Kibble scribble: alright, it has been a while, so new chapter time!

Kirito, Argo and Lux stepped out of the city gates and toward the travel wagon that would take them, and many others, to the town of Edgewood. The wagon was a huge mass of wood with wheels as wide as a person and pulled by no less than six large horses. It had no covering, and appeared to have s sunken section I nthe middle for storage, and benches on its sides.

"Looks like we are the first ones here," Lux spoke up as she noted no one else around.

"Not sure if that's good or bad," Argo commented with a chuckle as glanced around then stepped to the side of the gate, fiddling with her equipment.

True to their words Lenth and Amily had prepared equipment and money for everyone. The equipment was not much more than a leather cuirass and braces for peoples forearms and ankles, but it was vastly better than nothing and they all seemed to be rather well made. Everyone had been given a thick belt as well so they had something to attach their chosen weapon too, and those who had chosen ranged weapons were given quivers and small daggers in addition to their ranged weapons so they would not be caught unable to defend themselves. The last things everyone had been given was a pouch of bronze and copper coins as well as a rucksack with some simple but important pieces of gear inside them, such as a tinderbox, flint, rope and other such necessities.

"Well, we can take our seats and wait I guess then," Kirito said as he began walking toward the wagon only to suddenly stop.

"Something wrong?" Argo asked quickly, right as Lux stepped in front of her and slipped her bow off her back, knocked an arrow and held it ready.

"We are being watched," Kirito said seriously, right before an arrow whizzed out from the trees and struck the ground a few feet ahead of him.

"Good, two out of three people with prompt reactions is decent enough for humans I guess," a woman said as she walked out of the trees. She was garbed in a shorts and a simple shirt with a vest, along with boots and bracers on her arms. A bow was in one hand , and her long pointed ears made it clear she was an elf, though she looked slightly sick. Her pale skin looked to be darkening in a strange way, and her blonde hair seemed to be losing its color in patches.

"Who are you?" Kirito said warily as his hand hovered over the handle of his sheathed blade. It was only a simple longsword as the dao had been destroyed, but it would still be effective.

"Mara Rosedale, I am an Elven huntress that operates out of Edgewood and am the one who will be leading the group of you humans there and acting as an, I suppose an advisor is the term to use."

"But, why not wait by the wagon then?" Lux asked in confusion as she lowered her bow.

"She was testing us," Argo reasoned.

"Of course I was testing you, Mara said as if it was obvious. "Edgewood is the most dangerous area of the twilight valley. The only ones who would volunteer to go there would be either sure of their skill, or overly arrogant of it."

"So you figured the first few people that could arrive would be arrogant as they were the first to appear," Kirito said with a sigh as he shook his head.

"Yes, humans tend to be impatient after all!" Mara stated proudly, as if she had just pointed out something that was unknown.

"We simply had all of our things together," Argo spoke up with an out of place smile. "I assume we leave as soon as everyone arrives?"

"Yes, as much as I would like to leave early to make good distance, we must wait until the other thirteen arrive,"

"Alright, so we just wait in the wagon then?" Lux asked, only for Mara to shake her head.

"No one gets in until everyone arrives,"

"Well, I guess we wait then," Argo said simply as the three of them went over to the side where there was a area of grass and sat down.

They did not have to wait long for the rest of the small group, and in barely ten minutes they were all on the wagon and heading out, introductions being made as everyone was on the wagon.

Of the ten other people, four of them stuck out to Kirito.

The first was a tall woman with bright red and curled hair who called herself Rosalia. She was haughty and flirty, and her eyes held a confident look in them.

The next was another woman who had called herself Hui. She was small in every meaning of the word and seemed to be always playing with one of the two knives she had on her person. Her smile was oddly inconsistent and the way she looked at others was like that of a predators.

Alongside her was a very tall and broad shouldered man who had introduced himself as M. He did not say much, but seemed to hover around Hui like some kind of guardian. Considering the large maze and shield he carried it seemed an apt comparison.

