Interlude – A Little Fox Girl's Travel Log
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Traveling was not fun. It was bumpy and boring and slow. Arma was regretting having badgered her father and sister to bring her along to Belfast. She hoped to find something new and exciting and better than what she'd already seen in Berge, the beastkin capital.
But while Alephis was bigger and wealthier than Berge, it was also not fun at all if you don't have money. There were too many people, and unlike Berge a city full of humans just didn't look as interesting. It was cleaner and prettier, but the people moved fast and didn't seem to care about anything except where they were going. They were callous, self-interested, and cold.
She didn't have anyone to play with. Being lost in Alephis… it was scary.
That wouldn't have been as bad in Berge. There, she could just walk over to anyone and expect to be helped. There were some mean people in Berge, of course, but all beastkin cared about children. Beastkin have a lot of differences with each other, and they didn't even like each other most of the time, but one thing they did have in common was that they never let that stop them from helping lost children.
And that was why Arma was not as suspicious of Zah Playa stopping to help as much as she should have.
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Going back home was a lot more fun than going there to Belfast because they had more people. Her father still had business in the capital. Mister Clown brought his adventurer friends, and *they* were fun.
Mister Clown and Miss Fairy did something to make it so less bumpy. They did magic to make the insides full of fresh cool air. Magic sure sure was nifty, yes!
When they stopped they got yummier food than what they had to eat on the way to Belfast, and Mister Clown told the best campfire stories. Sleeping inside the carriage was fine, they had thick fluffy blankets and Mister Clown's cooling magic kept the insides nice and cool even at night with a feathery breeze.
Miss Elze said something about STOP IT WITH YOUR CHICKENS AND MONETIZE THIS, PLAYA.
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What do you think about Mister Zah and Lady Monika?
Mister Zah and Lady Monika? Um… yah? I thinks so? That's their name?
Sis told me that I don'ts be rude. But Mister Clown… clowns around. That's what Miss Fairy said, I should just keep calling him that. Mister Clown said that "Moni ka Fairy ka" is fine, but she said it's not even the right words. Then Mister Clown said something about "Monika Fenryka" and "Space Wolves" and then they started arguing and I don't remember what happened next.
Do they argue a lot?
I guess…? But it's not like they're angry or summat. They sound like they're happy when they argue, they talk very very fast an' no one understands. When it looks like they're not going to stop, Miss Elze gets annoyed and makes Mister Clown go away to bother someone else for a while. Miss Linze sometimes gets called to decide who wins the argument.
What do you think of Miss Elze?
She's nice. She's mean to Mister Clown a lot of the time, but they don't get angry either. You can tell they're really good friends!
What do you think of Miss Linze?
She's quiet and doesn't talk a lot. She likes to read. She's a magician, but she's not as scary as they were saying about magiccy types. She taught me about magic a little bit, but she looked busy trying to learn Mister Clown's [Air Conditioning] spell.
What do you think of Miss Yae?
Miss Yae is fun! She's from Eashen, which is really really far away. She's a swordswoman and she's strong! But she doesn't know how to play games, but she tries so hard I have to let her start to learn. She taught me some of the games they play over there. With some colored paper and scissors there's a lot of things that can be done!
When she's not playing with me, she sits quiet like Miss Linze, but instead of reading she just watches the outside. She's a guard. But she's a better guard than all those other guards, at least she knows how to have fun!
What do you think of Miss Yumina?
Miss Yumina's so pretty! She's got a great singing voice. When I grow up, I wish I could be as elegant!
But it's too bad she's Mister Clown's student. She's nervous around him all the time. 'Cos that means she's also a student of clowning around. Mister Clown said "Singing, the knowledge of how to play musical instruments, dancing, all of these are expected feminine talents. But no one expects a Princessy type to dance like Michael Jackson."
And Miss Yumina was going "It's agility training… I just have to believe it's agility training."
Ow.
What do you think about Sir Lyon?
Needs bigger fluffier hair. Lioonnn!
But that short hair of his really gotta go. I've seen his pa, now that's a lion man! Sir Lyon needs to be less pretty and more manly.
I… I think he looks manly enough. He's tall, and well-muscled, and he has that strong jaw…
Sis, you do you. You do you.
What does that even mean?
I 'unno.
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It was scary when they were attacked by bandits. But both times, Arma and Olga didn't see what happened until it was all over. They had to sit and hide in the dark inside a protected carriage, hearing all the noises outside.
There were booms, and shouts, and screams and the clashing of metal on metal. Arma cowered in her sister's arms as they heard arrows thunk against the metal plates inside the carriage.
And when it was all over, Mister Clown… didn't look as funny anymore. He was ordering people around, and not in the way that was annoying and full of himself a few nights ago. His voice was loud and curt, completely lacking that faintly whiny undertone they were used to hearing. Now he sounded like someone ready and willing to reinforce his words with violence, even to his allies if they were too slow.
Elze approached, dragging two unconscious Poison Fang adventurers by their legs behind her. Well all right, Elze's violence upon anyone who was too slow to carry out his order.
It was still dark, but there was enough light to see by from floating magic lights in the sky and things that were on fire.
Arma whimpered and hugged her sister tighter. All beastkin had some form of enhanced senses. Fox beastkin didn't have as good a sense of smell as Wolf beastkin, mainly better hearing and spatial sense, but even the little girl could smell that lingering acrid tang in the air like after a lightning strike. The air also smelt sickly sweet with burnt flesh.
