able to shatter walls like glass. She had gone a long time without using armour in battle either, as being a Regenerator meant that as long as she had enough Qi and enough time, she could always get herself back in fighting condition. However, this was a show, a chance to try something different before an audience, or to surprise opponents without prior knowledge of her. The only concern she had left was her powers, and there was one surefire way to make sure hers wasn't somehow disabled in this universe.

"Well..." Yali said, before she detached her head from her neck and held it up to her chest with both hands. "It looks like my powers still work. As for weapons and armour, have you got anything I could borrow?" She put her head back at the stump of her neck and reattached it where it belonged. "I guess I'll take your suggestion though, is it possible for me to watch a match or two before I get in the fight?"

She took a glance to her side to see some...Lizardpeople? No, these weren't members of that species, not ones that look typical to her, at least. She waved her hand to them and turned to the one closest to her. "Oh hey, you here to fight too?"

She gave a smile, somehow this ambitious youngster reminded her of herself when she was a young wannabe warrior. If only she had someone to help her "You got a lot of spirit and I like you. We do have equipment rentals and I'll make it my treat to give you a proper competitive going. And I'll get you an arena seat." She tore off a ticket stub, they had these just for the first timers to watch a match. "Give it a watch, if you want to come back, I'll have something ready for you. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the show, it should be starting soon."

Now in the restaurant, Cao's shawl flew open, revealing the menagerie for a moment before a forceful wind from Garid shoved the shawl down. With that done, most of the group took their seats easily, except for Garid, who stayed flying above his chair, and Hunter, who was reaching for the seat and pulling it out one second, and then suddenly gone, like he had never been there the next. At that, D'aillisioux sighed. "Give me a moment..." he said, diving into a vortex of fabric.
Cao adjusted his shawl as the critters below it stirred awake, hungry. "Hunter really needs to design a sitting pose for his model one of these days." A snake rose out from below and set its head on the table.
"You know I can still hear you, right?" His voice came from a sphere around the party. "And besides, it's always fu— ow, quit it, blueberry!"
They both popped right back into existence in the air, both dropping onto the chair, but as quickly as they landed, D'aillisioux's vortex opened back up, swallowing him. Just before Hunter fell in, it closed, letting him land flat on the floor, arms crossed and pouting. "Blueberry," he said, getting up, "you're no fun." He turned to the waitress. "Ah, so sorry you had to see all that. I'll have... I think I'm feeling like lamb today, if you folks have it. And coffee."

"Something light," Garid said. "Quail, maybe? And maybe just a light wine."
"I'll have a bit of..." Kurainos began, "how about some tea? Something spicy and warm, that kind of tea, if you have it."
Vla'ir glanced at Kurainos. "I think I'll have a menu first. I'm not sure how everyone's ordering without a menu."
"Sheer guesswork, Vla'ir, sheer guesswork."
D'aillisioux shrugged. "Some sort of calming tea, like mint. I'll also be needing a menu before I can figure out food and all."

Last was Cao, whose shawl was flying up and around as he struggled to push his beastly nest downwards. By the time the waitress had come, his shawl was a blossoming, fabric roof above a thrashing menagerie of unsightly worms, snakes, hagfishes, all sorts of legless, wriggling creatures. Amidst them were a few chains, some carrying sharpened hooks and spear-points, and at the sight of the waitress, the boy grinned sheepishly. "All right, um, I don't know if this is something that you can prepare or... you know..." He nervously chuckled as the snakes faced her. "I... I think I need a whole hog to feed everything— but if you don't I can, uh... find food somewhere else." He turned to Mayim and Phoon. "Sorry, I'll make this up to you somehow — a quest or something, I don't know — but they're all very hungry."
Kurainos laughed. "Good thing I don't do that with you, huh, Vla'ir?"
"You do," he said. "You eat all my chicken."
"So I do." She sat herself down on the table. "So I do."

"You are a lively bunch aren't you?" Phoon giggled

"Yes they are. Hey, round of tea to start us off. Maybe we'll start with basics, how about fired meats off the bone? "

"Meat skewers here are truly delicious! Made from real quality meat and flamed to perfection."

"Just don't go for Dragon Flame. Not that it isn't good, it's really expensive. I know we're good for it but I also don't want Phoon's papa to go through the surface when he gets the bill. Just ask what happened in Caerleon 1690"

"Gee one bad day and suddenly papa can never live it down. Besides, Lord Precipies went along with it too."

"Don't let Allura hear that you know how she gets."

"Ah yeah yeah. Anyway yeah I guess she's right and I should keep the bill reasonable but really we do say the meat here is the best!"

A lot really was happening in a short time, as the captain warned the ladies, indeed it suddenly felt like they were in the middle of a big storm. Though offered to leave it on, they respectfully declined "Well honestly, we've had our share of the rough seas for a while, thank you." Aina gave a humble thanks to the captain for letting off the charm. Strange folks but otherwise seemingly nice. "Well, sure I don't mind. Runze. If you don't mind, Yuzu?"

"Not at all, I guess we're only visitors, after all. And to answer your question, our ship is fittingly named the S.S. Yuzu, she's the paddle wheel steamer! Seems a Phibeta steamer is also in the harbor huh?" The ladies bowed a little for their new guests, getting their introductions "Sounds a bit like us, although I'm not an officer or first mate aboard our ship, just a regular sailor aboard. But Aina is captain."

"In time, I can see Yuzu becoming an officer though. I'm sure at some point some of my Officers will have a desire to be Captains themselves. "May we sit?"

"Ah why yes, where are my manners, please do take a seat." She waved her hand around again allowing anything messed and toppled on the floor to go back into its proper place. "So you said you're also a couple? Well I kind of figured that, given how close you were together when you came aboard. I knew I spotted something special about you, Captain Aina! As well as you, Sailor Yuzu. Things were different, I'd almost ask to have you as my crew but it seems you got a ship in place."

"Aww too bad, fox ladies are cute. Not as cute as my Captain but cute!"

"Oh don't mind her, if she's making things awkward. I plucked her up from a little port on a distant island and they really are quite different down there. Oh my that was oooh about 1700 years ago now! Can't believe it's been that long already!"

"Thing be lot different back then they was!" Ukneha said offering up a bowl of fresh picked fruits for the ladies to pick if they chose to. "Well things do change but as Cap can attest some things never do change! Unknown Sea she be temperamental she is! But since Typhos became Lord of the Underseas and since da Church changed up some of the doctrine, gotta say sometime it aint as exciting as it used to be. That's why Cap is nice sometimes to make a storm charm to rock up our old cabin! Sometimes I miss the fury of ol Lady Vapora and her son Precipise. But I guessin' aint too good for those outside the realms of Elviwtand. Ya ladies luck ya arrived when yas did! Been here a few thousand years earlier, if the storm aint get ya then a Leviathan get ya! Less o'course ya offer up a good --"

"Easy does it Ukneha, easy does it, too much too quickly for our guests who have arrived. And lest we frighten them before their voyage back! Ahaha don't worry, the sea is no more perilous than where you are from, I'm sure. But listen, we've been doing all the talking, tell me about yourselves. I'd hate to shirk my manners. Please and allow me to offer a good drink for us all. Ale if you like, or good old tea, coffee, water, wine, what your choices?"

Utena

“Awesome! Now let’s get going-”

Utena let out a squeak as Lux lunged forward and hugged her. The aasimar dwarfed the smaller woman as she blushed hard. Right in front of her tour guide. “Oh, h-hello sweetie.” The gunmage let out a sigh as she snuggled up in an embrace. “I hope Alice didn’t keep you too busy.” She teased. “But it’s good to see you. So far I was about to get a whole tour of this whole witch academy! This is far more different than the secluded and secret covens back home.”

Utena knew that in Silverdale, there are groups of magi who made grand deals with star entities from the giantess goddess Tilina to more esoteric and obscure entities. Some proclaim to hold vast amounts of knowledge, and information that even stretch into the ‘Grand Database Collective’ that lurks within the plane of Mechanus itself. The trouble is that those people don’t love to share it. Even get vague and secretive. Hence Utena found herself approaching Tilina’s priests, and her temples to obtain any clear answers.

“So darling, let’s continue the tour and see what the Academy has to offer,” Utena said. She then focused her attention to listen to Bellona’s explanation of the vast matters and fields. “A split between who earns the credit? So were Saint Ines and Phraan Yestris rivals by any chance? As in the inventors who square off? That being said, I know Silverdale for example, who is the creator of magic, and those who modernize it get far more difficult. I can say for certain Aurora made much to the magical community alongside Sharena with gun magic, but the founder is more questionable. The best we got is a half-dragon half-cow woman Kiara who founded magecraft, or the style of blades and magic together, in prehistory!”


Sundae: The Temple

“So a local creator of the people here I see,” Sundae noted. “I must inquire, given your patron is in these lands, how do you view other goddesses said to hold domains over elvenkind?”

Quite suddenly a new arrival? How odd but oh well, more for a tour is the more the merrier! "Welcome to the Academy, I take it this here is someone special for you? Well I'm glad to have another person along for the tour! Let's see to answer the question, no they weren't really rivals per se anyway, to be honest they didn't know each other it's just how information got around in those days. Lady Ines is known for neatness and great attention to detail. Honestly very little was ever left out in her writings. The drawback is it has made it a little more difficult to learn and properly master but we concur it's the best way to maintain stable magic and proper potion and spell making. Yestris was more pragmatic, rather liking things to be brief and easy to digest but sometimes admittedly that came with a few holes. But it can be an easy way to quickly learn, especially for witches beyond the lands of Elvwitand. Helps Innes was also the daughter of nobility of what is now the State of Innes so she's had considerable more advantages in distributing her information. Sounds like your own history has it's own splits of who does what. A great History Professor here likes to say, regardless of who is first, the important is what it has applied to now and Saint Innes has done the most for the magical community of the Empire."

"Goddess beyond our land or Goddess here? Beyond our lands we consider those mysterious, beyond our understanding and only the Goddess herself knows those details. Perhaps higher inquisitors than I may even have divined those secrets but we do not know. Matters like that have been taboo in the past, only when the Inquisitors have deemed it to be ready for canon understanding is when scripture is given out. High Priestess such as I take that and teach the younger Priestesses who then teach it to the common. This has been happening over the past 3000 years, before that it was common for the Diviners to keep the secrets of the mystics."



The Arena

Crowds really filing in now it was an exciting day to be here. Girls shouting "Registration for the day is this direction! Participants must check in or register before going to the wait room!"

Octavian, Dominan, and Lucian

Octavian sighed and crossed his arms. Lucian shook his head silently. Dominan simply stood stockstill, staring down the street with the Katoomba behind him. "How does Julius disappear so quickly?" Octavian asked no one in particular.

"I have no idea," sighed Lucian and he facepalmed. "I look away from a splitsecond and he somehow ends up halfway across the continent."

Dominan stayed silent, his steel gaze looked like it would break the building it fell upon. "Are we sure he can't turn himself invisible? That would explain his vanishing acts," Dominan grumbled in a coarse voice. Him breaking his quiet facade quietly shocked Lucian. Dominan looked down at Octavian, who was significantly shorter than Dominan. "You're the emperor. Has he told you about such a power?"

"At this point, I'd believe he can go invisible," Octavian shook his head and sighed again. "But not like he'd ever tell me that. He guards information zealously. He might have been too good of a choice for spymaster."

"I agree," Lucian and Dominan said in unison and nodded. They both looked at each other before kind of smirking.

"He is probably stealing some sacred artifact of immeasurable value as we speak..." Octavian mumbled. "I swear I'll skin him alive if I find him in a jail cell."

"I believe this may be a new record," Lucian shook his head. "How long did it take him to disappear this time? Fifteen seconds?"

"I don't know," Octavian mumbled. "No point in talking about this any longer. Where are you two going?" He uncrossed his arms, his metal gauntlets scraping against each other.

"The arenas. Nowhere is as good a home as the heat of combat," Dominan laughed. It was a grating, deep sound that sounded almost animalistic. He cracked his scars muscles and rolled his shoulders. At that moment, he looked like a barbarian who loved killing more than anything, but that was the polar opposite of Dominan. Despite his immense size, being nearly 8'6 and two feet wide, and thrice scarred face, he was not some child who had been raised in the fires of war. He was a high-ranking lord whose martial prowess was venerated by every warrior in his homeland. He was a strategist of great proportions.

"I mourn for whoever fight you," Lucian shuddered. He had fought Dominan once in a wrestling match. He still had some scars from the fight. "When we fought, you broke five of my ribs, my left arm, dislocated my jaw, and bruised me all over. Try not to do the same to any poor sap who meets you in combat."

Octavian laughed, "Try not to kill them, Dominan, but also try not to lose."

Dominan nodded and walked off, his full plate armor clanking against the stone street. The midday sun shined off the polished wargear, illuminating many grand engravings across the breat plate. He had forgone a weapon in case carrying one was illegal, though he had pondered taking his double-headed axe for a while. Soon, he had taken a turn and was out of the sight of his two friends.

"I'm going to pay the captain of the Katoomba a quick visit. The journey was smooth, so I didn't end up hunched over the railing and giving the sea my lunch," Lucian groaned.

Octavian laughed again. "I still remember the third expeditionary fleet. You spent three hours vomiting nearly continuously. I thought you were going to die for a little while!"

Lucian grumbled something under his breath and mounted the gangplank to the Katoomba. He dodged an elf who was disembarking and stepped onto the deck.

Octavian watched the elf walk by him without a second glance. The feeling was still unusual. Octavian unconsciously reached his hand up and brushed his fingers against his pair of obsidian horns that protruded from his forehead. Dominan had a similar pair, but Lucian only had one. Those horns earned nothing but scorn where they were from, but in Amethyst it was different. No one seemed to care. Not even the elves...

Octavian lowered his hand to his coat and reached inside. His had brushed against the chest plate beneath his clothes as he grabbed something in a hidden pocket. Slowly, Octavian pulled his arm out and the contents of the pocket began to shine in the sun. A golden wreath. It was older than Octavian by more than a thousand years. It was called the Imperial Crown and was made of solid gold. Strange runes were carved into its side. They gave it a magical barrier that shielded it from all damage. When Octavian was crowned emperor when he was merely sixteen, he was told to never let the Imperial Crown leave his person. So, despite being in a foreign land, he kept the golden trinket close to him. He slid it back into his pocket and made a mental note to guard it at all costs. Consciously, he rapped his fist against a hidden short sword concealed by his coat. It was only to be drawn in an emergency, he reminded himself.

"I suppose I'll go to Caerleon..." Octavian mumbled to himself. "Seeing a foreign palace may be interesting..." With that, Octavian marched off, his leather boots tapping against the sidewalk and black hair shining in the sun.

Julius

"So close..." Julius groaned. He ran the moment when he fled his friends' company with mock melancholy. "My record is fourteen seconds...it took my sixteen to escape..." The reason for Julius always leaving like that wasn't because he disliked his comrades. It was because it amused him. Everything he did was for his own amusement. He would often pickpocket, steal, and prank people because he found some strange form of entertainment in doing so. It was a troublesome aspect of his personality, but Octavian let it slide because Julius was a master spy. He commanded hundreds, possibly thousands, of spies across an entire continent.

Julius pushed himself off an alley wall and walked into the street. He looked left and right, absorbing the appearances of various races he hadn't seen before because they were extinct where he was from. He catalogued each appearance in his mind. 'I wonder what they carry in their pockets...No, no! I can't steal here or else Octavian will execute me in a heartbeat.' Julius shuddered before cackling to himself. Realistically, Octavian couldn't catch Julius if they ended up enemies, but the fear of having the emperor and his entire empire against him was a scary prospect. The Western Drahian Empire was a militarist state that covered a third of its continent. Even Julius, with all his magic and abilities to flee, probably wouldn't escape the prying eyes of the Empire's army and people.

"But if I can't steal...What to do?" Julius muttered. "I know!" He loudly proclaimed, attracting confused stares from people on the street. "Maybe I'll go to a pub and see if I can start something with a drunk...No, I shouldn't do that either. I'll just get a drink then go to a temple to see the hilarity of religious dogma." Having finished speaking to himself, Julius bounded down the road, taking care not to steal anything, no matter how badly he wanted to.

Captain Runze Vuvriroh

Before the lovely fox women seafarers joined the good Captain for the evening, she was busy (but never too busy to hear from a grateful passenger) seeing to it the ship would be good when docked in the harbor for a while. That meant trimming down the sails, taking care of the rigging, typical things to do when sounding the ship. They'd be here in the Capital a while before heading home to Lananvu in a few days so it was always good to make sure the Katoomba was in good shape and she always was. With her first mate running about she was also down on the decks getting the hard work done with the rest of her crew. A bad captain is one to stand from the wheel and shout orders but never doing the work herself. "Salutations, friend." She greeted when approached. "Ya staying aboard or disembarking?" She asked out of curiosity, everyone was different some rather just stay on lest they miss their voyage back and lose all their money and others were more than glad to go ashore.


The Dragon's Scale Pub

Julius wanted a drink, lucky for him there were plenty of pubs including one called The Dragon's Scale. It stood out for its red hot glowing sign. Like a neon sign but this one enchanted by magic so the would would never burn up. To its namesake it was ran by real dragons. Good way to attract customers was to have a couple of the cuties singing folk tunes of Fa and dancing a bit, as if the red hot glowing sign wasn't enough. "Come on in, 2-for-1 specials today, today only!"