The last person was one who worried Kirito for some reason he could not quiet figure. He was named Xaxa, and was covered from head to toe in a dark cloak that hid his face. On his back was a quiver of Javelins, and he had a pair of knives on his belt that his hands were always resting against. It seemed he was not the only one unnerved by him though, as anyone he glanced toward seemed to tense up automatically.

Of the remaining six people in the wagon only one was a girl who looked nervous, while the others were talking amongst themselves, or keeping to themselves as was the case for one portly boy who, after a few seconds Kirito realized was the boy the thunderbird had first gone after.

Something others noticed after a time as well, as a few hours into the slow journey Rosalia leaned forward from her seat to look at him and smirked.

"Aren't you the chubby little wimp who couldn't even stab a sparky bird?"

The boy tensed up and gripped his spear uncomfortably. "S-so, what if I am?"

"I'm just curious why a pathetic weakling like you would decide to come with us. I simply do not want to have to burly someone who gets in the way."

"I won't," the boy said finally, seeming to hope to end the conversation.

Xaxa however had other plans as he joined in. "You cant prove it though. You were so scared you couldn't even move it looked like," he said with a chuckle. "say, what is your name again?"

"Akira. Why do you care?"

"Well, have to put something on your tombstone right," Xaxa said with a chuckle that turned grim. "though, if you are too weak, it may not be a Mamono that does you in!"

"what are you trying to say?"

"He is threatening to do you in himself," Hui spoke up with an odd grin. " pretty threatening thing from someone who has made themselves look like a thug!"

Xaxa did not respond, seeming content to have made his point. Rosalia however looked at Hui and smirked. "Big words from such a small girl."

"I just tell it like I see it," Hui said with a grin. "Like how a woman who has not even fought one of those things is acting like it would no big deal. I didn't see you rushing over to fight it."

"I was on the other side of the courtyard and would not have made it in time," Rosalia said with a nonchalant wave of a hand. "Though if I had I would not have chickens out and dropped my weapon."

"Hey! No fighting back there! Save it for if we encounter any Mamono!" Mara called from the wagons front in clear annoyance.

"We're just figuring out the pecking order, that is all," Rosalia said haughtily before her gaze then fell at the back of the wagon where Kirito, Argo and Lux were sitting. "Now that I think about it, the two of you fought that little chicken, hadn't you?"

"All I did was shoot an arrow at it," Lux said simply while Kirito simply nodded.

"Hmm but you did fight it. If all it takes an arrow and a couple of pokes then I am hardly worried."

"Ya realize its scales almost turned away Kirito's blade, right?" Argo spoke up in annoyance as she, too both Lux's and Kiritos surprise, pulled out what looked to be a charred scale. "I took this off its body when a few others and myself looked over its body with Amily. Its easily harder than tin or copper, and none of us could even damage the talons on its feet."

Rosalia looked at Argo for a few seconds before her confusion made itself clear. "What exactly are you implying?"

"She is saying that while it may have gone down quickly, it is still armed and armored and it could do a lot of damage. Right?" M spoke up and then asked calmly.

"Yeah, basically," Argo admitted, keeping to herself that she was surprised the large man had spoken up in assistance.

"Hmph, it is still nothing a bird with a bit of static to it," Rosalia said as she looked at Lux. "You seem no worse for wear, so its clear that we've just been led to believe these monsters are more than they are."

"If that is what you truly think, then I will not feel sorry when you die or worse, get turned into a Mamono and lose your sense of self," Mara called out in a vindictive tone.

Rosalia looked like she was going to reply, but decided at the last minute to hold her tongue.

The next couple hours were quiet, not because there was nothing to speak about, but because the very forest itself seemed to be shifting in a way that made many uncomfortable to speak. The trees seemed to press against the road edge, they seemed to get taller and darker, and as they went there were less sound of animals from every direction.

"This is, is this forest like this normally?" Lux asked nervously as she held her bow on her lap. Most people had taken to drawing or at least thumbing their weapons as they noticed the forests feel.

