Chapter 44

"I see," muttered Subaru as she got the story out of the party, "He might be some sort of priest of some sea god."

"Ah, makes sense," agreed Botan.

"But, what do we do about those sahuagin?" asked Lamy with concern in her voice, "I highly doubt they will be willing to let this go."

"Hmm, where is the island of Colch from here?" asked Nene suddenly.

"Don't know, but I can ask Old Man Saru if you'd like," suggested the guard.

"The harbormaster," explained Mio to the confused faces of the party.

After sounding off their understanding and agreeing with the suggestion, Subaru went to talk with the old man.

"Why did you ask that, Nene?" asked Polka.

"I was thinking that… maybe we can get Doris to help out," explained the lore bard, "That way, they can extend their protection to this island as well."

"But will we have time to leave the town to ask for help?" asked the half-snow elf, "We won't know if they are going to attack or not."

"Maybe we can… split up?" suggested Aloe, "Nene and one more can go to Colch to try and make contact with Doris or someone who can help to figure out if this island is within its borders. The rest can help keep watch or even help to improve its defenses."

"I am surprised that you would even think that through," stated Lamy in shock.

"Hey! I can think up good stuff too," the succubus retorted with a frown.

"Alright, calm down," chided the bard, "So, if I'm the one going to ask for help, who's going with me?"

"I shall join you," declared the half-snow elf.

"Hmm, if Lamy and Nene are going, I guess we have to keep our eyes peeled to the sea and the surroundings," mused Botan, "I guess we can take turns to keep watch."

"I guess I'm the eye in the sky again," muttered the succubus.

"Like I said, we will take turns," assured the archer.

"Alright, Old Saru says that Colch is about three-thirds of a day from here," stated Subaru as she rejoined them and they proceeded to fill her in on their plan. "Oh, in that case, we can ask Old Man Saru and see if anyone can bring you there."

After making arrangements, Nene and Lamy were on their way to Colch Island in a fisherman's boat. By the time they reached the island, it was nightfall and they had to check into the inn. Thankfully, they were recognized and allowed to use their former room at a discount. The next day, they got one of the mermen to deliver an urgent message from the island down to the underwater palace.

As they waited at the pier, the bard mentioned, "You know, I was feeling a little inspired by the stories I've been hearing about Subaru. I've been trying to make up a new song to channel the fear that Subaru's party must have felt when fighting that demon."

"Oh? That sounds interesting. Can I hear it?" asked the half-snow elf in admiration.

"Okay. No melody yet but I have the words out," she stated as she repeated the words she had written down in her mind, "Welcome to your silent tomb, Where all your darkest fears are gonna come for you, Come for you."

"Oh… sounds creepy. It fits," commented the cleric.

"Hi, hi, thanks," said the bard with a smile.

Meanwhile, in Isshoudai, arrangements were made to keep an eye seaward. While Subaru and Botan took the day shift of keeping an eye on the sea, Aloe, Polka, and Mio took over the watch shift during nighttime. So far, nothing out of the ordinary happened, something that they were thankful for. The next day, they were ecstatic when Choco and Ayame returned from their exploration. Everyone gathered at the teahouse for breakfast.

"Really? Sometimes, I think things just happen around you, Subaru," the tiefling teased after they got filled in with what happened yesterday.

"Hey! Things have been quiet the past year, so that's wrong," the guard protested while the others giggled.

"Well, so far, we haven't seen anything out of the ordinary," said the archer as she tried to get everything back on track.

"I hope it stays that way," the guard muttered.

"Hmm, makes me wonder why they are making a move," stated the half-oni samurai, "Then again, your town is doing well for itself."

"Ha, anyway, let's get back to keeping watch," decided Subaru as she got up from the table, "You can join us, Ayame, while Choco can join the night shift. Hopefully, nothing happens again today."

"Hi!"

Lamy and Nene almost jumped out of their armor when a familiar shark triton suddenly shot out of the water and landed in front of them.

"What!?" they exclaimed in surprise.

"Hi, nice to meet again," greeted Gura with a cheeky smile.

"Ah… while it's nice to see you again… erm, do you have a message for us?" asked the lore bard.

"Yup!" she replied.

Silence.

"And what is the message?" asked the cleric.