Gelhard, in a discrete laboratory of the Order

Immaculate walls of white, followed by complex and intricate technologies glowing in blue. Vespa was visibly uncomfortable, sunk eyes and trembled posture, giving away her lack of confidence in the endeavour. In front of her, a round portal of blackness, almost completely still, as if it were a rift into the very fabric of reality. Behind her, another Artificial stood, fiddling with the consoles and holographic projections which emanated from the equipment just a few metres away from the portal. She had been chosen by that very person to conduct this experiment, to be the first sapient to cross into this weird dimension which had just been discovered, and... she felt pressured to accept. By all standards she was not particularly special, and it was a surprise to her that such a prestigeous member of society would make that choice.

"I sense your lack of faith, Vespa" he said, continuing to ready the portal for use "We have sent plenty of invisible drones into it, we know where you'll end up on, I have already told you that." She was unconvinced, and he noticed, sighing audibly in frustration. He stopped his work, apparently being finished with it, and walked up to Vespa, pushing her forward. She protested, but eventually she was successfully coerced into the very edge of darkness, feeling the void slowly pulling her inside.

Both stopped making effort. A moment of tension ensued, quickly broken by him: "I know you are afraid, you are still quite young, but you must trust me when I say that I chose you for good reason." She looked back, barely seeing the face of the person behind her, and then forward once more, facing the blackness ahead which compelled her forward. "Amethyst is a magical place. You will see. When you are ready to go back, deploy the beacon." He stopped for one moment, looking back at the white metallic walls of the laboratory.

"There will be plenty of fun to be had, trust me. Pubs, libraries, guilds, castles, even magic!" A spark shined in her eyes; curiosity. He continued: "I have even noticed that the local population is holding some type of strength-based tournament, and... I have heard that you just graduated from some prestigeous fencing school in Gelhard?" She fixed her posture, and could not help but plant a sly smile on her face. He noticed, and chuckled gently at her reaction. "Make the Ancients proud" he said, shoving her inside the void, to only the Ancients know where. The truth is that he didn't have a clue about where she would land in Amethyst, and had just hoped for the best. Such was the eccentricity of the Ruler of the Order.

Amethyst, In a random alleyway

Night had fallen. A loud crashing sound rang throught an alleyway of the city. "Off to a great start" she thought, as she lifted herself from a trashcan, wiping off her white metallic skin the stains of things that she'd rather not know the origin of. She didn't really know where to go, as the "moron" which had just thrown her into a trashcan had also forgotten to provide her with a digital map of the capital. Without much options left, she walked forward, following the peculiar red light which emanated from the streets ahead. She wondered what it was about.

The Red Light District

(ooc: I finally got a new post written with something for you, Obrela. Sorry it took a while but you can respond or disregard it. I don't mind if folks want to operate on fluid timelines to have different aspects of the city or interact with others)


So named not just because the activities that go on there but because it literally is bathed in the glowing red light of the flame lit lanterns. Dimmer than the lamps on the main roads but not lacking in luminescence either just sort of had a dark but warm at the same time. It certainly drew customers looking for that kind of entertainment but people do in fact also live in this part of the city. As expected it's mostly those who work in those industries but some it's just the affordable housing and friendly neighbors that makes it worthwhile. The sun is down, the moon is up so the young ones are tucked asleep but the adults are out on the playground now. One such woman walking about the streets this night with a lone red lantern to guide some of the guests her way Spiri Miststone a beautiful woman, a bit tall though made taller by wearing platform geta sandals long white hair sky blue eyes she had her "night job" but she was more than a pretty face. She heard some of the commotion in the alleyway while returning to the district from shopping. She hadn't quite noticed at first the strange creature following in her glowing lamp's wake but turning about there she was "Oh!" She said rather startled at first "Oh, good evening....." She was rather put off and a bit confused by what this thing was but then again it's not like she was a scholar of all kinds out there so who was she to be prejudice? This was an enlightened era, the days of prejudice were to be left in the past right? She held up her lantern to try to get a better look. "I sense you've been following me a bit? I thought maybe my imagination but I guess my senses were right." Most might be mortified to have been followed but she was a special kind of creature from the seas who could simply dissolve into bubbles if she were threatened or attacked. Granted she would "die" if her bubbles all popped or didn't reform but she'd simply be reborn at some point.

[Obrela]

Since Shava's arrival, she'd been followed. Not by anyone nefarious or with wicked intent but by a cat. Not just any cat, it was a witch familiar belonging to one Azura Kugi, a small witch girl from Shinzajiro. With so many people appearing out seemingly thin air in this vast world, how could one not be a bit curious. She was still pretty young though and probably naive. She'd wanted to meet someone from outside the Empire and word was out that Amethyst was finding itself inundated with lots of visitors. Of course using her familiar to sort of stalk someone was sure to get her in a lot of hot water from well everybody, her sister, her parents, her teachers but how else was a shy witch to find someone. But finding an elf was just as exciting, especially with so cybernetic types arriving. She'd once tried to read about advanced technology and it made her head spin, so naaah give her the gold old ways any day of the week.

Shava knew that something had been following her for quite some time. She knew it must not be anyone too dangerous, or they'd have attacked her by now. So she just kept weaving through the alleys hoping to loose the hanger on. But it turns out what ever was following her had more tenacity that she thought. Eventually, she stopped at a crossroads.
"Whatever's following me, come out. I know you're there." Her voice held a cold note.
Of all the things she was expecting to slink out of the darkness, a cat sure wasn't one of them. How could a cat have followed her and her alone for the better part of half an hour. There was only one explanation.
She turned to the cat, "So, where's your witch then?"

[The Grand Western Empire]

Captain Runze Vuvriroh

Before the lovely fox women seafarers joined the good Captain for the evening, she was busy (but never too busy to hear from a grateful passenger) seeing to it the ship would be good when docked in the harbor for a while. That meant trimming down the sails, taking care of the rigging, typical things to do when sounding the ship. They'd be here in the Capital a while before heading home to Lananvu in a few days so it was always good to make sure the Katoomba was in good shape and she always was. With her first mate running about she was also down on the decks getting the hard work done with the rest of her crew. A bad captain is one to stand from the wheel and shout orders but never doing the work herself. "Salutations, friend." She greeted when approached. "Ya staying aboard or disembarking?" She asked out of curiosity, everyone was different some rather just stay on lest they miss their voyage back and lose all their money and others were more than glad to go ashore.


The Dragon's Scale Pub

Julius wanted a drink, lucky for him there were plenty of pubs including one called The Dragon's Scale. It stood out for its red hot glowing sign. Like a neon sign but this one enchanted by magic so the would would never burn up. To its namesake it was ran by real dragons. Good way to attract customers was to have a couple of the cuties singing folk tunes of Fa and dancing a bit, as if the red hot glowing sign wasn't enough. "Come on in, 2-for-1 specials today, today only!"

Dominan

As Dominan walked through the streets of Amethyst, his ancestral armor clanking against the stone tiles heavily, he noticed some people on the road give him a little leeway as he passed by. He got a few looks of interest and awe, but very little fear, which he found fascinating. Even his own race had some fear of him simply because of its titanic size, scarred face, and ancient armor. A few hippocampi, though Dominan didn't know their name and just thought of them as lumbering beasts, passed by him. Such monsters were rare in Dominan's home, anything that large had been hunted to extinction to make the Western Drahian Empire safer. 'My forefathers had played a major part in those hunts,' he thought with a pleased smirk.

Hippocampi weren't the only thing to catch his eye. Various other species that weren't elven, dwarven, or human interested him. He had never seen them in real life before. They had also been purged from the Western Drahian Empire centuries before Dominan was born. His interest was masked behind his ever-stony expression and frown. Showing emotion in public was uncouth for a lord, even in foreign lands.

Dominan was so wrapped in his observations he nearly plowed into the crowd outside the Battle Arena. He heard people shouting about where to register and circumvented the mass of various species, occasionally bumping a few by mistake. It only then occurred to Dominan he didn't know how to register for the Battle Arena. In the Western Drahian Empire, one simply needed to march up to the gladiatorial arena and declare an intend to fight to be allowed as a competitor. With a sigh of disappointment, he approached one of the girls yelling about registering and asked, "How does one register for a fight?" in a tone coarser than he wanted.

Octavian

Nothing was better than a massive castle, thought Octavian. Not because they were imposing, but because it made it easier for someone to make their way through an unfamiliar city to them. Octavian's palace-No, the Imperial Palace-was also exceeding tall. Its main spire was somewhere around two hundred feet tall. However, that wasn't just for looks. At the top of the tower, four trebuchets fueled by ancient magic acted as the Imperial Palace's greatest defense. Well, three are broken and irreparable, so it is decoration now, I suppose' Octavian thought grimly.

The Imperial Palace didn't offer tours, even high-ranking lords had trouble getting in without direct permission from the emperor, so its contents were hard to compare to other palaces, so Octavian was interested to see how the magnum opus of Drahian architecture would compare to the home of another kingdom's monarch. He arrived at the foot of the grand building without any issues, aside from a few glances people shot at his elegant clothing, and sought out a tour.

Lucian

'Now I remember another reason I hate boats,' Lucian thought as he ducked under someone carrying a crate. The deck, despite being large, was too cramped for him. Not enough room for people to distance themselves from others, leading to a collision or two. 'At least the voyage didn't cause me to vomit up my guts...' He thought with a grim smile. After dodging a couple more sailors(all of whom were female beasthumans, Lucian noted), many of which were smaller than Lucian since he was only a little under 6'8, he managed to figuratively bump into the captain. He didn't expect her to be on the deck. Many Drahian captains were more content to stay inside their private quarters doing...something that was probably navigation-related.

Her referring to him as 'friend' right off the bat was a little confusing for Lucian. He was too used to getting respectful bows. "Salutations...I think. I wanted to compliment you for how well you handled the voyage, miss..." He paused momentarily, trying in vain to think of the captain's name, "I don't believe I ever caught your name. I was intending to disembark and go watch an acquaintance fight in the Battle Arena, but now I'm curious about what would happen if I stayed aboard. Captains were I come from almost always throw passengers right off the boat before moving on. Also pardon me if I get in the way of your sailors."

Julius

"Their signs glow?" Julius mumbled as he scratched the back of his head, his fingers brushing against his crimson hair and skin beneath it. "Well, I can teleport, so my magic is better!" he reasoned to no one in particular. His petty side had surfaced momentarily before it was overcome by his urge for a drink, which was exacerbated by the 2-for-1 special. The only thing better than something almost free was something entirely free, or so Julius believed. Paying a polite nod to one of the women dancing outside, he slipped inside silently. He barely cracked the door open and slid through the slit between the door and door-frame. It was an instinct engrained in Jullius after a couple years as a spy.

When he entered, Julius immediately realized the name 'The Dragon's Scale' wasn't a name choosen for no reason. Over many years and many countries, Julius had seen a lot of things. Some perfectly explicable, some mystical, some so bizarre he wasn't sure if he saw them or imagined them, but he had never, not even once, seen a human with scales akin to the ones drawn on monsters Drahian myth. He was kind of amazed and fascinated. However, in tandem with the feeling of discovery, Julius felt an urge to try and steal a scale rise in his chest. However, it was quickly suppressed by the fear of Octavian killing Julius. Even kleptomania feared the fury of the Drahian emperor. Octavian hadn't earned distinction in war for nothing...

With a sigh, Julius ran a hand through his crewcut and walked up to the bar, his footsteps nearly completely silent. He took a seat, but didn't try to get the bartender's attention. He was too busy fighting an internal war about whether or not to attempt mild theft. After all, he could teleport, so dining-and-dashing was a piece of cake for him. As he thought, Julius looked like he was pondering some great, philsophical matter, rather debating breaking the law.

[The Selkie]

[...]
Aka described herself in perfect detail, it wasn't difficult to understand and even some of her native words could come through which she knew "It would seem where your from we have a similar language base." She gave a little chuckle, it was in regards to tsukumogami which was filtered but she could hear the native word come through. "But please do go on." She let her continue the explanations, she had plenty to tell of herself, it was lovely. Honestly, Aka seemed quite a bit like her own daughter, maybe that's what drew her to helping her more than just giving the librarians a bit of a break here, a bit of a maternal instinct kicking in. She also had some kind of magic to her as well, not too shabby really, different from her own but even here in Elvwitand, magic varies person to person so it's safe to say through the known universe and multiverse it'd be no different. "Quite advanced aren't you. I'm a bit surprised you'd come here then, when our world is still quite simple by comparison. But I'm glad you're here anyway. I know we only just met but I guess I'm already feeling a kinship here between us, if nothing more, than it's the teacher in me wanting to guide a student. And if I didn't mention it, your kimono is lovely. I'll be sure to lift the spell when you're good and ready to give the languages a try so just say the word. Based on what you told me, sounds like it'll be sooner than later indeed."

[...]

RTNS Aka.
I had noted, that Lady Takida was looking at me not like a seeker of wisdom looked at another one - that she compared me to her daughter, including maternal feelings rising, I did not realize.
Nor did I not realize, that we were even beyond what they could achieve with their magic, except for the obvious and that my 'magic' was something quite extraordinary to her as well. After all, for me, that was all completely normal.
What was a bit less normal was a sudden urge in my head.
"Hang on a moment, please.", I asked Lady Takida.
I reached in my sleeve, three more charms in hand - another Eagle, followed by two very similar craft, only that they most notably lacked the dish.
"Aozora A119A Lightning.", I explained and sent them for the exit.
They rushed towards the entrance hall, kept high to the ceiling, scanning all the while and then, the three craft, a standard carrier air patrol, caught, what had caught my attention.
A young woman, red eyes, white, short hair, dressed in a armour pieces evocative of ancient styles over a simple, yet elegant black and golden dress (which also did little to hide her less-then-curvy charmes). She was built like a fighter and did little to hide that, especially not by the two swords on her belt.
Most striking, however, were the two smooth, slightly curved horns on her head.
She walked, almost marched in as if she owned the place and from a certain point of view, RTNS Shizuka, Cruiser of the Navy of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress of Teienai, had a point, very much like Lady Takida did: Describing this world as quaint compared to us was a clear understatement.
Of course, the craft and her swapped IFF Handshakes, all positive, all green.
I sent a small package, a scan of the building with a route towards me. The patrol would guide her. I saw her nodding to the two librarians before she walked past them.
I turned back to Lady Takida.
All the while, in the back of my head, I transmitted scans, intelligence, everything I had about the locals via datalink.
"My apologies, Ma'am.", I said and bowed, "A friend of mine has arrived unexpectedly. She will be coming up shortly. Thank you for the compliment, however." I let a beat pass. "As for why I am here... simply put, curiosity."

[Sky Reavers]

"Very good then, I shall register you for the Quest. Best journies to you and good luck on the mission!" She took care of their information getting them set and it was now up to them how to approach their new mission. The so called Terra Cotta troll could be found right now laying backside up and asleep but with a close enough approach it wouldn't take much to get him up from his slumber. He stood as a massive 15 feet (457 centimeters) tall, a single cyclopes eye to peer back at the fools who'd get to close (though likely he's just about to meet his match now) a single horn protruding from his head. His feet he could stomp and cause the ground to shake around him, he could pick up trees and use them as projectiles. How they'd go about fighting him would be up to them, but it was clear this troll was going down!

There he is! A large and mean troll visible in a ray of tactical flashlight on Vadim's assault rifle. Despite not being able to fire here in this strange place, the rifle still was useful thanks to the bayonet. And even without it, one could bash with it's stock. The troll was even larger, than four Reavers even imagined. By conservative estimate, it would take a high-caliber machine gun or a squad of heavily armed warriors to take this one down without casualties. But here, there are only four folks with melee weapons against such a giant... But odds be damned! After all, there is a hefty reward awaiting from the four warriors if they get the job done. Besides, they undertook a mission and backing off would send a wrong message about Sky Reaver Armed Forces.

The initial plan with pit has beed scrapped - a pit for a giant of such a size would require a excavator or a plattoon of soldiers to dig in remotely reasonable terms. Besides, it's noisy and even if it's not, waking the troll would throw away an important advantage, that perhaps is the only chance to win this fight with resources four Reavers have at hand. Now, a new plan arised. Troll is sleeping, this could give an advantage in an initial attack.

Troll's sleep could be very light, so before even trying sneaking to it, the squad put away their backpacks aside, so the items won't rattle and give away the hunters too early. After putting things away, four Reavers have carefully sneaked to the troll, each from different side, picking an individiual target to strike at.

Seth would use his warclub to strike at the spinal cord near the neck, hoping to displace a disk or two with a powerful strike. He would try to strike in a jump, to add gravity to the force of this strike.

Jane would use katana to stab troll behind knee and slash tendons to reduce his mobility. Jose would strike with his machete to hack tendons of the other troll's knee, just in case.

As for Vadim, he'll be near troll's head. When troll tries to get up after being attacked, he'll strike it right in the eye with a bayonet, which he heated with a lighter beforehand.

After formulating this plan, Sky Reavers came close enough and striked at the same time by Vadim's command. They hoped, that at least one of four initial strikes would somehow incapacitate the troll, before it fuly gets up if it managed to do. Several more rutless strikes would be delivered, while trolls is getting up. Afterwards, four hunters woud have to fight him conventionally. In this phase, they would attack from different sides and the one to who troll turns, retreats, while other guy strikes. A hit-and run-tactic aimed at confusing the infamoous Terra Cotta troll. They know, that this will be perhaps the hardest fight in their lives. Reavers have engaged the enemy! Who will win?

If Reavers win, they'll have to go back to the guild and give troll's head to them, before going for werewolves, since Terra Cotta troll's head is just too big and heavy to carry around all the time.