"It is. This forest is home to many , both Mamono and otherwise," Mara said as she began leading the wagon off to the side of the road as it approached a large bridge.

"Um, why are we slowing down?" Akira asked.

"Lunch, for us and the horses," Mara said as the wagon came to a stop and she stood up, turned around, and pointed to a crate in the wagon. "Lunch rations are in that box. I will be feeding the horses once I unhitch them so they can drink from the river."

No one moved for a moment before it clicked for Kirito what Mara meant, leading to him kicking the top off of the crate to reveal a number of smaller wooden boxes. Picking it up he opened it to reveal its contents of dry bread slices, dried meat slices, diced and dried fruit, and a small glass bottle with a cork stopper filled with a purple red liquid.

"Huh, classic fantasy travel rations," Argo commented as she plucked a box of her own out of the crate while Lux began passing them out to everyone in the wagon.

"Well, there's no fridges here, so I guess its normal," Kirito said as he tossed a piece of meat into his mouth. It was far tougher and Chewier than even the hardest jerky he had in the past. It would take getting used to if this was the only food that was good for traveling with.

"Well, its not that bad," Lux said as she began eating her own food with a smile. "it is tasty and filling, so there's no problem, right?"

"I, wouldn't exactly call it tasty," Kirito grimaced with a sigh as he looked around to see everyone else aside from the three of them had climbed out of the wagon and were either sitting on the grass by the roadside, or over by the river or trees to eat.

"The plants here are so strange," Lux commented after a few minutes of silent eating.

"What do you mean?" Argo asked immediately, her curiosity piqued.

"Well, the grass in some spots looked faintly blue, those pine trees have vines coming off them, I've seen some herbs that almost look normal too, but they are far to large to be."

"Sounds like classic fantasy fare to me," Kirito said with a chuckle. "All we need is some giant flowers."

"Giant flowers more often than not mean a Mamono, likely an Alraune, and should be avoided," Mara said as she climbed up onto the drivers spot of the wagon.

"Won't there be times where we can't avoid them? How do we fight them?" Lux asked, knowing full well from experience that she did not want to be caught unaware again.

Mara turned to look at the three of them as a smirk crawled onto her face. "Good, I was hoping some of you would actually be intelligent and try to learn! Plant type Mamono can seldom move on their own power in any meaningful way. Many can slowly migrate themselves, but it a slow process. To compensate for this their Vines and tentacles have very long reach and often have a number of ways to cripple those they catch such as aphrodisiac nectar, hallucinogenic pollen and the like. To encounter a plant type Mamono alone is very dangerous, but most have difficulty manipulating their limbs in multiple direction, and if you have three or more people they can be rather easily teamed up on by striking from multiple angles and hacking their plant like limbs apart to lessen their ability to defend themselves."

"Would thing like fire work on em as well?" Argo asked as she pulled out a simple leather-bound notebook and a very simple charcoal pencil and began furiously writing down what she could.

"No, not unless you can put a considerable amount of fire on them. Healthy plants do not burn well, though plant Mamono's humanoid body portions are much more susceptible to fire. Just remember some can eject liquid or semi liquid substances that could douse flames."

"Not like any of us have magic at this point anyway," Kirito muttered as he turned his gaze to the trees and the river. "What kind of monsters-"

"Mamono," Argo offered.

"Sorry, Mamono, are in these forests?"

Beast, insect and Plant type Mamono mostly," Mara said with a sigh. "Most plant types travel little and are ambush attackers. Beast types move around a lot, and some travel in groups and will share those they catch as husbands. The real danger are the insect types."

"Because they swarm like bugs?" Lux offered.

Mara shook her head. "No, they can be in groups sometimes, and some form entire small communities, but insect type Mamono are dangerous because they have strong natural weapons like claws, spines and stingers, but also because they are covered in hard carapace that can turn away blades and arrows that are well aimed or under strength. Most can fly just as insects can as well, meaning they are very capable of dodging and moving with little difficulty."