"The island is halfway," started the tracker. She proceeded to explain that the island Isshoudai was on technically was right on the border of their territory. However, the seas beyond was a place the tritons refused to go through.

"Strange. What do they say about the place?" asked Nene.

"People say big evil squid live there," replied Gura with a shrug, "Don't know if that true or not. Never been there before."

"What about the sahuagin?" questioned Lamy.

"Ah, Princess says that they are suspicious," stated the tracker, "Hard to believe sahuagin go all the way there outside their territory. But when shark priest is mentioned, it became more suspicious. Unheard off to have territory in evil squid place."

"Hmm… that actually gives me an idea..." muttered the bard with a grin, "We can have someone pretend to be the seaweed priest who follows some sea god. Since it is near this evil squid place, a priest of the squid."

"Again, I expected this from Polka, not you," spoke up the cleric in deadpan.

"Hey!"

"Can I come too?" the shark triton asked.

"Hmm?" sounded the both of them.

"Princess says I can help set up outpost near island, so no need for pretending. Others will come and take turns patrolling," she explained, "Also learn to speak better Common."

"Good idea. Sure you can come with us," replied Nene with a smile.

"Yay!"

"Still nothing?" asked Choco as they reconvened at the teahouse in the evening. Mio had closed early that day to try and get some sleep before night watch.

"No," confirmed Subaru as she sat down at the table with a sigh, "Funny, waiting for a fight is way more stressful than getting into one."

Botan and Ayame groaned and nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry," said Polka, trying to cheer them up as she tried juggling with the teacups, "Nene and Lamy will be back with good news. I'm sure of it."

"Can you not play around with the cups?" asked Aloe with a bored tone, "You'll get into trouble..."

"I'm good at this, okay?" retorted the monk. With a flourish, she caught the first two and the last one landed on her outstretched foot. "Ta-dah!" she exclaimed with a grin.

"And now you need to wash it," snarked the succubus.

"Eh?"

"Yes, you are going to wash it," said the tiefling as she cuffed the fennec fox girl by the ear and dragged her to the kitchen. The half-oni giggled tiredly.

"Hng, I guess I'll go home. Hopefully, nothing happens tonight," spoke up the guard as she stood up, "At least I get to eat Mama's home-cooked food."

After wishing her goodbye, the rest waited around for Mio to show up again. The wolf lady walked down the stairs mid-yawn and looked at them. She blinked and blushed, hurrying on her way to the kitchen. Choco and Polka were kicked out post-haste and soon the sound of cooking could be heard. Half an hour later, piping hot food was served.

"Wah! Nice!" exclaimed the monk as she dug in.

"Well, dig in everyone," encouraged the innkeeper, "You'll need a lot of energy for tonight."

"Thank you for the food," said the rest as they dug in as well.

The boat came to moor at the pier that evening, very close to nighttime. Nene and Lamy got out while Gura clambered onto the pier with her trident in tow.

"Hello, welcome back," greeted Mio as both sides waved at each other.

"We have good news," stated the bard with a smile as Lamy thanked the fisherman for help and gave him a few silver coins as a reward. She then waved Gura over and said, "So this is Gura. She is the first one here, but a few other tritons will be here as well to help with patrolling around the island and the surrounding sea."

"Hi! I'm Gura. I follow Shaaaak," greeted the shark triton as she introduced herself.

"Well, what a cute shark you are," stated the wolf lady as she rubbed the tracker's head, who was squirming happily under the head pats.

"Anyhow, please rest up at the inn. I'm sure it has been a tiring day," she invited as she gestured them to head there,

"Thanks, Mio," said the lore bard as they headed towards the inn.

Meanwhile, Gura waved at the wolf lady and dived back into the sea. Swimming a bit off and deciding on a flat area with a minor coral formation, she starts marking the place. Then, the coral shapers can grow a shelter with the growing coral as a base. Having done her part, she went to the surface once more and climbed onto the pier again.

"Welcome back, little one," greeted Mio, who then gave the young shark triton directions to her teahouse and inn.

Thanking her for the help, the shark triton headed there straight away, her seaweed sole wraps squelching as she walked. At the entrance, she found three other people in bedrolls, two of them she recognized. Wondering what they were doing there, she stepped into the teahouse section of the building. There, she found her two companions busily eating cooked fish. Curious, she sat at the table and the cleric served her a bit of fish. Taking a nibble, she gasped and devoured the whole serving.