[Phibeta]

Azariah Belon & the Brothers

She kind of giggled at being called ma'am, "Hehehe" It was actually kind of nice because it seemed few took her seriously. "Wow right now that'd be great!" she stood back as the two brothers with some kind of magic created them, though admittedly they weren't the greatest. "Uuuuh...." She really didn't have the heart to say it though, maybe they were like her, trying to prove themselves and live up to someone just as important "Well, ya tried...I mean thank you so much...Uh here, just as promised." She gave them the payment of gold she promised. "Uh can I ask you both something? You're not from the Capital and I'm guessing you're not from the Empire either. Are you from beyond the Unknown Seas? Like way from a land far off? Mmm you both look kind of...." Finding the right words to not be cruel, was kind of lost on her right now as pathetic only came to mind. Plenty found her pathetic too. "Say i'm Azariah Belon daughter Selphe Belon..." Granted they didn't know her mother, but it was old custom to identify your lineage and her family was more old fashioned like that, they'd been around since the previous era, unusually long life for humankind when mostly the other species had longer lifespans. "If you're in a bit of a pinch, why not try going to the Guild for some money? Or you could be taken in by The Church...Oh wait you two even orphans? I mean you look a bit young I suppose but I'm not the best at telling."


Soliana Aeyra

"A swordswoman! Oh perfect timing too! Good to meet you, I'm Soliana Aeyra though I guess you figured that by accepting the quest. But from overseas it seems like? No matter, only curious. Well anyway, I'm glad you're here. I have a simple short quest I need a good woman with a blade with. You see I'm writing up some new incantation scrolls but it requires a special kind of ink. The ink grows just outside the city here. I need time to gather plants and caste the spell so they regrow in a quick manner. That's where you come in, my good lady! You see i need you to protect me from the hostile creatures that'll pounce me, some of it is animals but most of it is feral orcs and goblins. They're not sentient and only want one thing and you won't like it if I tell you so just keep your blade at the ready. All I really need is the ink. Anything of value you kill out there is yours to keep and cash in. Also depending on conditions I may need to caste a special environmental spell. Could be storm, could be ice, heat, really depends on a lot of factors, so if you're up to all that and you can help me, I'd appreciate it!"

The lady tries not to offend the urchin boys, but the two know she was not impressed by the statues. They looked down in disappointment, thinking that they probably won't get the money. Nevertheless, she gave them the bag of 12 gold. The boys were excited to receive the money. Now they can buy some bread, and perhaps a nice warm room in a cheap inn. Before that, several questions came up to the boys, much more sensitive than others.

“We…” Elijah started, “We came from an island ma’am. The flag was purple with a golden eagle on the top left corner, I don’t remember the name, but the town we grew up in was called Port Hogarth”. The lady, who introduced herself as Azariah Belon was going to comment on the boys appearance, which was to be expected of them, they haven’t had clean clothes, proper food, or proper hygiene, and they looked and smelled terrible.

“I’m Eli,” he introduced himself since Azariah introduced herself. “That’s my younger brother, Aaron” he continues pointing at his brother. She then brought up the question of their orphanhood.

“Yes, we are orphans” Elijah stated in a sad and serious tone. “Our father left us and our mother died from illness. It’s just been Aaron and I, living day by day on the streets”.

“Hey, brother,” Aaron said to him, “Why don’t we go to the church? We can get taken care of?”

“And if we did that, we might get separated! We already lost our mom, I can’t lose you”. He turns back to Azariah. “We won’t go to any orphanage, We are doing fine living on our own. I don't want to be separated from my brother. But we might go to this guild you speak of,” He says determined before meekly stating, “where is that?”

---

“It is nice to meet you Soliana. Well, yes I am from another country, Phibeta if you have heard of us” Soliana continued to talk about the quest that she put out. Relatively easy it seems. All she has to do is protect her from animals, feral orcs and goblins, and anything she kills that is worth anything can go to her. And the other necessity of environmental spells made Rikako glad she took that class in environmental magic.

“Well, I do not know the strength of these hostile creatures you speak of; but other than that, I will accept your request. Seems relatively easy”.

[M-101]

Somewhere within the Compendium, M-101

Chamber. Silent. Dark. Somewhere, a metallic thump. Another thump. More thumps. Various hidden doors open themselves. Flickers of green. Cubic silhouettes make their entrance. More cubic silhouettes. The cacophony of thumps. Massive lights turn themselves on. Cubic automatons arrange their positions. A series of an audio pulses. Repetition of the same series of audio pulses. Musings of the Comps. The Reawakening. Plans for synthesizing biotunnelers. Regrets for abandoning allies in the midst of a war. Satisfactory reports of the Compendium. Possibility of resuming Project Traverse? Silence. Murmurs of agreements. Recently detected multiversal travel link. Four participants. A construct composed of sixteen Comps lowers from the ceiling. Numbers rolled on their screens. Triumphant whoops of varying degrees. The travelers have been chosen. Alias given. Equipment installed. Goal assigned. Interdimensional broadcast link established.


The Interdimensional Hyperspace

A small black shuttle decorated with green lines (a favorite color scheme of the Comps) is zooming through a complex tunnel made of bright, swirling, cyan light they christened the Interdimensional Hyperspace, the favored route of transport for the Comps whenever they had to get into somewhere really, really, far away in less than 10 minutes. Of course, it requires someone experienced at navigating this place or they will end up somewhere else. It took the Comps about forty-two thousand attempts back in the days before they could master navigating themselves here.

[0000|0001|5510|0181] "Raymond Compsington": Goal: Analyze, broadcast, document.
[0003|1491|5552|1725] "Carlson Compendias" : Minimum required amount of photographs?
[0000|0101|1010|1000] "Marvel Computactrum" : Approximately one-fifth of a terabyte.
[0000|0491|5552|5555] "Chunk Compactor" : All in 4096K?
[0000|0001|5510|0181] "Raymond Compsington": Correct.

Chunk produced a paper containing their itinerary on Amethyst. "Quite the amount of destinations to be seen," they said. "From a massive castle to a clock tower described as "small on the outside but large inside"".
"Possible non-euclidean tomfoolery going on?" Carlson raised one of their digital eyebrows. "Certainly a must-visit site."
"[0000|0001|5510|0181], vessel idle location?" Chunk asked. "Thirty-thousand kilometers above the surface?"
"Negative. Received information regarding the lack of advanced void-faring vessels. Beaming will attract potential unwanted attention." Raymond explained. "Vessel idle location will be optimized to be as close as possible. Exiting Interdimensional Hyperspace in T minus 60. Engaging cloak."

Amethyst
It's a pleasant and sunny day at Amethyst. Several kilometers away from the shore, a green rift appeared in the skies, though nothing could be seen exiting from it. Taking advantage of the weather, the Comps have aligned their exit rift so that passersby walking near the shore couldn't see them (although there is always a chance someone further with a telescope or an amazing pair of eyes could spot it). The interdimensional broadcast link is online now, sending live video feeds of the squad in a crispy 4096K resolution back to M-101. Even though several watchstations picking up television signals from various place exists on the Compendium, there is nothing more entertaining for the Comps to watch their fellow Comps adventure in a strange new land through a live video broadcast. The squad is a bit annoyed to discover that nothing remotely resembles a 21st Terran century automobile on Amethyst, which means they can't park (or even drive) their shuttle without undoubtedly attracting a LOT of attention. After a quick recon through the land, the shuttle went back into the sea, plunged straight into the water, and began making its way to the delta, dodging the odd sea creatures (if there were any) here and there.

"Arrived at destination," Raymond muttered, stopping the shuttle-submarine at the side of the delta, checking the shuttle lifeform sensor to ensure a minimal amount of living beings facing the shuttle as the squad disembark. If someone had spied on them from afar, it would look pretty funny because it seems as if four metallic cubes have jumped from the water with no explanation whatsoever. "Alright Comps, this place seems to be safe to traverse during the day, so four of us should be able to cover Amethyst by ourselves individually in the daytime."

[AHSCA]

"Ah why yes, where are my manners, please do take a seat." She waved her hand around again allowing anything messed and toppled on the floor to go back into its proper place. "So you said you're also a couple? Well I kind of figured that, given how close you were together when you came aboard. I knew I spotted something special about you, Captain Aina! As well as you, Sailor Yuzu. Things were different, I'd almost ask to have you as my crew but it seems you got a ship in place."

"Aww too bad, fox ladies are cute. Not as cute as my Captain but cute!"

"Oh don't mind her, if she's making things awkward. I plucked her up from a little port on a distant island and they really are quite different down there. Oh my that was oooh about 1700 years ago now! Can't believe it's been that long already!"

"Thing be lot different back then they was!" Ukneha said offering up a bowl of fresh picked fruits for the ladies to pick if they chose to. "Well things do change but as Cap can attest some things never do change! Unknown Sea she be temperamental she is! But since Typhos became Lord of the Underseas and since da Church changed up some of the doctrine, gotta say sometime it aint as exciting as it used to be. That's why Cap is nice sometimes to make a storm charm to rock up our old cabin! Sometimes I miss the fury of ol Lady Vapora and her son Precipise. But I guessin' aint too good for those outside the realms of Elviwtand. Ya ladies luck ya arrived when yas did! Been here a few thousand years earlier, if the storm aint get ya then a Leviathan get ya! Less o'course ya offer up a good --"

"Easy does it Ukneha, easy does it, too much too quickly for our guests who have arrived. And lest we frighten them before their voyage back! Ahaha don't worry, the sea is no more perilous than where you are from, I'm sure. But listen, we've been doing all the talking, tell me about yourselves. I'd hate to shirk my manners. Please and allow me to offer a good drink for us all. Ale if you like, or good old tea, coffee, water, wine, what your choices?"

The Captain was pleasant, her mate was a bit much but still friendly enough. She seemed like she had something dire to add to the whole worries of leviathans and ancient sea gods striking them down if not careful but the Captain put a stop to it soon enough, offering them drinks "Tea would be great." Aina replied

"Yes, please. Whatever you have, we're not picky!" Yuzu agreed and then continued the conversation, "About us huh?" Well we're not minding learning about you, Captain, you seem quite lovely and your ship is a good one. Sounds like you've had it a very very long time. Longer than either of us have been alive."

"Yes, you have yourself a good vessel here. Old fashioned - er - but I mean that in a good way. We're quite old fashioned where we're from too you know. You saw we pulled into harbor with a paddle wheel steamer. Ships like that went long out of common use over two centuries ago but we keep them going."

"They're new, but the design is old fashioned. But in years past, we still very much relied on sails, I mean we still do to an extent, and there are still vessels that are pure sail but mechanical ships like ours are more common now than ever. Oh we're from AHSCA, the United Island States, an archipelago way to the South and East of here. It was quite the voyage, we left ooh a good 6-months or so ago? I think?"

"Feels like it. This is quite a far flung place. It was difficult to say the least to make it here. "

"But Aina- uh- Captain Indou here she's a master captain! I'm not just saying that as her girlfriend." Yuzu blushed a little. "But as a member of her proud crew. Been sailing with her now for over two years! Our ship is named the Yuzu, it shares my name!" she giggled

"indeed it does. Funny coincidence." Aina said "Long line of fisherman and sailors in my family but before our days of independence and regional cooperation. it wasn't common for islanders to venture far from the islands. I feel lucky now to be apart of an age where more and more people want to go abroad. Go see what the wider world is like. Not just because it's my job but because I think it's interesting. Uh, sorry Captain - we're not boring you are we?"

[Elvwitand]

Shava knew that something had been following her for quite some time. She knew it must not be anyone too dangerous, or they'd have attacked her by now. So she just kept weaving through the alleys hoping to loose the hanger on. But it turns out what ever was following her had more tenacity that she thought. Eventually, she stopped at a crossroads.
"Whatever's following me, come out. I know you're there." Her voice held a cold note.
Of all the things she was expecting to slink out of the darkness, a cat sure wasn't one of them. How could a cat have followed her and her alone for the better part of half an hour. There was only one explanation.
She turned to the cat, "So, where's your witch then?"

The cat jumped up to a nearby trash bin as a cloud of smoke materialized and billowed, here she was the witch, Azura Kugi! "I -" she started coughing, sudden spontaneous teleporting in with a flashy entrance was her specialty but she still needed to control the smoke. "I just....I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you or anything." The cat leapt back onto her shoulder, "I was just curious about you but was kind of shy to talk to you so I had Mayonaka tail you a while. Good boy you did great." The cat gave a long meow of affection. "If you want me to get lost, I will. I should have just been polite and walk up to you, instead of having my familiar follow you." She bowed her head a little.

Dominan

As Dominan walked through the streets of Amethyst, his ancestral armor clanking against the stone tiles heavily, he noticed some people on the road give him a little leeway as he passed by. He got a few looks of interest and awe, but very little fear, which he found fascinating. Even his own race had some fear of him simply because of its titanic size, scarred face, and ancient armor. A few hippocampi, though Dominan didn't know their name and just thought of them as lumbering beasts, passed by him. Such monsters were rare in Dominan's home, anything that large had been hunted to extinction to make the Western Drahian Empire safer. 'My forefathers had played a major part in those hunts,' he thought with a pleased smirk.

Hippocampi weren't the only thing to catch his eye. Various other species that weren't elven, dwarven, or human interested him. He had never seen them in real life before. They had also been purged from the Western Drahian Empire centuries before Dominan was born. His interest was masked behind his ever-stony expression and frown. Showing emotion in public was uncouth for a lord, even in foreign lands.

Dominan was so wrapped in his observations he nearly plowed into the crowd outside the Battle Arena. He heard people shouting about where to register and circumvented the mass of various species, occasionally bumping a few by mistake. It only then occurred to Dominan he didn't know how to register for the Battle Arena. In the Western Drahian Empire, one simply needed to march up to the gladiatorial arena and declare an intend to fight to be allowed as a competitor. With a sigh of disappointment, he approached one of the girls yelling about registering and asked, "How does one register for a fight?" in a tone coarser than he wanted.

Octavian

Nothing was better than a massive castle, thought Octavian. Not because they were imposing, but because it made it easier for someone to make their way through an unfamiliar city to them. Octavian's palace-No, the Imperial Palace-was also exceeding tall. Its main spire was somewhere around two hundred feet tall. However, that wasn't just for looks. At the top of the tower, four trebuchets fueled by ancient magic acted as the Imperial Palace's greatest defense. Well, three are broken and irreparable, so it is decoration now, I suppose' Octavian thought grimly.

The Imperial Palace didn't offer tours, even high-ranking lords had trouble getting in without direct permission from the emperor, so its contents were hard to compare to other palaces, so Octavian was interested to see how the magnum opus of Drahian architecture would compare to the home of another kingdom's monarch. He arrived at the foot of the grand building without any issues, aside from a few glances people shot at his elegant clothing, and sought out a tour.

Lucian

'Now I remember another reason I hate boats,' Lucian thought as he ducked under someone carrying a crate. The deck, despite being large, was too cramped for him. Not enough room for people to distance themselves from others, leading to a collision or two. 'At least the voyage didn't cause me to vomit up my guts...' He thought with a grim smile. After dodging a couple more sailors(all of whom were female beasthumans, Lucian noted), many of which were smaller than Lucian since he was only a little under 6'8, he managed to figuratively bump into the captain. He didn't expect her to be on the deck. Many Drahian captains were more content to stay inside their private quarters doing...something that was probably navigation-related.

Her referring to him as 'friend' right off the bat was a little confusing for Lucian. He was too used to getting respectful bows. "Salutations...I think. I wanted to compliment you for how well you handled the voyage, miss..." He paused momentarily, trying in vain to think of the captain's name, "I don't believe I ever caught your name. I was intending to disembark and go watch an acquaintance fight in the Battle Arena, but now I'm curious about what would happen if I stayed aboard. Captains were I come from almost always throw passengers right off the boat before moving on. Also pardon me if I get in the way of your sailors."

Julius

"Their signs glow?" Julius mumbled as he scratched the back of his head, his fingers brushing against his crimson hair and skin beneath it. "Well, I can teleport, so my magic is better!" he reasoned to no one in particular. His petty side had surfaced momentarily before it was overcome by his urge for a drink, which was exacerbated by the 2-for-1 special. The only thing better than something almost free was something entirely free, or so Julius believed. Paying a polite nod to one of the women dancing outside, he slipped inside silently. He barely cracked the door open and slid through the slit between the door and door-frame. It was an instinct engrained in Jullius after a couple years as a spy.

When he entered, Julius immediately realized the name 'The Dragon's Scale' wasn't a name choosen for no reason. Over many years and many countries, Julius had seen a lot of things. Some perfectly explicable, some mystical, some so bizarre he wasn't sure if he saw them or imagined them, but he had never, not even once, seen a human with scales akin to the ones drawn on monsters Drahian myth. He was kind of amazed and fascinated. However, in tandem with the feeling of discovery, Julius felt an urge to try and steal a scale rise in his chest. However, it was quickly suppressed by the fear of Octavian killing Julius. Even kleptomania feared the fury of the Drahian emperor. Octavian hadn't earned distinction in war for nothing...

With a sigh, Julius ran a hand through his crewcut and walked up to the bar, his footsteps nearly completely silent. He took a seat, but didn't try to get the bartender's attention. He was too busy fighting an internal war about whether or not to attempt mild theft. After all, he could teleport, so dining-and-dashing was a piece of cake for him. As he thought, Julius looked like he was pondering some great, philsophical matter, rather debating breaking the law.

The Arena

"Just that way to the Registration office, good luck!" The woman ready to register him had finished up with another participant when she greeted Dominan "Welcome to the Battle Arena! If you're interested in participating, we encourage first timers to watch a match beforehand. If you feel confident, I'll be glad to register you. Just give me your information and we can begin. You look well suited to begin already so I'm almost ready to venture a guess you'll be set to jump right in!"