"So they have natural armor, that could be dangerous," Kirito said as he looked down at his sword and was suddenly very worried about its weight. Would it be enough for any enemy he could fight? If there were Mamono with even heavier natural armor, stronger weapons, abilities that couldn't be simply dodged, would he be alright?

"Whatcha thinking about?" Argo asked as she poked Kirito in the side.

"Just that we may want to get more skilled and get better equipment as soon as possible. This isn't a game where we can just grind until we are stronger, and I don't like the sound of some of those monsters.

"A smart opinion," Mara said with a nod as her expression turned strange. She then sighed and pointed to the left side of the road where Akira and the other five were eating and talking. "Seems you may get that practice it seems."

"What?" Lux asked in confusion as she, Kirito and Argo all turned their gazes to the group, and then past them to the trees. They were all dark and had vines hanging down from the boughs, but after a few seconds they noticed that the vines were lengthening into the tall grass below them, and others were wriggling unnaturally. "What, is that? Is that normal? Are vines supposed to move like that?"

"many Mamono can control magic or the environment if they are attuned to it," Mara said noncommittally. "plant Mamono in particular can often control the plants around them to some degree."

"Shit!" Kirito said in realization as he stood up and took a quick glance around. Hui and M were by the river on the right side of the road, and Xaxa and Rosalia were by the trees on that side as well. No one was near the other group, who were unaware of the danger behind them. "Get away from those trees! Behind you!"

Both groups by trees instantly looked around them in sudden worry, bit it seemed the one controlling the vines reacted to Kirito's words as well. Right as the group Akira was part up began looking around and getting up, the groups sole girl found herself suddenly falling onto her front, and began to be dragged toward the treeline.

"Yaaaaa, someone help!" she shrieked in a panic, having dropped her weapon and pulling out a small knife, only to be unable to swing at the vines wrapped tightly around her ankles.

"Attack the vines!" Akira yelled as, to many's surprise, threw his own weapon past the girl at the vines as he jumped forward and almost landed stop her, grabbing her body roughly and pulling against the vines with all his strength and weight. His spear had successfully punched into a vine, while his weight and grip slowed the girls drag to a crawl allowing the others nearby to draw their weapons and advance on the vines.

Their weapons, swords and spears, began chopping into the vines and seemed to make progress, but it was short lived as the nearby vines coming down from trees began wriggling before they all swung around. Some simply slammed into people's bodies like whips or heavy punches, while others began wrapping around their limbs making it difficult to free their comrade and themselves at the same time.

"Keep struggling, don't let them bind you!" Lux called out as she knocked an arrow and took aim as Kirito and Argo were running across the grass to go help. She aimed but then paused. With the ones who were tangled thrashing about they were not being dragged fast, but what if she hit them? How did she not hit them and still help them with a bow?

"Aim past them to where the vines are coming from," Mara suddenly spoke up from were she was sitting. "The vines came through the grass and have to come from the direction they are pulling. Shoot to where the vines are coming from and you may hit them."

Lux looked down the shaft of the arrow and shifted her aim before letting go, sending it whizzing through the air just over Argos head and past those snared where it planted itself the grass where a vine suddenly reared up, its end letting go of Akira's one arm that had been trying to pry him off the girl he had leapt to save.

A second later Kirito leapt over them and swung his sword down, cutting the vines that held the two of them, while Argo, right behind him, crouched down With a dagger and began slicing the vines that were ensnaring the others.

"You guys okay?" Argo asked as she helped one of them up.

"I, I think so but-"

"Stay on guard," Kirito yelled as the ends of the chopped vines all began wriggling back into the forest and out of sight. "Akira, you good?"

"I, yes, I'm good!" Akira replied uncertainly as he got up and grabbed his spear, pointing it towards the forest as he stepped between the girl he saved and the trees.

"Okay, everyone back away from the trees with your weapons at the ready. Slowly," Kirito clarified as he kept his sword up as he looked into the woods and took a step back himself. "Show yourself, or are you to scared after you attacked someone from ambush?" he asked out loud, surprising everyone and making a few of them, including the girl who was grabbed first, to back away even quicker and further.