Giggling, the bard said, "First time?"

The tracker nodded rapidly and said, "Can have some more?"

Now laughing, she replied, "Sure." And gave her another serving.

The next day, they reconvened at the teahouse with the rest of the party overjoyed to see Gura again.

"Alright, since the tritons are sending some help, I think we can relax a bit now," stated Subaru with a relieved look, "Thanks for your help, Nene, Lamy."

"We're glad to help," replied the bard with a grin, the half-snow elf nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Choco. Remember that place we found here?" asked Ayame.

"What place?" asked Polka.

"Oh… you see, we came across a strange stone structure built into the hill," explained the tiefling as she munched on her bread bun, "It looked like the front door was sealed up. And before you ask, it was nowhere near the shrine on the island."

"Ha… never heard of it… but… maybe we can get Mel here?" suggested the guard.

The tiefling made a face and replied, "Not sure about that. If she comes here without any research done, she'll end up unprepared again."

"Do this splitting up again."

Everyone looked at the half-oni, who continued, "Choco can go and get this Mel you're talking about while I bring the rest with me to the stone door. Maybe we can open it up and remove any threats inside."

"Do we get a say in this?" asked Aloe in deadpan.

"I'm interested," spoke up Botan.

"Heh, of course, you are," sniggered the succubus.

"Anyway, back to the topic," stated Lamy. Turning to the others, "I highly doubt we have the expertise to jump into mysterious buildings."

"Doesn't hurt to try though," said Nene as she got up, "I think we'll be following Ayame's lead on this."

"Then it's settled," added the tiefling, "I'll be leaving for Huan Tuo later then… Oh, yeah, I almost forgot." She then rummaged in her pack and pulled out a book. "Here, a present for you," she stated as she handed it to Subaru, "I bought it off a strange lizardman salesman."

"Eh?" muttered the guard as she glanced down at the book. Her brow furrowed and she got an annoyed look on her face. "Wha- YOU!" she shouted, sounding of a mix of embarrassment and anger, "What is this?" The book was slammed on the table and it had a strange title, The Secret Language of Ducks.

Giggling slowly devolved into laughter as the party realized what just happened, their thoughts going back to the story where Subaru and her friends were going to rescue Towa. The guard shook her head in acceptance, muttering something about never living it down as she stomped off.

"Will she be alright?" asked the half-oni with concern as a smiling wolf lady picked up the book for safekeeping.

"She'll be fine. Just needs to cool off," assured Choco as she glanced over at the party, "Get them ready. Who knows what will show up at that stone place."

"So… this is the place?" asked Nene as they looked at the structure.

It was a simple stone archway jutting out of the hillside reminiscent of a hut or a shack. A large stone slab acted as a door. There were no handles to pull and it can't be pushed or moved in any way.

"Yeah, last time I was here with Choco, we couldn't see any way to get it open," stated the half-oni samurai, "We ended up skipping past this as we had other things to do."

Lamy ran her fingers around the doorway as Botan said, "Something feels off about this house."

"Ah, a bit tingly, but maybe just me," added Polka.

"Really?" asked the bard, her curiosity growing, "I don't feel anything. Strange."

"No, I sense something too," spoke Aloe with a frown, and then thumbed at the other two, "What I don't get is why they are feeling it too."

"Hmm, give me a moment," stated Lamy as she got to her knees in front of the stone door and closed her eyes. They let her be and soon, they could hear her muttering chants and prayers to the divine.

This went on for ten minutes. Slowly, a magic circle mysteriously became inscribed around her. It shone and then vanished as she ended her chant with an audible, "May I be granted arcane sight." She opened her eyes, which had gained a bright blue glow that seemed to trail out from the corner.

Stepping near the stone door, she started tracing her hand around something on the slab. "Strange," she muttered, "There is magic here. Nothing malevolent. A strange mix of enchantment and conjuration. I have never seen something like this before. Hmm..."

Suddenly, the sound of an electrical charge came from the slab, which was now glowing with arcane sigils. The smell of ozone was palpable when a glimmering green portal swirled into existence, covering the stone slab but still within the stone archway. Everyone was very surprised.