The Castle

Finding a tour was easy, a sign helpfully pointed out where to begin, which was a simple spot to join a group just inside a pair of large heavy wood doors. Plenty of people were already in the group, locals and tourists a like eager to see the Beacon of the Capital city, the great castle. The doors slammed shut behind the group, bathing the area in total darkness. A moment or two passed as the mix of nervous, excited and concerned murmurs echoed all around the hall, until the darkness was pierced by the bright blue flame of a small girl holding a lone lantern in her hands and wearing a shabby looking hooded cloak. "Good day and welcome to the castle. Follow me and do not stray from my light. Only it can guide you through the black corridor. This way now." She would lead the group along the black corridor, there really was nothing to see in the glow of the light save maybe for a suit of armor or two. At the very end a large certain was what bridged the corridor for the next room. Parting the curtain showed a large gallery bathed in the warm glow of the sunlight outside. Standing was their official guide. "Glad to see our Will-o-wisp girl has lead you all through. Welcome to the Great Castle, I will be your guide. Now, I urge you to not wander from the tour, though there are sections of this castle that do allow you to linger for a time but that will be only these areas marked on your map if you have one otherwise I will doubly inform you all. Now, should you need to excuse yourself from the tour prematurely, please let me know and I shall arrange for you to safely be warped out of the castle." She also handed out rather large medallions for each to hold. "If you should fall behind or somehow get lost, drop this and you will be rescued in a timely manner. It can also signal if you need to use the facilities but with to remain with the tour. Follow me, your guide and we all shall have a lovely time." She winked "Before we begin, any pressing questions I need to address? Or if any of you wish to leave now then simply enter back through the curtain and you will be escorted the way you came."

Aboard The Katoomba

"Oh, thank you kindly, sir! I'm glad the voyage was pleasant for you, though we had our periods of fighting the seas, I do my best to carry us all to the safety of the calm waters. No appreciation for it without the other, wouldn't you say? Well that's how I look at it anyway. Oh I am Captain Runze Vuvriroh! You can call me what you please while docked, only at sea I require to be called Captain. Staying aboard huh? You can if you really wanted to, there are passengers who do but we will be in port a few days before I return to Lananvu and there's not much to do aboard here when docked. I'd really suggest just disembarking unless you want to chat it up with the crew and the few stragglers who do remain aboard. I do remain aboard as I'm not much for city traveling, unless my mate just desires to see something. Well your choice, I sure don't mind a friendly conversation while I sound the ship a while."

The Dragon's Scale Pub

The gal running the bar approached him setting an empty mug and plate before him , "Welcome, what'll be? I might suggest my own dragon croissants. Freshly baked by my own fire, freshly rolled by my little sister with quality ingredients picked out by me papa. If you want a drink, fresh ale for your fancy or something else? Today is a 2-for-1 so order to your hearts content." A loud thud with a cloud white flour flying from the kitchen. "Harvi, be careful. You need help with the heavy sacks I told you to ask papa!"

"Papa's out on an errand and your croissants are popular big sis!"

"Okay then just ask me then, you're still building your muscles. Don't worry, plenty more where that came from. So?" she waited to see what he'd order if anything.

RTNS Aka.
I had noted, that Lady Takida was looking at me not like a seeker of wisdom looked at another one - that she compared me to her daughter, including maternal feelings rising, I did not realize.
Nor did I not realize, that we were even beyond what they could achieve with their magic, except for the obvious and that my 'magic' was something quite extraordinary to her as well. After all, for me, that was all completely normal.
What was a bit less normal was a sudden urge in my head.
"Hang on a moment, please.", I asked Lady Takida.
I reached in my sleeve, three more charms in hand - another Eagle, followed by two very similar craft, only that they most notably lacked the dish.
"Aozora A119A Lightning.", I explained and sent them for the exit.
They rushed towards the entrance hall, kept high to the ceiling, scanning all the while and then, the three craft, a standard carrier air patrol, caught, what had caught my attention.
A young woman, red eyes, white, short hair, dressed in a armour pieces evocative of ancient styles over a simple, yet elegant black and golden dress (which also did little to hide her less-then-curvy charmes). She was built like a fighter and did little to hide that, especially not by the two swords on her belt.
Most striking, however, were the two smooth, slightly curved horns on her head.
She walked, almost marched in as if she owned the place and from a certain point of view, RTNS Shizuka, Cruiser of the Navy of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress of Teienai, had a point, very much like Lady Takida did: Describing this world as quaint compared to us was a clear understatement.
Of course, the craft and her swapped IFF Handshakes, all positive, all green.
I sent a small package, a scan of the building with a route towards me. The patrol would guide her. I saw her nodding to the two librarians before she walked past them.
I turned back to Lady Takida.
All the while, in the back of my head, I transmitted scans, intelligence, everything I had about the locals via datalink.
"My apologies, Ma'am.", I said and bowed, "A friend of mine has arrived unexpectedly. She will be coming up shortly. Thank you for the compliment, however." I let a beat pass. "As for why I am here... simply put, curiosity."

Takida's eyes lit up, more visitors, more fun it seemed. What a magical day this was turning into. "Oh, some more of you? Exciting it sounds like. My pleasure of course, Madame, it truly is delightful chatting with you. I was just in the city on a visit and here I found a new adventure. Truly reminds me of my days as a much youthful student witch, eager to explore the world. Boy that was a long time ago. Anyway, I'm glad you are following your curiosity. As a teacher I admire that in my students, follow your curiosity to learn and you shall learn what you never expect."

There he is! A large and mean troll visible in a ray of tactical flashlight on Vadim's assault rifle. Despite not being able to fire here in this strange place, the rifle still was useful thanks to the bayonet. And even without it, one could bash with it's stock. The troll was even larger, than four Reavers even imagined. By conservative estimate, it would take a high-caliber machine gun or a squad of heavily armed warriors to take this one down without casualties. But here, there are only four folks with melee weapons against such a giant... But odds be damned! After all, there is a hefty reward awaiting from the four warriors if they get the job done. Besides, they undertook a mission and backing off would send a wrong message about Sky Reaver Armed Forces.

The initial plan with pit has beed scrapped - a pit for a giant of such a size would require a excavator or a plattoon of soldiers to dig in remotely reasonable terms. Besides, it's noisy and even if it's not, waking the troll would throw away an important advantage, that perhaps is the only chance to win this fight with resources four Reavers have at hand. Now, a new plan arised. Troll is sleeping, this could give an advantage in an initial attack.

Troll's sleep could be very light, so before even trying sneaking to it, the squad put away their backpacks aside, so the items won't rattle and give away the hunters too early. After putting things away, four Reavers have carefully sneaked to the troll, each from different side, picking an individiual target to strike at.

Seth would use his warclub to strike at the spinal cord near the neck, hoping to displace a disk or two with a powerful strike. He would try to strike in a jump, to add gravity to the force of this strike.

Jane would use katana to stab troll behind knee and slash tendons to reduce his mobility. Jose would strike with his machete to hack tendons of the other troll's knee, just in case.

As for Vadim, he'll be near troll's head. When troll tries to get up after being attacked, he'll strike it right in the eye with a bayonet, which he heated with a lighter beforehand.

After formulating this plan, Sky Reavers came close enough and striked at the same time by Vadim's command. They hoped, that at least one of four initial strikes would somehow incapacitate the troll, before it fuly gets up if it managed to do. Several more rutless strikes would be delivered, while trolls is getting up. Afterwards, four hunters woud have to fight him conventionally. In this phase, they would attack from different sides and the one to who troll turns, retreats, while other guy strikes. A hit-and run-tactic aimed at confusing the infamoous Terra Cotta troll. They know, that this will be perhaps the hardest fight in their lives. Reavers have engaged the enemy! Who will win?

If Reavers win, they'll have to go back to the guild and give troll's head to them, before going for werewolves, since Terra Cotta troll's head is just too big and heavy to carry around all the time.

Indeed the troll had very light sleep that anything but a tiptoe up to him would rouse him quickly. But not to say, a stealth strike made it any easier. The troll stirred and woke and stood high and tall. With his mighty hands he pounded and swung at the intruders and stomped on the ground. Indeed his knees were exposed, what a time to not have any protective gear. Each slash, hit and bang on his body made him groan and more agitated more eager to fight off his attackers. it took some doing but somehow someway, the Reavers took him down as he fell down to the ground with a mighty thud! The guild would be eager to see the head of the troll and pay out the reward for the first mission.

The lady tries not to offend the urchin boys, but the two know she was not impressed by the statues. They looked down in disappointment, thinking that they probably won't get the money. Nevertheless, she gave them the bag of 12 gold. The boys were excited to receive the money. Now they can buy some bread, and perhaps a nice warm room in a cheap inn. Before that, several questions came up to the boys, much more sensitive than others.

“We…” Elijah started, “We came from an island ma’am. The flag was purple with a golden eagle on the top left corner, I don’t remember the name, but the town we grew up in was called Port Hogarth”. The lady, who introduced herself as Azariah Belon was going to comment on the boys appearance, which was to be expected of them, they haven’t had clean clothes, proper food, or proper hygiene, and they looked and smelled terrible.

“I’m Eli,” he introduced himself since Azariah introduced herself. “That’s my younger brother, Aaron” he continues pointing at his brother. She then brought up the question of their orphanhood.

“Yes, we are orphans” Elijah stated in a sad and serious tone. “Our father left us and our mother died from illness. It’s just been Aaron and I, living day by day on the streets”.

“Hey, brother,” Aaron said to him, “Why don’t we go to the church? We can get taken care of?”

“And if we did that, we might get separated! We already lost our mom, I can’t lose you”. He turns back to Azariah. “We won’t go to any orphanage, We are doing fine living on our own. I don't want to be separated from my brother. But we might go to this guild you speak of,” He says determined before meekly stating, “where is that?”



“It is nice to meet you Soliana. Well, yes I am from another country, Phibeta if you have heard of us” Soliana continued to talk about the quest that she put out. Relatively easy it seems. All she has to do is protect her from animals, feral orcs and goblins, and anything she kills that is worth anything can go to her. And the other necessity of environmental spells made Rikako glad she took that class in environmental magic.

“Well, I do not know the strength of these hostile creatures you speak of; but other than that, I will accept your request. Seems relatively easy”.

"I don't think they would but I can't force you to do something you don't want. I am sorry to hear you've had such a tough time so maybe things will get better for you." She had no idea but she could try to give her sympathies. "Well the Hunters Guild is in Petric District. But it takes a lot of work to be a good Guild Hunter. Unless you want to fight slimes for pittance rewards, your really better off with the Church. You do have magic though so you have some advantage I suppose. Mmmm...." What to do, she was really on her way to the arena to fight but these boys, something about them she couldn't stand to leave them. "Well, maybe we could all form a party and do a quest together!" Her mother was a Guild Hunter now, so really arena fighter or Hunter what difference would it make if she could live up to her mother's name and reputation. "But we'd have to get you some more equipment. Maybe a bath too. Tsk...Missions can be tough and dangerous, especially if you want the high rewards." she clicked her tongue, this would take a lot of work to get these boys ready but she couldn't live with herself if she didn't stop them from foolishly going to their doom. She unsheathed her sword to show it to them "I'm a blade master!" well master maybe not quite right but she wanted to give confidence. "Swords are my speciality. You use magic but not with wands like the witches do so you'd probably fall under Mage class. If you know how to read scrolls or do incantations, that'd a big plus around here!"

"Ah delightful! Just watch yourself and we'll be all right. If things do get too heated or intense, just let me know and I'll pull us out in a hurry! I mean I won't be able to pay the full amount if we retreat, as the Guild collects that but I promise some kind of compensation for you regardless. Now then if we're ready, let's goooo!" She said with great fervor, taking the hand to complete the Guild Registration as a party of two.

Tapping her staff conjured a magic circle that they would use to fly up to a high peak nearby. "Flight magic is delightful but it takes a lot of power to keep it up! That's why we use Pegasus to travel over long distances. Only thing is Pegasus flights are very very expensive so they tend to be out of reach for most!" She didn't really need to tell her this but it was a bit of a trip for a few minutes so why not make a little conversation? Besides this good lady was a visitor, isn't this as good of time as any to inform her a little about what Elwitand is like? Exciting.

Amethyst
It's a pleasant and sunny day at Amethyst. Several kilometers away from the shore, a green rift appeared in the skies, though nothing could be seen exiting from it. Taking advantage of the weather, the Comps have aligned their exit rift so that passersby walking near the shore couldn't see them (although there is always a chance someone further with a telescope or an amazing pair of eyes could spot it). The interdimensional broadcast link is online now, sending live video feeds of the squad in a crispy 4096K resolution back to M-101. Even though several watchstations picking up television signals from various place exists on the Compendium, there is nothing more entertaining for the Comps to watch their fellow Comps adventure in a strange new land through a live video broadcast. The squad is a bit annoyed to discover that nothing remotely resembles a 21st Terran century automobile on Amethyst, which means they can't park (or even drive) their shuttle without undoubtedly attracting a LOT of attention. After a quick recon through the land, the shuttle went back into the sea, plunged straight into the water, and began making its way to the delta, dodging the odd sea creatures (if there were any) here and there.

"Arrived at destination," Raymond muttered, stopping the shuttle-submarine at the side of the delta, checking the shuttle lifeform sensor to ensure a minimal amount of living beings facing the shuttle as the squad disembark. If someone had spied on them from afar, it would look pretty funny because it seems as if four metallic cubes have jumped from the water with no explanation whatsoever. "Alright Comps, this place seems to be safe to traverse during the day, so four of us should be able to cover Amethyst by ourselves individually in the daytime."

Safe it is indeed but doesn't mean one shouldn't watch out. Automobiles were non-existent here BUT the carriages and coaches drawn by Woodland Hippocampi moved through the streets all the time so it for sure meant you had to be careful. These strange beings did grab the notice of another Arena would be hopeful, Shirla Choiret spotted these strange visitors from afar. News really had been buzzing that recent rifts in space and time had allowed more and more unusual visitors to the land so maybe this was another case of that. "Oh, what do we have here?" She wondered aloud to them in a rather dulcet monotoned voice .

The Captain was pleasant, her mate was a bit much but still friendly enough. She seemed like she had something dire to add to the whole worries of leviathans and ancient sea gods striking them down if not careful but the Captain put a stop to it soon enough, offering them drinks "Tea would be great." Aina replied

"Yes, please. Whatever you have, we're not picky!" Yuzu agreed and then continued the conversation, "About us huh?" Well we're not minding learning about you, Captain, you seem quite lovely and your ship is a good one. Sounds like you've had it a very very long time. Longer than either of us have been alive."

"Yes, you have yourself a good vessel here. Old fashioned - er - but I mean that in a good way. We're quite old fashioned where we're from too you know. You saw we pulled into harbor with a paddle wheel steamer. Ships like that went long out of common use over two centuries ago but we keep them going."

"They're new, but the design is old fashioned. But in years past, we still very much relied on sails, I mean we still do to an extent, and there are still vessels that are pure sail but mechanical ships like ours are more common now than ever. Oh we're from AHSCA, the United Island States, an archipelago way to the South and East of here. It was quite the voyage, we left ooh a good 6-months or so ago? I think?"

"Feels like it. This is quite a far flung place. It was difficult to say the least to make it here. "

"But Aina- uh- Captain Indou here she's a master captain! I'm not just saying that as her girlfriend." Yuzu blushed a little. "But as a member of her proud crew. Been sailing with her now for over two years! Our ship is named the Yuzu, it shares my name!" she giggled

"indeed it does. Funny coincidence." Aina said "Long line of fisherman and sailors in my family but before our days of independence and regional cooperation. it wasn't common for islanders to venture far from the islands. I feel lucky now to be apart of an age where more and more people want to go abroad. Go see what the wider world is like. Not just because it's my job but because I think it's interesting. Uh, sorry Captain - we're not boring you are we?"

"Are you kidding? Nothing I love more than hearing from a fellow captain." She gathered the cups of tea for all of them. "Yuzu, you do indeed sound like your proud to sail under your good Captain. Clear you two are quite in love and have been working together well. I'd be glad to hear more of your tales of your voyages together, including here. Though also don't let me keep you all night. I'm not much for city trawling myself but maybe you came to see the Great Capital. It is great but I'm a simple village girl myself. Sounds like you both relate a little?"

"I is too! Hehe me and Cappy got ourselves a nice little place back on our home state! But even before that just me and a little ol' beach hut I was born on in"

[Obrela]

Shava jumped at the young witch's entrance, her hand straying to the dagger strapped to her leg, and then relaxed slightly when she saw it was the young witch. Coughing in the smoke, she sized up the girl before her. The girl told her that her name was Azura, and that she had been too shy to talk to her. Shava gave a small nod. Boy did she know how that felt.
"Why are you following me then? What do you want?" She tried to keep her tone standoffish and calm.

[M-101]

Safe it is indeed but doesn't mean one shouldn't watch out. Automobiles were non-existent here BUT the carriages and coaches drawn by Woodland Hippocampi moved through the streets all the time so it for sure meant you had to be careful. These strange beings did grab the notice of another Arena would be hopeful, Shirla Choiret spotted these strange visitors from afar. News really had been buzzing that recent rifts in space and time had allowed more and more unusual visitors to the land so maybe this was another case of that. "Oh, what do we have here?" She wondered aloud to them in a rather dulcet monotoned voice .