For a few seconds there was no noise, but after a bit Kirito could near a noise that couldn't be conceived. Like foil and bark mixed into one, only slippery. A few more seconds passed and Kirito found himself stifling his breath while the others behind him gasped in confusion.

The only Mamono they had thus far seen had been Amily herself who claimed to be a dragon, and the thunderbird. Both had looked like they were women at a base with animal qualities added on afterword's. But the creature before them was far more monster than person in their looks, with only their face and the vague shape of their body looking female or humanoid. And even that was a stretch.

Its legs were large vine like tendrils without feet that hung below, its body green and plant like with flaps and flowers with coiling and wriggling tentacles coming out of them. Her arms ended at the elbows as massive buds of tentacles and vines and tendrils. The entire creature was green with mounds on its chest that looked modeled after a woman's breasts , and her face looked on in a strange mix of innocence, happiness and nervousness tinged with a look in her eyes that was quiet insane.

"You look, kind of um, nice. Can we, talk maybe?" the green plant woman asked nervously as she hung from a tree bough from a number of her many tentacles, as all the rest wriggled and squirmed as if anxious for something.

"What, are you?" Kirito said slowly as his eyes tracked her tentacles, noticing that a number were stretching into the grass below her very slowly but surely.

"It is a Tentacle plant, a Tentacle for short," Mara spoke up out loud, making Kirito turn his head ever so slightly to look behind him. He then found that she, along with Xaxa, Rosalia, Hui and M were standing by the wagon watching with interest while Lux had gotten off the wagon and drawn closer. He did notice though that Mara had her bow on her lap with a hand around it. He gave her a look that made her smirk and speak up again. "They are said to once have been plants that preyed on female juices to survive, and even as a Mamono they are known to be normally very shy when speaking to men, while having a natural inclination to attacking women."

"Is that why you attacked her?" Kirito asked as he stared at the Tentacle. "Out of some instinct to assault her?"

"What? No of course not! I never attacked or assaulted anyone!" the Tentacle said in horror before its face twisted into a disturbing image of pleasure and evil as she licked her lips with a number of tongues that all appeared to be more tentacles. "I just wanted to show her the best things there are in the world. She would be so much happier with her face warped by lust and unending pleasure, right?"

"Hell no you freak!" the girl in question exclaimed as she took a few more steps backwards and pulled out her own weapon, a shortsworsd, and pointed it at the Tentacle woman.

"NO, you will be happier filled with pleasure!" the Tentacle said as her tentacles began spreading out ominously as vines from the nearest trees began to wriggle as well. She then smiled. "Say, fighting is bad, so why don't we do a trade? You give me her to show how happy she can be, and I won't bother anyone else. Sounds fair, right?"

"Counter offer," Argo spoke up as she walked to Kirito's side and looked at the tentacle. "You leave, and we don't cut your creepy tentacles to pieces and then some."

"HMMM, I could show you instead? I'm sure you would look very nice with a look of ecstasy on your face," the tentacle said as she, to everyone surprise and horror, slipped an array of tentacles underneath the leaf like flap of her lower body and began teasing herself right in front of everyone.

"Tentacles tend to be shy around men, so I think that one has probably long since lost any sanity it once had. It won't listen to you," Mara called out as she stood up on the wagon and flipped her bow around a bit before knocking an arrow and drawing it back.

Kirito took a step forward and held his blade to the side, ready to swing it up if he needed to. "leave, last chance."

The Tentacles tendrils reached up and began shifting it backwards while she turned her gaze to Argo. "Fine, but I will make you understand, I will show you how happy you could be with a face full of ecstasy, one day!"

Then the tentacle was gone. Kirito waited. One minute, two, three. Then he finally let out a sigh of relief that the monster had actually backed off.

"You should have killed her,"

Kirito and Argo turned to see Mara standing in the grass behind them with a hand in her waist. "Why? I know they are enemies, but if we can avoid killing it sounds like a good idea, right." Argo asked.