"Wha-what is happening?" stammered Ayame in shock, "Is this safe?"

"I think I saw something before it appeared," muttered Botan as she stepped forward. Before anyone could say anything, she dipped her hand inside. "Huh, safe," she stated.

"But it could have been dangerous!" shouted the half-snow elf cleric in disbelief.

"One of the signs on the stone that lit up," she continued to mutter, "I think… we can get to Gekko from here."

"I don't believe that," denied Polka, crossing her arms in front, "Not possible."

"Maybe, but I think it does," the archer insisted as she swirled her hand around inside the portal, looking a little entranced by it, "And… I think it goes through the Feywild. If you want, I can lead you there."

"Umm, as much as I'd like to go in, shouldn't we tell someone first? We are still tied to the guild, you know?" spoke up Nene with uncertainty in her voice.

The lion girl fell silent. After a moment, she sighed and said, "Alright. I just thought, maybe we could… go home for a bit." Her sad-looking face broke them a little.

"Well… maybe we can get our stuff first before stepping in, we can?" the bard suggested in the spirit of compromise.

"We also need to let the others know too," added Ayame, who had fallen silent when the archer dipped her hand into the portal.

"...Okay, thank you," the lion girl replied gratefully.

AN: Hello again, readers. Welcome back.

So, we go back and forth between two teams. It has been advised to never split the party. Then again, this isn't a game, this is a fanfic. Hence, almost nothing dangerous happened. While they waited for Doris' messenger, Nene tried repurposing a spell for herself. I've given her the Fear spell. I wonder what I can throw at Holo5 to feature it. Anyway, we see Gura again. After getting Gura to the island, they turn their attention to a strange stone structure Choco and Ayame found. Apparently, a portal and backdoor to travel to other places. Dangerous? Yes. But with Botan mentioning the kingdom of Gekko a few times, why not take a jaunt there? We might even meet a certain rabbit there.

Next chapter, into the small part of the Feywild as well as the next arc. Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.

Omake: That Which Is Missing

"Hng, doesn't look like much," muttered Shion as she looked at the fanged cave mouth.

"According to the message, this is it," informed Roboco as she looked around as well, "The hag should still be here. Not that many days yet, so she shouldn't have that many minions around."

"Alright, you let me go ahead, yeah?" suggested Aqua, "The shadows are my natural place, after all."

After a few minutes, the other two followed. The glowing moss provided enough light for them to make their way inside. No odd-looking shadows anywhere. As if this was a normal cave system. A sentiment that was echoed by the thief that reappeared from their front.

"Is something wrong?" asked the hunter in surprise.

"I went all the way to the end," she informed them, "There's nothing there. As if nothing lived here. I think the hag cleared out."

The other two blinked, and with a burst of speed, all three headed to the end of the cave system. True enough, the only thing at the last cave was stalactites, stalagmites, and a mossy ceiling.

"...This could be a problem," muttered the wizard as she scanned the area, "She must have magicked everything away. It could be days or weeks before we can find out where she went."

"As unfortunate as it is, at least she isn't near the town anymore," stated Roboco with a little more relief in her voice.

"It'd be better if we defeated the hag," grumbled the thief, "Gods damn it, so much for our fame. Where in the Nine Hells did she go?"

The cart driver sat there patiently by the forest. His master left him specific instructions and what would happen to him if he failed to do so. A snap of a twig broke him out of his daydreaming. Glancing to the side, he noticed his master coming out of the forest with a shrouded person in tow.

The nobleman then gestured to the cart and said, "If you would please get on the cart."

"What a polite man you are," stated the shrouded figure that sounded like an old woman. She quickly got up on the cart with a strange spryness and his master followed suit.

"To the capital, driver," he ordered.

The driver quickly whipped the horses into a trot and canter.

"So, what do you think of my proposal, Miss Lola?" he heard his master ask politely.

"I admit I am interested. But surely, your master and teacher could do better than little old me," she replied humbly.

His master laughed and said, "Regardless, you are one of the, ahem, victims of these incidents. Two of your sisters have been called on too."

"Oh, are you doing what I think you're doing?" asked the old one eagerly.

"Exactly that."

The laughter of both persons filled the cart as the driver guided the cart back to Rivirapolis.