While discussing which of the location they are going to visit, the Comps are mildly surprised by the sudden existence of a sapient being nearby. Faulty lifeform analyzer, they thought. Replace immediately upon return. They hoped the woman doesn't notice their craft, else if she does, she better doesn't work as a thief specializing in stealing strange alien craft. Or as a natural environment guardian protecting the river. Who knows, appearance can be deceiving. R. Compsington, being the eldest of the crew, decides to speak first for themselves. "Greetings, miss. We are visitors from the Compendium of M-101."
"Compound of enormous size and complexity." C. Compactor described their home. "Filled with our kind, the Comps."
"Sapient machines specialized in assembling electronics," M. Computactrum said. "But that would be a talk for later."
Lowering their faces at the rest of the Comps, as to simulate a nod, C. Compendias said. "We really have to get going. Nice communicating with you, miss."
As the Comps began to walk to their preferred destination, M. Computactrum halted on their tracks to look back at Shirla. "Pardon me, miss. Which way is to the town square?" They asked sheepishly. ""I haven't acquired your name either. Are you the local law enforcer, by any chance?"

[Sky Reavers]

And there they are, four Sky Reavers standing on a dead troll and making selifes, so their story would be more belivable. They are all somewhat roughed up, covered with some dirt and troll blood, but with that happy blink in their eyes.

"Damn... Holy hell... We actually did it, dudes!"-Seth coulnd't belive the sight, he and three comrades have managed to actually defeat the troll, a beast ass high as a two storey house, no less. He inspectd himself... he is still somehow alive and well, not unharmed though. Right leg still hurts even if it's not broken like he initially though. -"Leg gonna be all blue and black... It'll pass though..."

"Now, let's cut it's head off and bring it to the guild! It sells for alot! Then we gonna get the werewolves and after that, celebrate our victory!"-Vadim pumped off troll's corpse together with others. In several minutes, they have managed to cut off Terra Cotta troll's head and now started to decide, what should they do next.

-"It's just too big and heavy to carry it... I think, we should roll it all the way back to the guild. By the way, Neoners pay good money for samples of various multiversal ceratures, especially if they have strong regeneration, so let's also cut off troll's fingers, which are light enough. Four for each of us and one for Neoners as a sample. We'll store them in strong booze, so they won't smell and rot, while we are hangin' here for a week or two... or maybe more."-Jane proudly stood near troll's head, holding katana in one hand.

-"Now, let's parade! We and troll's head enterin' the town! Oh, it might have went on livin', but it made a fatal slip, when he tried to match the warriors with big blades on their hips."-Jose found his sombrero and put it back on.

Thee guys and a girl found some stream, washed themselves from dirt and blood, and then went on to the town, rolling troll's head and singing various songs on their way to Hunter Guild, where they would come with Terra Cotta troll head. -"Yo, dudes! Didn't expect us? We didn't expect to actually survive this either! But we are here and brought ya' da' head! We wanted to bring the whole troll, but it was so shocked with the offer, that it lost it's head!"-Seth LeBarge enjoyed this moment.

[The Grand Western Empire]

The Arena

"Just that way to the Registration office, good luck!" The woman ready to register him had finished up with another participant when she greeted Dominan "Welcome to the Battle Arena! If you're interested in participating, we encourage first timers to watch a match beforehand. If you feel confident, I'll be glad to register you. Just give me your information and we can begin. You look well suited to begin already so I'm almost ready to venture a guess you'll be set to jump right in!"

The Castle

Finding a tour was easy, a sign helpfully pointed out where to begin, which was a simple spot to join a group just inside a pair of large heavy wood doors. Plenty of people were already in the group, locals and tourists a like eager to see the Beacon of the Capital city, the great castle. The doors slammed shut behind the group, bathing the area in total darkness. A moment or two passed as the mix of nervous, excited and concerned murmurs echoed all around the hall, until the darkness was pierced by the bright blue flame of a small girl holding a lone lantern in her hands and wearing a shabby looking hooded cloak. "Good day and welcome to the castle. Follow me and do not stray from my light. Only it can guide you through the black corridor. This way now." She would lead the group along the black corridor, there really was nothing to see in the glow of the light save maybe for a suit of armor or two. At the very end a large certain was what bridged the corridor for the next room. Parting the curtain showed a large gallery bathed in the warm glow of the sunlight outside. Standing was their official guide. "Glad to see our Will-o-wisp girl has lead you all through. Welcome to the Great Castle, I will be your guide. Now, I urge you to not wander from the tour, though there are sections of this castle that do allow you to linger for a time but that will be only these areas marked on your map if you have one otherwise I will doubly inform you all. Now, should you need to excuse yourself from the tour prematurely, please let me know and I shall arrange for you to safely be warped out of the castle." She also handed out rather large medallions for each to hold. "If you should fall behind or somehow get lost, drop this and you will be rescued in a timely manner. It can also signal if you need to use the facilities but with to remain with the tour. Follow me, your guide and we all shall have a lovely time." She winked "Before we begin, any pressing questions I need to address? Or if any of you wish to leave now then simply enter back through the curtain and you will be escorted the way you came."

Aboard The Katoomba

"Oh, thank you kindly, sir! I'm glad the voyage was pleasant for you, though we had our periods of fighting the seas, I do my best to carry us all to the safety of the calm waters. No appreciation for it without the other, wouldn't you say? Well that's how I look at it anyway. Oh I am Captain Runze Vuvriroh! You can call me what you please while docked, only at sea I require to be called Captain. Staying aboard huh? You can if you really wanted to, there are passengers who do but we will be in port a few days before I return to Lananvu and there's not much to do aboard here when docked. I'd really suggest just disembarking unless you want to chat it up with the crew and the few stragglers who do remain aboard. I do remain aboard as I'm not much for city traveling, unless my mate just desires to see something. Well your choice, I sure don't mind a friendly conversation while I sound the ship a while."

The Dragon's Scale Pub

The gal running the bar approached him setting an empty mug and plate before him , "Welcome, what'll be? I might suggest my own dragon croissants. Freshly baked by my own fire, freshly rolled by my little sister with quality ingredients picked out by me papa. If you want a drink, fresh ale for your fancy or something else? Today is a 2-for-1 so order to your hearts content." A loud thud with a cloud white flour flying from the kitchen. "Harvi, be careful. You need help with the heavy sacks I told you to ask papa!"

"Papa's out on an errand and your croissants are popular big sis!"

"Okay then just ask me then, you're still building your muscles. Don't worry, plenty more where that came from. So?" she waited to see what he'd order if anything.

Dominan

"I just have to hit my opponent until he gives up or I knock him unconscious, right?" Dominan crossed his arms, the steel of his forearm armor clanked when they contacted. "I've fought in many gladiatorial arenas, some shadier than others, so I don't need to watch a match to understand the rules. Plus, if I see my possibly opponent beforehand, I'll be able see his weaknesses and take his only advantage, me not knowing anything about his techniques, away." Dominan smirked. He'd fought in well over ten dozen gladiatorial matches against foes stronger than the ones he'd probably face in the Battle Arena, he believed he had no reason to worry.

"I'm ready to engage in a fight, I'm well-armored enough, but I'll need a weapon, preferably a very large weapon. I left my ax back home. As for information...do you only need my name and place of origin or something else? My name is Dominan Vion and I'm from the Vion Domain of the Western Drahian Empire. Do you need to know anything else about me?" Dominan grumbled and uncrossed his arms. It was loud enough to be heard, but was unpleasant on the ears. No one knew if he talked like that naturally or purposefully. "So, when's the soonest I can get in a fight?" He said and bashed his armored knuckles together to emphasize his willingness to engage in combat.

Octavian

Octavian whistled quietly at the imposing pair of doors. Each towered over him by a wide margin, they even put the entrance to the Imperial Palace back home to shame. The thunderous creaking of the oaken slabs shutting caused Octavian to flinch toward his concealed blade, a reflex leftover from the war. The darkness, however, didn't bother him. Drahian bodies were capable of completely evolving to suit extreme environments in mere days, so it only took his eyes a couple seconds to allow him see relatively well. It wasn't ideal, but it was enough. The sudden appearance of the girl and lantern caused Octavian to recoil slightly, the light bothered his sensitive eyes. It took another few seconds before they changed to deal with the new light. "Sometimes, my evolution capabilities bother me..." Octavian's voice was so low it could barely be heard.

Since his eyes had finally receded, Octavian could finally scrutinize the girl, but couldn't make out anything. The cloak was of poor condition, one would think someone working at the Palace would have better clothing. But those thoughts were pushed aside when she said only the light could guide them through the corridor. 'Hm? Only the light...' The statement confounded Octavian to no end, but he followed the rule regardless, taking care to stay within the lantern's range, ignoring any glances made at his pair of horns.

Throughout the corridor, the only thing Octavian really noticed were the armor suits. He briefly wondered if they were decoration or automatons designed to guard the palace. The curtains loomed into view, making Octavian wonder why there seemed to be so much secrecy. If they wanted to make it hard to navigate the palace, then guards or simply not allowing people in would've done. The guide standing in the sun proceeded to list off the expected rules that Octavian only half-paid attention to. He took the medallion absent-mindedly and flipped into the air once before deftly catching it. The only thing he noticed was the interesting use for the medallion. 'Their magic seems to outdo the magic of my home. Interesting.'

"I've two questions," Octavian asked in a deep voice. He didn't raise his hand or anything, he was fairly certain the guide would be able to tell the question originated from the large Drahian. "You said will-o'-wisp girl, what is that? A kind of species? And the girl mentioned not to stray from the light because only it could guide us through the corridor. What does that mean? Why do we need that specific light to lead us?"

Lucian

"Can't appreciate one without the other. I've heard that attached to many things. Life without death is boring, fights without stakes aren't interesting, and a few others things, but I've never heard anyone say that about the sea. Maybe I just haven't hung around enough sailors or captains," Lucian chuckled. "I was never designed for the ocean, so I stayed on land and faced its challenges, but it feels like the earth is beginning to run out of things that can challenge me these days, maybe I should try to tackle the sea and its mysteries." He laughed and leaned agianst the deck railing, "However, I'll need to get over my nigh paralytic sea sickness. Which is why I wanted to thank you for how smooth the voyage was. I didn't end up hunched over the railing with Octavian standing next to me, making sure I didn't die." He laughed again. "Your mastery of the sea would make Fleet Commander Zelar jealous."

"I can give you a conversation while you inspect your ship, but I might end up in the way. But, if you need, I can loan you my services as thanks for the voyage. I'm fairly good at repairing stuff and I'm excellent at carrying things. I haven't much else to do besides watch my friend fight, but I already know he'll win with ease. I know that from experience..." Lucian mumbled out the last part and rubbed his ribs. Thinking about his and Vion's brawl made the long-healed injuries from that fight hurt.

Julius

Julius, while sitting and debating committing theft, was also wondering about the dragon-human half-breeds. Dragons had never been seen in the Western Drahian Empires, they were believed to be nothing more than myths. Julius had thought that too, but proof they existed once upon a time was right before his eyes. He wasn't sure how to take it. Mostly, he wondered how the cross-breeding occurred and if there were full-blood dragons any more. 'Do they look like glorified snakes or do they have legs and wings like in some myths? How I wonder...' Julius tapped his fingers against his table, the repeated noise helping him focus on not stealing and probably ending up in a fight with a dragon, who was probably stronger than even a Drahian, which was saying something. Some Drahians could lift over seven hundred pounds, Julius had seen it with his own eyes on a few occasions.

The bartender's sudden words and appearance shook Julius from his thoughts. He missed the first part of what she said, but guessed she was asking him what he wanted. He cleared his thoughts and straightened his back, "Beer and and a croissant, please." Julius said with a nod. "Wait, baked by your fire?" He tried to ask but the question was drowned out a thud from the kitchen, prompting Julius' left eye to flicker away from the dragon-lady and toward the kitchen. "Sibling trouble, eh?" He chuckled. "I've heard from my emperor that little sisters can be a pain at times, he knows from experience." He said while subtly glancing toward the bar's exit and wondering how quickly he could cross that distance. Sure, Julius could easy teleport away and evade paying, but that was no fun. Theft was only interesting when one gives the robbed a chance to stop the robber, in his opinion.

[AHSCA]

"Are you kidding? Nothing I love more than hearing from a fellow captain." She gathered the cups of tea for all of them. "Yuzu, you do indeed sound like your proud to sail under your good Captain. Clear you two are quite in love and have been working together well. I'd be glad to hear more of your tales of your voyages together, including here. Though also don't let me keep you all night. I'm not much for city trawling myself but maybe you came to see the Great Capital. It is great but I'm a simple village girl myself. Sounds like you both relate a little?"

"I is too! Hehe me and Cappy got ourselves a nice little place back on our home state! But even before that just me and a little ol' beach hut I was born on in"

"Yes ma'am, very proud indeed!"

"Don't worry, we'll be here a while too, we plan to see more of the city for sure but just like you, I also enjoy hearing from a fellow captain, especially after our voyage here, only one rougher was my doomed Animal-Moka voyage but I will say nothing likely will top that."

"That was a quite the voyage all right. Captain, that's how I kind of met my Captain here! I was a passenger then, still a kid but a few years off from adulthood. You'd think something like that would have scared me but I still kind of felt a calling to the sea so I joined the Yuzu as crew. My romantic relations with Aina came after that. Oh by the sound of it, Miss Ukneha we come from fairly similar uh I guess ways of living by the sounds of it. This country is so big and vast by the sounds of it, I guess life in the Capital is different here than where you're from. I hope I'm not prying much. Sounds like we're kind of mirrors of each other or something."

"Maybe not mirrors, Yuzu but they certainly are similar. Save for rank of you versus Miss Ukneha here."

"Yeah I'm still a regular sailor. One day I bet I can be Mate but I'm gonna be sure to work up to that rank on my merits as a good crew!"

"Uh by the way, you were kind of leading into leviathans, you're not telling me they lurk around here? I've tried to keep old sea superstitions behind me but I can't say that I haven't seen an odd thing or two."

[Zerotaxia]

"Aww that's really to bad." Rasha said sympathetically as their waitress returned setting cups of tea for the two girls and the coffee for Autumn. Along with the two bowls of soup for them. "Enjoy." She said leaving them to their food. Rasha continued, "Hopefully you'll get to see more. The Capital is wonderful of course but there's so much more to the Empire. Vast states the size of some small countries elsewhere! Even our home state is pretty decent but it's mostly forest and farmlands to be honest. But other big cities in the west can easily rival the Imperial Capital."

"Quite so." Vellorina agreed, "I'm hoping to take Rasha to see some more of the Empire in the near future." she said as she blew on her hot tea. "Hopefully you'll get to as well, soon enough."

"Thank you, I sure will!" Autumn said to the woman. Enjoyed it she did; the mushroom soup was quite hearty and satisfying exactly as the waitress said it was, and soon she had consumed most of it and the coffee too.

"So what do you ladies plan on doing tonight? Me, I'm--" Oooouuuuaaaahhhhhhhh, she yawned mid-sentence, unable to hold it back. "Excuse me! As I was saying, I am absolutely drained right now, so I'll soon be turning in for the night and catching some shut-eye, and tomorrow when I'm fully rested, I'll be able to properly explore this grand city. But first I invite you two to come by my place for a look. I'm certain you'll be impressed."

[A m e n r i a]

She gave a smile, somehow this ambitious youngster reminded her of herself when she was a young wannabe warrior. If only she had someone to help her "You got a lot of spirit and I like you. We do have equipment rentals and I'll make it my treat to give you a proper competitive going. And I'll get you an arena seat." She tore off a ticket stub, they had these just for the first timers to watch a match. "Give it a watch, if you want to come back, I'll have something ready for you. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the show, it should be starting soon."

"Alright, thank you!" Yali smiled and bowed in appreciation, before turning around at the "part-dragon, part-giant" twins and their companion. "Well, see ya around!" She waved at the three and headed towards the seats. It seemed like she was lucky - hers was at the right spot. Neither too far, nor too close to where the action would soon begin. A perfect view for her and her followers at home. She pulled out her phone and began recording herself. "Hi everyone, I'm already at the arena now. If you're wondering why I'm here instead of there..." she pointed her phone's front camera at the arena, then back at herself. "Well, I decided to take a seat and watch a match or two before jumping in myself. Give me an idea of what I'm going against, you know? Was this a good decision, or was it a waste of time? I'll let you guys decide after the first match. It's starting soon, so grab a drink, maybe some snacks, and enjoy the show!"

[Elvwitand]

Shava jumped at the young witch's entrance, her hand straying to the dagger strapped to her leg, and then relaxed slightly when she saw it was the young witch. Coughing in the smoke, she sized up the girl before her. The girl told her that her name was Azura, and that she had been too shy to talk to her. Shava gave a small nod. Boy did she know how that felt.
"Why are you following me then? What do you want?" She tried to keep her tone standoffish and calm.

"I-I don't want to do anything bad or anything like that! I'm just here visiting in the Capital my self. But I was kind of curious about all the folks coming from outside our Empire to visit so I started watching all the visitors. Some are kind of scary and some are folks I see here all the time but ordinary, you seem like your interesting." she gingerly went up a little closer "So uh, maybe I can hang out with you a bit? I know it's a bit silly, why would you want to hang out with some strange witch you only met who didn't have the nerve to talk to you in the first place you may so be asking yourself....." She paused, suddenly she realized she honestly didn't have a good retort for that...."I...." She could sense maybe the person was growing a bit impatient waiting for an answer "I can be a tour guide! I come here with my ma all the time! So I know some good places to eat, sleep, drink, and so on! So let me be your humble guide as you explore the Great Imperial Capital!" Suddenly now, she was tour guide, go figure.