"While a nice idea it is naïve. That tentacle clearly had something happen to it to push it over the edge, and that makes it more dangerous," Mara said with a shake of her head. "Just remember that your best advantage is you can fight to kill, while Mamono rarely will ever kill. They fight to claim a husband or turn a woman into a Mamono, and often only kill if their husband is in danger."

"I'll remember that," Kirito stated seriously.

"Hmm, you may be naïve, but at least your reaction speed was good," Mara said as she turned and began walking back to the wagon. "Get ready to go, we leave in five minutes!"

Everyone began heading to the wagon, but as he stepped away Kirito stopped and looked back at the forest. His instincts were screaming at him that they were being watched, that something terrible was about to happen

"Something bothering ya?" Argo asked when she noticed Kirito not moving.

"Yeah it feels like," Kirito stopped as the feeling suddenly was gone. Had he just imagined it maybe? "No, it's nothing. I just hope the rest of this journey is less exciting."

In the depths of the forest down the river, far out of sight of any creatures normal sight stood three Mamono, a glittering pool of mystical energy held in the air before them showing the group of intrepid humans and their elf guide getting ready to cross the bridge and continue their journey.

The first Mamono was a Dark Mage, a Human who had long since abandoned their humanity in pursuit of magic and pleasure. Her staff glowed a malicious purple and pink as it kept up the magic mirror before the three of them.

The next was a Dark Elf with long white hair done into a thick braid. She held herself like a warrior with her hands on her hips near the pair of rapiers on her waist, while a faintly glowing coiled whip sat hanging over her plump butt.

The last was an Amazoness, a woman nearly seven feet tall with dominant muscles, shredded clothing that barely covered her tattooed body, and a huge bastard sword strapped to her back with nicks and scratches across it, telling of its use.

"You see, my Familiar was not wrong, those humans do look lovely, do they not?" the Dark Mage said with a lascivious grin.

"They are," the Dark Elf said as she licked her lips. "I was not expecting Mara to be the one guiding them."

"You have a history with her I presume?" the Dark Mage asked with a grin as she rested her free hand on her substantial bosom.

"Yes, she foolishly believes herself in the right, assisting humans instead of domination them as our kind should. I will show her the right path."

"Then we can leave her to you," the Dark Mage said with a smile as she turned to the Amazoness. "Is there a human among them who interests you my dear?"

"The dark haired human with a sword," the Amazoness said simply as she crossed her arms under her breasts. "He is no master of the blade, but he has potential. I would like to test him to see if he is worthy of becoming mine."

"I see," the Dark Mage nodded. "I myself, am most interested in the red headed one, and that large man as well. I feel that I could groom them wonderfully!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" the Amazoness asked, clearly impatient to challenge them.

"Patience my friend, there are many of them, and even slightly trained as they are their numbers may prove problematic to us," the Dark Mage says calmly as she tapped her staff to the ground dissipating the magic mirror. "My Familiar is a day and a half ahead of them blocking the road, so we must use this time prepare to engage them properly. Would you be willing to acquire that Tentacles assistance?"

The Amazoness nodded before turning and walking off.

"I assume you have a request for myself as well?" the Dark Elf asked expectantly.

"Yes, tell me, how many of your sisters need a man and would be willing to assist us?"

The Dark Elf smiled. "I believe I have a few sisters who could use a good toy beneath them. I will go and requisition their help. What will you be doing, may I ask?"

"I will be finding my familiar and do my own work to prepare us for meeting our new guests. To make sure they cannot escape our embraces."

"I like the sound of that," the Dark Elf said with a smirk as she began walking off with excessive sways of her ample hips. "see you soon!"

"Yes dear, do not be late," the Dark Mage said as she looked at the nearby river and smiled to herself. An entire group of humans from another plane of life. There was so much to learn from them, and if she made one of the men her own, and convinced the women how much happier they could be as Mamono, they would be so much more willing to help her spread their beliefs!