While discussing which of the location they are going to visit, the Comps are mildly surprised by the sudden existence of a sapient being nearby. Faulty lifeform analyzer, they thought. Replace immediately upon return. They hoped the woman doesn't notice their craft, else if she does, she better doesn't work as a thief specializing in stealing strange alien craft. Or as a natural environment guardian protecting the river. Who knows, appearance can be deceiving. R. Compsington, being the eldest of the crew, decides to speak first for themselves. "Greetings, miss. We are visitors from the Compendium of M-101."
"Compound of enormous size and complexity." C. Compactor described their home. "Filled with our kind, the Comps."
"Sapient machines specialized in assembling electronics," M. Computactrum said. "But that would be a talk for later."
Lowering their faces at the rest of the Comps, as to simulate a nod, C. Compendias said. "We really have to get going. Nice communicating with you, miss."
As the Comps began to walk to their preferred destination, M. Computactrum halted on their tracks to look back at Shirla. "Pardon me, miss. Which way is to the town square?" They asked sheepishly. ""I haven't acquired your name either. Are you the local law enforcer, by any chance?"

"Oh uh, no I'm not police or anything...I'm just a wannabe tourny fighter is all. Name's Shirla Choriet. Was on my way to the battle arena actually; just arrived from my home in Mosta not long ago; was on my way there but you folks just pique my curiosity is all. Town square is actually just that way. " she pointed in a westerly direction "There's a good sized clock there, you can't miss it. Unless you want me to walk you there, I can, it's no problem, if I don't compete today I can compete tomorrow or whenever while the Nationals are going. Well what'cha say?"

And there they are, four Sky Reavers standing on a dead troll and making selifes, so their story would be more belivable. They are all somewhat roughed up, covered with some dirt and troll blood, but with that happy blink in their eyes.

"Damn... Holy hell... We actually did it, dudes!"-Seth coulnd't belive the sight, he and three comrades have managed to actually defeat the troll, a beast ass high as a two storey house, no less. He inspectd himself... he is still somehow alive and well, not unharmed though. Right leg still hurts even if it's not broken like he initially though. -"Leg gonna be all blue and black... It'll pass though..."

"Now, let's cut it's head off and bring it to the guild! It sells for alot! Then we gonna get the werewolves and after that, celebrate our victory!"-Vadim pumped off troll's corpse together with others. In several minutes, they have managed to cut off Terra Cotta troll's head and now started to decide, what should they do next.

-"It's just too big and heavy to carry it... I think, we should roll it all the way back to the guild. By the way, Neoners pay good money for samples of various multiversal ceratures, especially if they have strong regeneration, so let's also cut off troll's fingers, which are light enough. Four for each of us and one for Neoners as a sample. We'll store them in strong booze, so they won't smell and rot, while we are hangin' here for a week or two... or maybe more."-Jane proudly stood near troll's head, holding katana in one hand.

-"Now, let's parade! We and troll's head enterin' the town! Oh, it might have went on livin', but it made a fatal slip, when he tried to match the warriors with big blades on their hips."-Jose found his sombrero and put it back on.

Thee guys and a girl found some stream, washed themselves from dirt and blood, and then went on to the town, rolling troll's head and singing various songs on their way to Hunter Guild, where they would come with Terra Cotta troll head. -"Yo, dudes! Didn't expect us? We didn't expect to actually survive this either! But we are here and brought ya' da' head! We wanted to bring the whole troll, but it was so shocked with the offer, that it lost it's head!"-Seth LeBarge enjoyed this moment.

The loud sounds of the a rolling troll head and the sight of it was one to behold for the villagers along the way. Plenty cheered seeing the sight that the monster was finally taken down after causing so many problems. Next it was off to the guild for the bunch which also the guild hunters and counter people were surprised but well the deed was done and thus the reward was due. "Congratulations on completing the quest. Your reward for the troll." She handed over a large purse of gold for them. "Interested in the wolf quest or set to retire for today? I shall register your next mission."

Dominan

"I just have to hit my opponent until he gives up or I knock him unconscious, right?" Dominan crossed his arms, the steel of his forearm armor clanked when they contacted. "I've fought in many gladiatorial arenas, some shadier than others, so I don't need to watch a match to understand the rules. Plus, if I see my possibly opponent beforehand, I'll be able see his weaknesses and take his only advantage, me not knowing anything about his techniques, away." Dominan smirked. He'd fought in well over ten dozen gladiatorial matches against foes stronger than the ones he'd probably face in the Battle Arena, he believed he had no reason to worry.

"I'm ready to engage in a fight, I'm well-armored enough, but I'll need a weapon, preferably a very large weapon. I left my ax back home. As for information...do you only need my name and place of origin or something else? My name is Dominan Vion and I'm from the Vion Domain of the Western Drahian Empire. Do you need to know anything else about me?" Dominan grumbled and uncrossed his arms. It was loud enough to be heard, but was unpleasant on the ears. No one knew if he talked like that naturally or purposefully. "So, when's the soonest I can get in a fight?" He said and bashed his armored knuckles together to emphasize his willingness to engage in combat.

Octavian

Octavian whistled quietly at the imposing pair of doors. Each towered over him by a wide margin, they even put the entrance to the Imperial Palace back home to shame. The thunderous creaking of the oaken slabs shutting caused Octavian to flinch toward his concealed blade, a reflex leftover from the war. The darkness, however, didn't bother him. Drahian bodies were capable of completely evolving to suit extreme environments in mere days, so it only took his eyes a couple seconds to allow him see relatively well. It wasn't ideal, but it was enough. The sudden appearance of the girl and lantern caused Octavian to recoil slightly, the light bothered his sensitive eyes. It took another few seconds before they changed to deal with the new light. "Sometimes, my evolution capabilities bother me..." Octavian's voice was so low it could barely be heard.

Since his eyes had finally receded, Octavian could finally scrutinize the girl, but couldn't make out anything. The cloak was of poor condition, one would think someone working at the Palace would have better clothing. But those thoughts were pushed aside when she said only the light could guide them through the corridor. 'Hm? Only the light...' The statement confounded Octavian to no end, but he followed the rule regardless, taking care to stay within the lantern's range, ignoring any glances made at his pair of horns.

Throughout the corridor, the only thing Octavian really noticed were the armor suits. He briefly wondered if they were decoration or automatons designed to guard the palace. The curtains loomed into view, making Octavian wonder why there seemed to be so much secrecy. If they wanted to make it hard to navigate the palace, then guards or simply not allowing people in would've done. The guide standing in the sun proceeded to list off the expected rules that Octavian only half-paid attention to. He took the medallion absent-mindedly and flipped into the air once before deftly catching it. The only thing he noticed was the interesting use for the medallion. 'Their magic seems to outdo the magic of my home. Interesting.'

"I've two questions," Octavian asked in a deep voice. He didn't raise his hand or anything, he was fairly certain the guide would be able to tell the question originated from the large Drahian. "You said will-o'-wisp girl, what is that? A kind of species? And the girl mentioned not to stray from the light because only it could guide us through the corridor. What does that mean? Why do we need that specific light to lead us?"

Lucian

"Can't appreciate one without the other. I've heard that attached to many things. Life without death is boring, fights without stakes aren't interesting, and a few others things, but I've never heard anyone say that about the sea. Maybe I just haven't hung around enough sailors or captains," Lucian chuckled. "I was never designed for the ocean, so I stayed on land and faced its challenges, but it feels like the earth is beginning to run out of things that can challenge me these days, maybe I should try to tackle the sea and its mysteries." He laughed and leaned agianst the deck railing, "However, I'll need to get over my nigh paralytic sea sickness. Which is why I wanted to thank you for how smooth the voyage was. I didn't end up hunched over the railing with Octavian standing next to me, making sure I didn't die." He laughed again. "Your mastery of the sea would make Fleet Commander Zelar jealous."

"I can give you a conversation while you inspect your ship, but I might end up in the way. But, if you need, I can loan you my services as thanks for the voyage. I'm fairly good at repairing stuff and I'm excellent at carrying things. I haven't much else to do besides watch my friend fight, but I already know he'll win with ease. I know that from experience..." Lucian mumbled out the last part and rubbed his ribs. Thinking about his and Vion's brawl made the long-healed injuries from that fight hurt.

Julius

Julius, while sitting and debating committing theft, was also wondering about the dragon-human half-breeds. Dragons had never been seen in the Western Drahian Empires, they were believed to be nothing more than myths. Julius had thought that too, but proof they existed once upon a time was right before his eyes. He wasn't sure how to take it. Mostly, he wondered how the cross-breeding occurred and if there were full-blood dragons any more. 'Do they look like glorified snakes or do they have legs and wings like in some myths? How I wonder...' Julius tapped his fingers against his table, the repeated noise helping him focus on not stealing and probably ending up in a fight with a dragon, who was probably stronger than even a Drahian, which was saying something. Some Drahians could lift over seven hundred pounds, Julius had seen it with his own eyes on a few occasions.

The bartender's sudden words and appearance shook Julius from his thoughts. He missed the first part of what she said, but guessed she was asking him what he wanted. He cleared his thoughts and straightened his back, "Beer and and a croissant, please." Julius said with a nod. "Wait, baked by your fire?" He tried to ask but the question was drowned out a thud from the kitchen, prompting Julius' left eye to flicker away from the dragon-lady and toward the kitchen. "Sibling trouble, eh?" He chuckled. "I've heard from my emperor that little sisters can be a pain at times, he knows from experience." He said while subtly glancing toward the bar's exit and wondering how quickly he could cross that distance. Sure, Julius could easy teleport away and evade paying, but that was no fun. Theft was only interesting when one gives the robbed a chance to stop the robber, in his opinion.

The Battle Arena


"Very well then, you sound like you are ready to go then just down that hall and your first battle will begin." She finished taking down his information said still mustering all the soft cheer in her voice. Once out of earshot she did regard to her fellow register "People like him makes me miss the days when this was a blood sport."

"Maybe you can fight him and take him down a notch."

"Well my luck the cocky one will do well anyway. Oh well. Next up please!"

A simple straight walk down the hallway where he was stopped at the door to wait by a couple of elf attendants "Welcome to the Arena, your match will begin just a moment." No further questions were given, you made it this far it meant you were thoroughly ready. "All right, proceed." They opened the curtain to allow him to walk into the arena. Now his match was set to begin.


"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer shouted over the roaring crowds, "Our first foreign competitor of the day, welcome Dominan Vion and I'm from the Vion Domain of the Western Drahian Empire!" Loud cheers and applause roared, mixed with booing and hissing for those rooting for a mainline competitor.

"And facing off today, she's small in stature but not in grit and might! All the way from hot sands of Kajar, welcome the small but brave, Panya Tannous! In walked his competator a small young elf woman waving to the crowds as well. Again mixes of cheers and boos depending on who was who in the crowd but all apart of the fights.

From the sky descended the witch referee on her broom to give the simple rundown. "Simple knock-out-round, no weather effects will be in play. Good luck and may the best win." She rose up again, raising her wand into the sky to let out a mighty CRACK. Now it was time to begin the match. Panya drew her sword going for the first strike. "YAAAAH!" She gave her mightiest yell as she thrusted her blade at her opponent today, how would be react?

The Castle

"Ah great question to start us off with! For those who have never been to the castle before let me begin with the explanations of how it is protected. The Will-o-Wisp girl is what we simply call her because in the lantern, she possess a Will-o-Wisp flame, the flame that you saw, that guided you through the darkness. The whole castle has spells and enchantments for the security of the Royal Family and their visitors, the dark hallways are just one of them. Wandering without the light of the flame as your guide will cause you to end up lost and dazed in the pitch black for what could be forever if not careful. You also saw the armor suits that lined the halls, those too are a further security measure employed here at the entrance. Those new to the Empire, Will-o-Wisps are indeed spirits that are usually present as the flames but with the help of a mage or witch can take a form of some kind, though rarely a humanoid form. Now, let's begin the tour proper, again feel free to ask questions. To start, this is the main gallery, used for the welcoming of dignitaries for Her Imperial Majesty and Empresses and Queens prior. It does allow in the natural light of the sun, stars, and moon and is often the gathering point before formal events begin like dinners or balls. The walls are adorned with the portraits of the Royals of this castle past and present, including Her Imperial Majesty as well as the Deities of our lands from the Great Goddesses to the minor gods. The castle was finished in 163 of the Caerleon Era under the reign of Caerleon IX, that was just before The Empire was formed as we know it today. In 177 Caerleon the Great Earth Dragon rose shaking all of Amethyst to the core, but the castle stood firm and strong in the face of it and was the refuge for many displaced from the great shaking. That was attributed to Princess Ashla the daughter of Queen Careleon, noted for her bright compassion. Even slaves were given refuge here when slavery was still practiced.

The Katoomba

"Perhaps so or perhaps I only made that up myself, being on the seas so long I guess I always felt that way. Well whatever the situation, I'm glad my skills kept your sicknesses at bay. You looking to tackle that, I'd have you join my crew if you so desired! Sea sickness is an easy enough cure, if you don't get it over it naturally, I have plenty of herbs and remedies for that that helps. But they are terribly bitter and leave an aftertaste for days on end so I tend to urge the natural acclimation of it." She tied off a rope and adjusted her glasses a bit "I'm glad to be spoken highly of, it does come with a lot of experience. This here ship of mine has been in my family through the centuries. From my ma on up, she's carried me through plenty around the Empire and beyond. Well then, if you want to be of help, then I will welcome it. Come on with me then, next stop for me is the forward mast. You might expect it takes the most punishment in storms. Well, follow me then." He seemed like a nice guy, so might as well take time to chat a while.

The Dragon's Scale Pub

"Sure, coming up!" She wrote down the ticket and let it fly back to the kitchen for her sister to roll up "They can be all right," She responded with a laugh and smile as she poured a beer for him, "but she's still my little sis and I love her! Just she's kind of a klutz in the kitchen at times. But she really does well when she can settle down and focus a bit. Case in point." out came a large plate of their famed dragon shaped croissants, the batch made for the first batch of orders just before he arrived. "Ah pardon me, Miss" A woman requested her attention, "Could mine be a little darker please?"

"No problem!" A very gentle puff of fire emerged from her mouth giving the bread a little darker shade for the customer who asked "Hows yours, sir, good?"

"Ah delightful!" The old man praised "I could eat these things all day today."

"He might just do so" The old lady with him laughed

"Hehe well do enjoy do enjoy." It wasn't much longer the order for Julius was ready and arrived, "Here ya go, if its to your liking, enjoy!"

"S'cuse me miss!"

"Ah coming!" She moved from behind the bar to attend to a table leaving Julius for the moment to contemplate his actions further, would he dine and dash?

"Yes ma'am, very proud indeed!"

"Don't worry, we'll be here a while too, we plan to see more of the city for sure but just like you, I also enjoy hearing from a fellow captain, especially after our voyage here, only one rougher was my doomed Animal-Moka voyage but I will say nothing likely will top that."

"That was a quite the voyage all right. Captain, that's how I kind of met my Captain here! I was a passenger then, still a kid but a few years off from adulthood. You'd think something like that would have scared me but I still kind of felt a calling to the sea so I joined the Yuzu as crew. My romantic relations with Aina came after that. Oh by the sound of it, Miss Ukneha we come from fairly similar uh I guess ways of living by the sounds of it. This country is so big and vast by the sounds of it, I guess life in the Capital is different here than where you're from. I hope I'm not prying much. Sounds like we're kind of mirrors of each other or something."

"Maybe not mirrors, Yuzu but they certainly are similar. Save for rank of you versus Miss Ukneha here."

"Yeah I'm still a regular sailor. One day I bet I can be Mate but I'm gonna be sure to work up to that rank on my merits as a good crew!"

"Uh by the way, you were kind of leading into leviathans, you're not telling me they lurk around here? I've tried to keep old sea superstitions behind me but I can't say that I haven't seen an odd thing or two."

"Ah sounds like you've seen a thing or two, Aina! If you don't mind sharing, I'm eager to hear. Well also to answer your question, you really don't need to worry about leviathans now a days. They are around yes, but now they rarely go after ships unprovoked like they did in the old days. Lots of things have changed here in the last few thousand years, and yeah in the old days they did attack, attack ships of all kinds, mine included. We had to offer ritual sacrifices to keep them at bay but sometimes that didn't work enough so the Church realized the Divine did not will it so and thus the practice stopped."

"Yah no need to worry no more. Just gotta worry bout the winds and waves now more than the old beasties under the sea! Still should ya find yerself in one best way is to sacra--"

"Ukneha. Forget that, best advice I can give you, is to throw what you can. Yes it will make it angry but a ship like yours I suspect could be let go and get away quickly, long enough to get bored of you. They're not very mobile creatures. But again, attacks now a days are very rare. In fact if it will make you feel better, I can spare a crew member of mine to help you along. I'm sure plenty of my crew could use a holiday away from me a while" She laughed "But I also know plenty of mages and witches who can offer up some enchantments and charms to protect you along the way."

"Thank you, I sure will!" Autumn said to the woman. Enjoyed it she did; the mushroom soup was quite hearty and satisfying exactly as the waitress said it was, and soon she had consumed most of it and the coffee too.

"So what do you ladies plan on doing tonight? Me, I'm--" Oooouuuuaaaahhhhhhhh, she yawned mid-sentence, unable to hold it back. "Excuse me! As I was saying, I am absolutely drained right now, so I'll soon be turning in for the night and catching some shut-eye, and tomorrow when I'm fully rested, I'll be able to properly explore this grand city. But first I invite you two to come by my place for a look. I'm certain you'll be impressed."

"For now," Vellorina set her empty tea cup aside "We were going to walk around the city a bit, see a few sights while it's dark and uh..." Well she wouldn't mention their romantic plans for the evening so she left it at that "Well just that, some sight seeing and then quiet time together."

Rasha responded, "Yeah it should be lovely tonight, clear sky but it is a bit cold out. And we have some time, especially if you're planning to turn in early, so I don't mind if you don't Vello, to join the lady for a while longer."

"Not at all, should be quite interesting. I've never actually really met someone from far off before. Come to think of it, I don't suppose you have either, Rasha"

Rasha shook her head "Not at all, so we'd be delighted!"

"Alright, thank you!" Yali smiled and bowed in appreciation, before turning around at the "part-dragon, part-giant" twins and their companion. "Well, see ya around!" She waved at the three and headed towards the seats. It seemed like she was lucky - hers was at the right spot. Neither too far, nor too close to where the action would soon begin. A perfect view for her and her followers at home. She pulled out her phone and began recording herself. "Hi everyone, I'm already at the arena now. If you're wondering why I'm here instead of there..." she pointed her phone's front camera at the arena, then back at herself. "Well, I decided to take a seat and watch a match or two before jumping in myself. Give me an idea of what I'm going against, you know? Was this a good decision, or was it a waste of time? I'll let you guys decide after the first match. It's starting soon, so grab a drink, maybe some snacks, and enjoy the show!"

"Ladieeees aaaand Gentlemaaaaaan! We are now ready to begin the match! From the East Corner, she's half-orc half-human-half-elf, with her battle axe, descent from a great Gothic Tribe, welcome from the Viper Marshlands of Flurocaphi, right here from the Realm of Amethyst, Orizen de Dargon! " The roar of the crowd of cheers and booing, depending on who was rooting for whom and betting on whom, out from the field tunnel emerged the named contender, a short, stout pudgy looking female, short pink hair and a large battleaxe in her hands as she waved the crowds. Regardless if you get booed for or cheered for, it's all apart of the experience. "And in the West Corner, with her mighty broadsword in tow, known for her a fiery temper to match her fiery hair, hunting monsters since the day she could walk, all the way from the Dragon's Bend in Roseria, welcome Rozataria Duskclaw!" Again the same mix of the cheers and boos as Rozataria with her dark complexion, long red hair and large broadsword took her position in the arena. From the sky descended the witch referee on her broom to give the simple rundown. "Simple knock-out-round, sword versus axe. No weather effects will be in play. Good luck and may the best win." She rose up again, raising her wand into the sky to let out a mighty CRACK.

The two gals began their brawl locking axe with sword and each wielding an equally heavy looking shield to deflect and parry shots. Rozataria was a bit more agile than the rather lumbering Orizen but Orizen could really deliver the heavy blows with her mas. "It is a match of two skilled fighters in their field, Orizen with her mighty battle axe continues to work to disarm her opponent while Rozataria looks to use her agility to stay on top. Skillful dodge by the red-headed beauty" Orizen thrust her axe, landing it in the ground but missing by just that much. "Orizen appears stuck and may be in trouble, will she get OH-KO'd from behind!" As Rozataria gave a mighty slice with her sword, Orizen successfully blocked it with her shield. Orizen hastily backed away now making a full body motion to body slam down on her opponent "Orizen going for her sheer body strength to get her opponent into submission! And it looks like Rozataria is pinned but still squirming!"

"Gah get off me, you giant clod! Bajar! Bajar! Besta imunda de uma garota!" Rozataria grumbled.

"Squirm all ya like, Northerner, be glad I'm only half-the size of my pap!" She boasted

"Folks it's like our sword and axe match has turned into a wrestling match but can our barbarian class girl get free of the lumbering halfling? It seems like Orizen is getting comfortable and ready to press her full weight on her, what a way to lose a match!"

"Aún no....Fora de mim!" Mustering as much strength she somehow managed to shift the weight just enough to roll the heavyset opponent off of her. "And Rozataria is back on her feet, ladies and gentlemen! It seems the barbarous blood still runs strong in her tribe!"

Rozataria grabbing her sword and and Orizen grabbing her axe the two returned to locking blades. Each falling back a moment taking a defensive stance, "They're staring each other down!"

Orizen pulled a tassel off her armor tossing it down on the ground "What's this, does Orizen have a secret up her sleeve?" Out of nowhere, the arena became swamped with a heavy rain , the audience was fine because there were barriers up to protect the crowds from magic spells, environmental effects, when in play, or the wayward weapon or shield flying off "Well, no weather was on call by our Witch but it seems Orizen has her own ideas as she just summoned a mighty deluge. I suppose she's hoping to give herself a home field advantage."

"Now, human!" Orizen pointed her axe "You'll fight me on my terf!"

"Ha! Sua chuva não me assusta, chica bestia! I'm still going to cut...YOU...DOWN!" She made her charge at Orizen, who took her defensive stance!

"Orizen is planning on turning the field to match her swampy home but Rozataria doesn't seem all that put off by the rain, guess she's counting her lucky stars she's not from the Black Desert! Oooh and Orizen parries another blow! It seems she's not letting her guard down regardless but Rozataria still is keeping it up! Our gals are crossing blades and who will be victorious is anyone's guess."

Lightning streaked down narrowly missing the two fighters but it was more a danger to Rozataria than to Orizen. "No more games!" Orizen shouted "Now I finish you!"

"This could be bad folks, with the rain providing her the advantage it seems Orizen is going to deliver her final blow!" Rozataria began sliding in as Orizen with her mighty axe swung hard and down with a mighty thud but to her surprise she missed again! Rozataria just slid right under her and now stuck in the softened soil, it gave Rozataria the moment to get to her feet and with her sword firmly gripped took her large swing right into Orizen's body. Of course all blades are enchanted so this was more like being smacked hard by a large stick, it hurts but it won't kill you. Either way Orizen went down into the dirt and the witch cleared the rain away as she returned to the field. "1-2-3! That's it! WINNER ROZATARIA!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen Rozataria managed to quench a victory and what a match it was!"

[Sky Reavers]

Vadim decides to ask more about hunting, still feeling the pride. -"Well, we, four dudes from armed forces took down a Terra Cotta troll and got the money well deserved. I still have a feeling, that there are far more dangerous creatures out there. I wonder, if there is a classification for them? And at what tier Terra Cotta Trolls, like the one we took down are placed? And what was the most epic and dangerous assignment in your guild's history that has been successfully completed?"

Seth LeBarge just decides to have some talk with some other hunting party, while enjoying his beer. -"Yo', dudes! Going for a nice bounty? Looks like the hunter's duty is never done! We have just killed a big ass troll and soon gonna celebrate this with booze! Ya'll probably have seen us rollin' it's head. What are some of the nice taverns to do so and is there any unusual booze out there? By the way, we wanna share the vibe and mood, so here is some booze! From our homeland!"-Seth gives a bottle of beer to one of the hunters. -"By the way, if ya' also gonna hunt some troll... and ya' didn't go for them before... They got very light sleep, one misstep and this giant gonna wake up, they are unusually fast for their size and... they smell like shit! I swear, sometimes when we rolled the head, I wished, that my smell didn't recover after Covid."

In the meantime, Jane asks around about enchantments and magic and how could she and friends learn about it. If at least some parties have wizards in them, then there are places to learn about magic. She hopes, that it's even possible for her and friends to learn a few spells. Enchantments are also interesting topic. After all, an enchanted item could sell at very high price back home, as it would be a valuable thing for laboratory studies and researches.-"I wonder about magic here... Is it possible for us to learn some spells? If we learn some, it would be awesome! And what about enchanted items? Would like to know a bit about thier classification and such and where it's best to get them? Or enchant our own weapons? "

Jose in the meantime wonders about slimes, whatever they are. -"I keep hearing about slimes, whatever they are... What are they exactly and what are their species? I also know, that they are not worth much. You will laugh, but we plan to put one inside a bottle from tequilla if it's possible and bring it back home for laboratory studies. Neoners pay good money for various unusual otherwordly specimen and items we bring."

[The Grand Western Empire]

The Battle Arena


"Very well then, you sound like you are ready to go then just down that hall and your first battle will begin." She finished taking down his information said still mustering all the soft cheer in her voice. Once out of earshot she did regard to her fellow register "People like him makes me miss the days when this was a blood sport."

"Maybe you can fight him and take him down a notch."

"Well my luck the cocky one will do well anyway. Oh well. Next up please!"

A simple straight walk down the hallway where he was stopped at the door to wait by a couple of elf attendants "Welcome to the Arena, your match will begin just a moment." No further questions were given, you made it this far it meant you were thoroughly ready. "All right, proceed." They opened the curtain to allow him to walk into the arena. Now his match was set to begin.


"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer shouted over the roaring crowds, "Our first foreign competitor of the day, welcome Dominan Vion and I'm from the Vion Domain of the Western Drahian Empire!" Loud cheers and applause roared, mixed with booing and hissing for those rooting for a mainline competitor.

"And facing off today, she's small in stature but not in grit and might! All the way from hot sands of Kajar, welcome the small but brave, Panya Tannous! In walked his competator a small young elf woman waving to the crowds as well. Again mixes of cheers and boos depending on who was who in the crowd but all apart of the fights.

From the sky descended the witch referee on her broom to give the simple rundown. "Simple knock-out-round, no weather effects will be in play. Good luck and may the best win." She rose up again, raising her wand into the sky to let out a mighty CRACK. Now it was time to begin the match. Panya drew her sword going for the first strike. "YAAAAH!" She gave her mightiest yell as she thrusted her blade at her opponent today, how would be react?

The Castle

"Ah great question to start us off with! For those who have never been to the castle before let me begin with the explanations of how it is protected. The Will-o-Wisp girl is what we simply call her because in the lantern, she possess a Will-o-Wisp flame, the flame that you saw, that guided you through the darkness. The whole castle has spells and enchantments for the security of the Royal Family and their visitors, the dark hallways are just one of them. Wandering without the light of the flame as your guide will cause you to end up lost and dazed in the pitch black for what could be forever if not careful. You also saw the armor suits that lined the halls, those too are a further security measure employed here at the entrance. Those new to the Empire, Will-o-Wisps are indeed spirits that are usually present as the flames but with the help of a mage or witch can take a form of some kind, though rarely a humanoid form. Now, let's begin the tour proper, again feel free to ask questions. To start, this is the main gallery, used for the welcoming of dignitaries for Her Imperial Majesty and Empresses and Queens prior. It does allow in the natural light of the sun, stars, and moon and is often the gathering point before formal events begin like dinners or balls. The walls are adorned with the portraits of the Royals of this castle past and present, including Her Imperial Majesty as well as the Deities of our lands from the Great Goddesses to the minor gods. The castle was finished in 163 of the Caerleon Era under the reign of Caerleon IX, that was just before The Empire was formed as we know it today. In 177 Caerleon the Great Earth Dragon rose shaking all of Amethyst to the core, but the castle stood firm and strong in the face of it and was the refuge for many displaced from the great shaking. That was attributed to Princess Ashla the daughter of Queen Careleon, noted for her bright compassion. Even slaves were given refuge here when slavery was still practiced.

The Katoomba

"Perhaps so or perhaps I only made that up myself, being on the seas so long I guess I always felt that way. Well whatever the situation, I'm glad my skills kept your sicknesses at bay. You looking to tackle that, I'd have you join my crew if you so desired! Sea sickness is an easy enough cure, if you don't get it over it naturally, I have plenty of herbs and remedies for that that helps. But they are terribly bitter and leave an aftertaste for days on end so I tend to urge the natural acclimation of it." She tied off a rope and adjusted her glasses a bit "I'm glad to be spoken highly of, it does come with a lot of experience. This here ship of mine has been in my family through the centuries. From my ma on up, she's carried me through plenty around the Empire and beyond. Well then, if you want to be of help, then I will welcome it. Come on with me then, next stop for me is the forward mast. You might expect it takes the most punishment in storms. Well, follow me then." He seemed like a nice guy, so might as well take time to chat a while.

The Dragon's Scale Pub

"Sure, coming up!" She wrote down the ticket and let it fly back to the kitchen for her sister to roll up "They can be all right," She responded with a laugh and smile as she poured a beer for him, "but she's still my little sis and I love her! Just she's kind of a klutz in the kitchen at times. But she really does well when she can settle down and focus a bit. Case in point." out came a large plate of their famed dragon shaped croissants, the batch made for the first batch of orders just before he arrived. "Ah pardon me, Miss" A woman requested her attention, "Could mine be a little darker please?"

"No problem!" A very gentle puff of fire emerged from her mouth giving the bread a little darker shade for the customer who asked "Hows yours, sir, good?"

"Ah delightful!" The old man praised "I could eat these things all day today."

"He might just do so" The old lady with him laughed

"Hehe well do enjoy do enjoy." It wasn't much longer the order for Julius was ready and arrived, "Here ya go, if its to your liking, enjoy!"

"S'cuse me miss!"

"Ah coming!" She moved from behind the bar to attend to a table leaving Julius for the moment to contemplate his actions further, would he dine and dash?

Lucian

"I was raised inland, I don't think I saw the sea until I was..." Lucian paused, quietly doing math in his head. "37. I was accompanying a fleet that was on its way to set up a base on an island to strip it of anything that could be turned into a weapon. That trip...didn't go as planned." He stepped aside for a crew-woman walking by. "I...would like to accept your offer to join the Katoomba's crew, but..." Lucian stopped momentarily, searching for the right words. "I still have a few things to handle back home. Most trying to repair my relationship with my half-brother. And I also hold a position of immense importance and I don't plan to abandon it any time soon. Not while I can still fight."

Lucian shrugged as he looked at the ocean. Sunlight was sparkling on its surface. It was a nice sight that he enjoyed looking at. It kind of reminded him of how the sun glinted over the steel of blades, a sight he was very familiar with. "I would try the herbs route, but the idea of being weak and nauseous for days on end sounds unpleasant. I'll just muscle through it like I always do." He looked back at the captain and waved his hand dismissively. "I'm amazed this ship has stayed together so long. The Western Drahian Empire mandates every ship undergo some kind of overhaul once it reaches twenty years of age. Maybe we just don't built ships right, but good luck convincing a Drahian about that. Every one of them will insist their technique is good and shouldn't be changed." Lucian threw his head back and laughed at the utter stubbornness of his fellow Drahians."

"I know forward masts take damage. I recall seeing a ship losing its forward mast in a tempest. Two other warships had to attach their boarding hooks to it, so the ship and its crew didn't end up whisked away. All the while, I was hunched over a railing with two of my comrades holding my arms, so I didn't fall off the flagship," The very memory of that storm upset Lucian's stomach. That was easily the worst day of his life.

Octavian

Octavian was awed by the measures, but he also felt like scoffing. The Imperial Palace of the Western Drahian Empire was guarded only by the Royal Guard, who did the job well enough. They kept the entire Palace safe, without any spells to help them. Though, in particular, the part about the armor suits interested him. The guide skipped over what they did, but Octavian could guess. They were likely automatons. Constructs brought to life and powered by magic. Any ancient form of technology that, despite the Drahians knowing how to create automations, rarely used them. The strange machines took too much time, effort, and power to make, rendering them not worth the cost. Though, the statues outside Octavian's throneroom were automatons that were only ever awakened during times of extraordinary need. Octavian, personally, only saw them march once, and they hadn't done much to stop the disaster that shook the Imperial Palace.

The guide launched into a tirade of history, much of which Octavian either took silently or frowned at. He couldn't tell if he was listening to history or myths. Dragons didn't exist where he came from, they never had. No trustable records ever mentioned them, so he presumed dragons simply didn't exist anywhere. Unbeknownst to him, the kleptomaniac who served Octavian was in a bar with dragon-humans. "A question," Octavian said, his voice echoing in the hall. "Did the people not object to letting slaves inside the palace? Slaves are usually looked down upon as non-human, so surely people raised their voices against Princess Ashla for such a decision. How did she handle that adversity?" He asked, curious to see how foreign monarchs handled such issues.

Julius

Julius watched the paper fly to the kitchen. His eyes traced the route carefully, an instinct he had gotten beaten into him by his mentor. As the bartender talked about her sister, Julius politely nodded and smiled to show he was listening. He took a small sip of his beer, just enough to deduce whether or not it was good or bad. The taste was rather good, better than the crude excuse for alcohol served by soldiers, Julius thought with a smirk. "My emperor mentioned something similar about his little sister. She, from what I've heard, has a lot of energy and that caused her to mess up periodically. But her mistakes were outweighed by her borderline naive happiness and willingness to fix anything she may've messed up. I never met her, though, since I was always away, about to go away, or the captain of the emperor's guards was threatening to do something to me if I tried anything funny. That Drahian was always overzealous about guarding the emperor..." Julius said the last part to himself as the barmaid wandered off to help other customers.

Silently, Julius drunk his beer, taking care not to make it seem like he wasn't trying to finish his meal too quickly, but also moving faster than normal. The idea of attempting to steal from under the nose of a dragon-human excited him greatly. It was not stealing that interested or entertained Julius, it was the risk of getting caught and the planning that went into it. The few seconds that could either enrich someone or cause them to be locked away in a cage. Realistically, Julius could dine and dash with absolute ease. He was capable of teleporting himself halfway across the city instaneously, but that'd be boring. If there was no chance of getting caught, then it wasn't worth it. Such were the beliefs of the potentially insane kleptomaniac that the emperor had, for some reason, elected to make Imperial Spymaster. The vaguely cute croissant Julius downed in two bites before sitting back and waiting for the barmaid to turn her back. The moment she did, he stood and walked toward the door in utter silence, all while keeping one of his azur eyes on the dragon-human. Though, for clarification and Julius' person validation, he had enough money to pay for his meal.

Dominan

Dominan could not hear the conversation between the registers. Had he heard it, he likely would've said something about how he likely had more experience fighting than both of them. The members of the Vion bloodline took immense pride in their ancient combat techniques that had been passed down for over a millennia. However, that experience also gave many Vions a sizable dose of arrogance.

Dominan walked down the hallway, his armor thudding against the ground and echoing down the hall. Within the ancient steel, he could feel magical runes power up, the noise of it dully thumming in his ear. He consciously shut them down. Such powerful magic would make the fight unfair. The runes made the armor harder to break and increased the wearer's strength drastically. Advantages designed for war, not gladiatorial fights. The elves appeared before him and he stopped. The only responses he gave to their statements were nods. As he waited for the curtains to open, Dominan slowly shifted his arms, rolling them and flexing his muscles.

The curtains, after what felt like ages, parted and Vion marched out, his hands curled into fists. The crowds roared, and the who had money riding on Dominan bellowing louder than he liked. But, rather than just ignore the cries, he thrust his right fist in the air momentarily before lowering back down to his side. When he turned to face his opponent...he found himself a little disappointed. Elves weren't particularly renowned for their strength in Dominan's home, so he half thought the pair-up was an insult to his strength. "Tch...I'll fight her anyway," he grumbled as he raised his fists in front of his face. The witch lowered from the sky and Dominan narrowed his eyes. He blocked out the noise from the stands and focused solely on his adversary.

The crack of the witch's wand didn't even reach him, his only indication that the fight started was that the elf rushed him, sword raised. Dominan didn't move. He spread his legs out a bit, intent on not moving backward an inch, and raised his right forearm to guard himself. He let his left arm hang by his side. His intent was to deflect the sword away with his right arm then punch the elf in the gut with his left.

[Shwe Tu Colony]

"You are a lively bunch aren't you?"

Cao nodded, pushing the various creatures at his clavicle into his shawl. "Whatever— whatever can come out fast before my nest starts eating me will do fine."
"Yeah, that sounds..." D'aillisioux began, "good."
There had been a shift in the mood, a cloud of anxious epiphanies, and the Adventurers — Hunter, Vla'ir, Cao, Kurainos — all glanced at each other, while Garid and D'aillisioux watched. "Meat skewers sounds good, but uh... something wrong with you guys?" Garid asked, his wings slowing.
Kurainos cackled, the entire arm of herself off the table, but when Vla'ir's expression hardened into a scowl, she set herself down just as quickly. A flap of meat unzipped from next to her mouth and sealed it shut. Swirling red energies and winds gathered at Kurainos and wafted up his arm, but a few breezes from Garid blew them away just as quickly. "Mate, calm down," he said.
Vla'ir bit his lip, then spoke in a low, growling voice that felt blood-soaked in rage. An odor of blood "Hunter, you idiot—"
"Come on." He shrugged. "There's no way I could've known if teleporting—"

"What if they had something on them to detect extreme movements, alarms, anything of that sort— you can never know how it is, and you don't just talk about these sorts of bad days in hushed whispers." Every time he tried to raise his voice to a shout, Garid's wings blew towards him, and the boy calmed himself.
"My mom, Vla'ir..." Hunter turned to Phoon, and his contempt faded away in favor of a smirk. There was a trained charisma, twinged with a well-acted naivete. It was something that promised a peculiar experience like none other in this boy who flitted between some eldritch unknowable and a normal adolescent. "If I haven't already, sorry for teleporting you without your approval. That's not quite our normal hospitality— but what's all this about your father? Is he the sort of man that we'll get to know, one way or another?" A few orb-like things manifested near him, grew in size, then vanished. "Because it might help assuage Vla'ir's concerns."
By now, the other boy had sunk back into his chair, hand running through his hair while Kurainos held that arm.

[M-101]

Leaving M. Computactrum to converse with the warrior girl regarding the exact location of the town square, the rest of the squad, which has spotted their preferred destination during their brief reconnaissance flight. C. Compendias thought it would be beyond fascinating to observe magicians-in-training working their sorcery at the Saint Innes Academy, while C. Compactor would attempt to go on a tour of Castle Bellasea, while R. Compsington will spend the rest of the day learning about the history of Elvwitaland (and some concrete information regarding thaumatology, at least how the locals interpret it) inside the Imperial Library.

[0000|0001|5510|0181] "Raymond Compsington", en route Imperial Library.
Judging from the odd stares of passersby, the Comp theorizes that the kingdom citizens had barely any past interactions (if nothing at all), with metal living cuboids running on written instructions inside their processors that had somehow become sapient. If this were true, this could pose serious trouble for the squad's well-being, especially if this place does not have automatons. Everything alive feeds on energy, and living things exhausted of every joule of energy they had are well, dead. They had no idea if this was a daily occurrence, but the streets seems to be really packed today. Then again, despite Elvwitaland being populated by strange beings of many kinds, the Comp had also spotted several out-of-place individuals that certainly didn’t belong here. Perhaps a sort of interdimensional tourism event is currently going on? Very likely.

Thanks to the Comps advanced pathfinding subroutine, it doesn’t take a long time for R. Compsington to reach the library. Making its entrance into the bibliotheca, the Comp is sure it is able to find the correct literature to read until it saw that the library description of being covered by books from floor to ceiling is not a parabolic description of any kind. Moving towards the librarian's desk, the cuboid automaton speaks. “Good morning, I would like to take a look or two non-fictional literature regarding the origin of this land,” the Comp paused for several seconds. “And a comprehensive codex regarding sorcery, if there were any.”

[0000|0491|5552|5555] "Chunk Compactor" en route Castle Bellasea
Thanks to the higher altitude it is built, one could see the castle from the delta. Perception however is extremely deceptive, and in C. Compactor's case, it has cost them a fair share of his time and energy moving toward there. Engaging its zero-emission reactionless propulsion drive, the Comp moved in a positive along the localized y-axis, before making a straight beeline toward the castle in the distance. Along his way, it intercepted a cacophony of shouts and screams. Pausing to investigate, it perched itself on a high balcony over the building overlooking the source of noises. An arena. Its trained optics spot no ranged weapons, true to the intel they received prior to venturing into Elwvitaland, but hold on, did a localized rain just appear INSIDE the arena? Fascinating. Based on the booming voice of the umpire, it seems one of the gladiators had manipulated the weather to mimic her home conditions. For the Comp, that was a rather unusual fighting tactic (probably because the Comps rarely utilized their massive weather-changers for combat purposes). To its surprise, the underdog of the competition emerged as the victor. Satisfied by the show, C. Compactor proceeds on its journey.

At last, the Comp has arrived at its destination. The Comp thought that this place must be a popular tourist destination since the castle grounds is quite crowded. Unsure what to do next, it simply moves around the ground, taking pictures and videos of the splendid castle, while on the lookout for castle tour guides.

[0003|1491|5552|1725] "Carlson Compendias" en route Saint Innes Academy
Like the former two destinations chosen by the squad, this building also has an unusual construction that makes it easier to spot from above. On its way, C. Compendias has spotted a bunch of men rolling what seems to be a massive head of an ugly monster into a building labeled Guild. The concept of an organization paying people had the Comps fascinated for years, although it doesn’t need to be implemented in their society, due to the semi-hivemind nature of the Comps allowing perfect coordination within themselves. Maybe the squad could take a quest from here someday, assuming, energy-based weapons work around this place. Else they have to perform some unorthodox methods.

Arriving at the magic academy, C. Compendias entered the buildings slowly, hopefully, nobody will accuse them of trespassing.

[0000|0101|1010|1000] "Marvel Computactrum"

"Oh uh, no I'm not police or anything...I'm just a wannabe tourny fighter is all. Name's Shirla Choriet. Was on my way to the battle arena actually; just arrived from my home in Mosta not long ago; was on my way there but you folks just pique my curiosity is all. Town square is actually just that way. " she pointed in a westerly direction "There's a good sized clock there, you can't miss it. Unless you want me to walk you there, I can, it's no problem, if I don't compete today I can compete tomorrow or whenever while the Nationals are going. Well what'cha say?"

"Gratitude for the information, Miss." the cuboid automaton nodded (naturally, it falls face-first into the ground). Correcting its alignment, M. Computactrum prepares to move. "Apologies for any trouble we may have caused!" the Comp said as it engages its reactionless propulsion drive, jumps high into the skies, and began moving westward. After a couple of minutes of flight, M. Computactrum is mildly annoyed by the fact that the town square is actually not really that far from the delta it wondered why they can't spot it during the recon flight. Landing on the square (nearly bumping into a flying witch), the Comp moves inside the clock tower, which is not as majestic as clock towers usually are. But appearance can be misleading.

[Zerotaxia]

"For now," Vellorina set her empty tea cup aside "We were going to walk around the city a bit, see a few sights while it's dark and uh..." Well she wouldn't mention their romantic plans for the evening so she left it at that "Well just that, some sight seeing and then quiet time together."

Rasha responded, "Yeah it should be lovely tonight, clear sky but it is a bit cold out. And we have some time, especially if you're planning to turn in early, so I don't mind if you don't Vello, to join the lady for a while longer."

"Not at all, should be quite interesting. I've never actually really met someone from far off before. Come to think of it, I don't suppose you have either, Rasha"

Rasha shook her head "Not at all, so we'd be delighted!"

"Great! Follow me then." They paid for their meal and left the pub. With Autumn and her four companions leading the way, they walked along the same street they had gone down earlier until they were back in the city square.

Parked off to the side, out of the way of pedestrian and carriage traffic was a big black tour bus, like the kind used by famous rockstars. This was President Sky's residence and office while on the road; it provided all the amenities of a luxury limousine and RV, and was bulletproof and bombproof. It would have normally been carrying the Commonwealth's phoenix symbols as well, but the decals were not attached for this trip. "Here we are, ladies!"

When they approached the bus, the vehicle automatically recognized its owner thanks to the facial, voice, and iris detection capabilities of B.R.A.I.N. (Bionic Responsive Autonomous Intelligent Neural Network), its AI program and virtual assistant. B.R.A.I.N. was extremely smart and powerful; it could discuss almost any topic like an expert, and there was very little it didn't know. This was because it was not a standalone app but a collective hivemind with the combined computing power of all its connected devices, and grew smarter with every interaction. But it could also work perfectly without a datalink like on this planet, and even when offline it retained most of its aforementioned capabilities.

"Greetings Autumn," B.R.A.I.N. spoke in a genderless robotic voice, same as what the four Peacekeepers sounded like. Its "eye" (camera lens) and "mouth" (speaker hole) on the vehicle door illuminated blue, as well as a number keypad underneath it. "Your password please," it said, the mouth flickering as it spoke. For most vehicle owners their face or voice was acceptable security; not for the President of the Commonwealth who wanted another layer of protection. Autumn began to enter her code when B.R.A.I.N.'s camera detected the two ladies behind her.

Suddenly B.R.A.I.N.'s robotic eye began blinking red. The vehicle's lights flashed and the horn loudly blared. "WARNING! WARNING!" the computerized voice repeated. "INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"

"It's all right B.R.A.I.N." Autumn told the virtual assistant. "They're my friends." The alarm immediately stopped and B.R.A.I.N.'s eye went from red back to its regular blue. "Yes Autumn, as you wish. Your password please."

This time she was able to input the code without interruption. "Access granted," responded the system. Slowly the bus' heavy reinforced door opened. "Come in ladies," said Autumn to Vellorina and Rasha. "And sorry about that."

Sensing that its owner was now inside, B.R.A.I.N. appeared as a blue animated face on the dashboard display, with dots for eyes and a line for the mouth, and spoke through the vehicle's sound system. The virtual assistant proceeded to close the door and switch on the interior lights and ventilation. "Welcome back Autumn."

"Thank you B.R.A.I.N." said Autumn. "Anything for you," responded the AI program. "If you need something just wake me up. Good night Autumn." B.R.A.I.N.'s face disappeared from the dashboard display.

From inside, the bus appeared to be larger than it did from outside. The interior was modern but classy and stylish, like something from an IKEA catalog; the driver's seat and steering wheel were the only hints that it wasn't. There was a living area with a sofa, coffee table, and armchair; a dining table with two swivel chairs; a bedroom; a bathroom with shower; and a kitchen area.

"Please, why don't you make yourselves at home," Autumn told Vellorina and Rasha, motioning towards the sofa. She went to the kitchen, made herself a small cup of espresso, and then joined the two ladies sitting.

"Hey B.R.A.I.N." she called. "At your service," responded the virtual assistant. "Give us a relaxing ambient atmosphere and put on some calm background music, could you?" she requested. "Your wish is my command. Consider it done."

The lights dimmed and changed color to a gentle orange, and Pachelbel's Canon began to play, filling the inside of the bus with music. It was lifelike as though they were in a real concert hall, thanks to the high quality sound system with 20 speakers installed through the vehicle.

"Lovely, isn't it?" said Autumn.

[The Selkie]

[...]
Takida's eyes lit up, more visitors, more fun it seemed. What a magical day this was turning into. "Oh, some more of you? Exciting it sounds like. My pleasure of course, Madame, it truly is delightful chatting with you. I was just in the city on a visit and here I found a new adventure. Truly reminds me of my days as a much youthful student witch, eager to explore the world. Boy that was a long time ago. Anyway, I'm glad you are following your curiosity. As a teacher I admire that in my students, follow your curiosity to learn and you shall learn what you never expect."
[...]

RTNS Aka.
I smiled slightly.
The thing was, curiosity was well and good, but curiosity without caution was not as good. There was a reason, why there were so few of us.
"One more indeed.", I replied, "We have dedicated science vessels, which would tear through this library with such combinations..." I motioned to the Workerbee and AWACS still hard at work. "...in numbers that would make carriers feel ashamed."
I paused.
"A word of warning, however.", I told the Witch, "Shizu-chan is not the most talkative and some perceive her as rude. Plus, she is a warrior, so..." I shrugged. "...please do not hold it against her."

[Legokiller]

Sundae: The Temple

“Those from the beyond to be precise. You answered my question with satisfaction.” Sundea kept her ear sharp as she didn’t intend to meet with any inquisitors on her vacation. Although how long they can keep the whole cat out of the bag is anyone’s guess. “A mystery of foreign gods? I suppose to enlighten your curiosity, there are lands with their deities and beliefs. I can further explain the practices of my homeland in Silverdale. A field in which I am an expert.”

Sundea then nodded. “That being said, I'm not sure if you’re interested in discussing that at a local coffee shop. Otherwise, I can intrigue and seek out any holy books of Amethyst.”

Utena

“Ah, I see. So different methodologies to approach on how to discover the magic and its applications.” Utena noted. “And yeah. There is a bit of ‘who did it’ on the creation of magic. Some say it is Skia who is one of the goddesses who hold great magical talents and taught mortals. Then there is Kiara who is a great blade and warrior, and taught folks that style. The obscure reference is the Owl Seer. One who came from a lost civilization of giants who made all spells. That part is the wildest which… There aren't any records of it. It might be a giant or cyclops person instead of an Owl who holds the title the Seer. Then again that’s from an old mythology book I found that isn’t that well sourced.” She giggled.

The Strange Dragon Trio

“Eeyup.” Vupur spoke up. “Here to show the might of the twins! Part giant and part dragon ready to shake up the arena.”

“Vupur is a little too eager to brawl.” Enda clarified. “But yes indeed.”

“That’s a surprise.” Arcane then shrugged. “Although I do wonder if there are different classes to account for those with skills, body physical differences, and prowess. My two companions can handle a mere human wrestler without any issues.”

[The Second Order of Life]

The Red Light District
So named not just because the activities that go on there but because it literally is bathed in the glowing red light of the flame lit lanterns. Dimmer than the lamps on the main roads but not lacking in luminescence either just sort of had a dark but warm at the same time. It certainly drew customers looking for that kind of entertainment but people do in fact also live in this part of the city. As expected it's mostly those who work in those industries but some it's just the affordable housing and friendly neighbors that makes it worthwhile. The sun is down, the moon is up so the young ones are tucked asleep but the adults are out on the playground now. One such woman walking about the streets this night with a lone red lantern to guide some of the guests her way Spiri Miststone a beautiful woman, a bit tall though made taller by wearing platform geta sandals long white hair sky blue eyes she had her "night job" but she was more than a pretty face. She heard some of the commotion in the alleyway while returning to the district from shopping. She hadn't quite noticed at first the strange creature following in her glowing lamp's wake but turning about there she was "Oh!" She said rather startled at first "Oh, good evening....." She was rather put off and a bit confused by what this thing was but then again it's not like she was a scholar of all kinds out there so who was she to be prejudice? This was an enlightened era, the days of prejudice were to be left in the past right? She held up her lantern to try to get a better look. "I sense you've been following me a bit? I thought maybe my imagination but I guess my senses were right." Most might be mortified to have been followed but she was a special kind of creature from the seas who could simply dissolve into bubbles if she were threatened or attacked. Granted she would "die" if her bubbles all popped or didn't reform but she'd simply be reborn at some point.

Vespa had been following the red light for a while, unaware that it was even being carried by anyone in particular. Curiosity had won her out, and when the tall, white-haired woman revealed herself to her and acknowledged Vespa's presence, she was taken by complete surprise. For a while, the Artificial did not speak at all, but the pressure which came from the imposing woman forced her to eventually mount some sort of response to her comment. Fumbling through words, she answered:

"I uh... I'm lost, and I followed this... Red. Magic. Light. Thing." She said, pointing to the lamp held by the lady. Deciding this was not enough, Vespa completed "I just arrived here, actually. I came from a... magic portal thing. I don't really have a map of the city, would you... mind telling me where I am?"

She waited for a brief moment, before realising her complete lack of tact and insisting on introducing herself: "Vespa. It's... my name." Even then, noticeably, it was as awkward as ever. She finally decided that it was enough, and opted to curiously inspect the latern at a distance, wondering why this whole part of the city seemed infected with this colour. "Cultural tradition, perhaps?" She thought, without many clues to conclude anything more than that.