When they began to pile high the bodies, she could feel her sister tense up, trying to force down a vomit.
"Are… are they dead?" Arma bravely asked.
Mister Clown smiled. "Nah, they're just knocked out. Don't worry about it."
Arma worried about it.
Miss Linze and Miss Fairy started to move around and sprayed sparkly healing magic on people. Miss Yae also moved in carrying more sleeping adventurers, but carried on her shoulders like they were sacks of potatoes. Much kinder than Miss Elze. Miss Yae was so cool!
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Olga noticed that Arma now had a pretty hairpin in the shape of grapes. Arma noticed that Olga had a new brooch in the shape of elius flowers. The little fox girl grinned and the young fox woman crossed her arms and scrunched her face up.
"Did you tell Sir Lyon that I liked elius flowers?"
"Nope."
"That sounds like a lie."
"I told Miss Fairy!"
Olga sighed and began rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I figured. If we didn't know each other before this, I'd be suspicious about all this meddling links between two different kingdoms."
Arma blinked. She didn't understand any of that.
"Oh, never mind." Olga scooped up her sister and sat the younger girl on her lap. "You really should be more careful about what you say. Don't trust other people so easily, Arma. Even if they tell you you're friends, you can't just so easily give away your family's secrets like that."
"… but then Sir Lyon wouldn't be buying you things you like and telling you you look pretty with them!"
"… I am so conflicted right now."
This was fun too!
Shipping was fun too. "I'm on a boat!"
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They were now on the boat crossing the Great Gao River. It was a larger barge than the usual, because while they couldn't bring the carriages along, they had to bring along the cavalry horses. This also meant that it was a slower barge than the usual.
"No sails, huh," Mister Clown noticed. It turned out that enough people traveled in between the banks of the great river that every boat would have someone with Wind or Water magic. Instead of pushing air against the sails, they directed wind magic to the waters on the back of the boat. "That makes a lot more sense… instead of trying to overcome the weight of the boat, it's like some ad hoc water jet."
But it was slow. Usually it took two hours to cross the Great River, now they were moving at a little more than a walking pace. Maybe three hours.
Mister Clown could magic them to move faster with stronger Wind magic, but that would scare the horses.
"Wait, what if we knocked out the horses…?"
"Playa, stop," Miss Elze huffed.
/"Yes, animal abuse is not cool, Player. Not cool at all."/
"Char liked horses anyway, of course I wouldn't do it." Them Mister Clown staggered over to the side of the barge. He took deep breaths and tried to force down vomiting.
"Are you… are you seakick? Seriously? With this gentle river?" Elze asked with an arched eyebrow.
/"It *is* possible not to get carsick at all but more easily seasick."/
Everyone stared out to the glassy surface of the Great River Gao. If it was the ocean, there would be waves, but the river shone flat and mirrorlike under the afternoon sun.
Mister Clown looked up and said in a soft voice "For the longest time, ever since I was a child, I had this eerie feeling that I would die by drowning. I know that statistically flight was the safest way to travel, but the more I travel the greater the risk of exploding over the ocean."
/"Your preferred national airline last had a crash in 1987 and has never had a crash with a Boeing or Airbus widebody. There's a greater risk from bombings and hijackings than mechanical or piloting failure. But while hunches can be valid, we can't really allow such fears to rule our lives. Given how you were preparing for a world tour I suppose you decided to just test your irrational beliefs?"/
"I am not -blorgh…!" Mister Clown almost lost the fight against his gut and clung to the boat's side. He magicked up some shards of ice and began to suck on them.
/"Yes you are certainly Blorgh."/
"Mister Zah…" said Miss Linze. "Come here, lie down and put your head on my lap."
"…"
"… It will help?"
Miss Elze gasped "Linze… do… do you know what you're saying?"
Miss Linze sniffed. "Trust me, I'm a healer."
So Mister Clown got a lap pillow and Miss Linze massaged his head with cool fingers to relieve the nausea. Miss Fairy also decided to lie down on Mister Clown's chest and spread her arms and legs out in a languid sprawl. Miss Elze looked so jealous, she wanted to be pampered too but she just couldn't say it.
Ah! What a nice and sunny afternoon, but still cool from the river breeze. What perfect time to take a nap!
Miss Yumina and Miss Yae sat primly to the side, playing a game of black and white stones.
"How nice…" Olga murmured. Not to be beat, Arma decided to lie down with her head on her sister's lap too, and relaxed watching the sky full of billowy clouds and her sister's face. These young people were all so comfortable with each other, they must have been team-mates for so long. Olga envied that sense of intimacy.
It just so happened that Lyon Blitz was also staring, envying the how such young commoners could act so freely, so affectionate. Their eyes glanced away, and met, and then they both quickly turned away from each other with faces burning in sudden thrill.
Mister Garm, the guard-captain of the Mismede contingent, frowned minutely. He disapproved of such nonsense and though Olga could do better than some human.
Arma giggled again.
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And then they offloaded into Langley, the opposite town on the banks of the Great River. Apart from the greater number of demi-humans in town, it didn't look much different to Canaan. They had been traveling for so long, Olga asked if they would rather spend the night in town and set off inland tomorrow.
Everyone looked towards Arma. Then Mister Clown said that they were probably a couple of days ahead of schedule anyway since horses usually aren't able to travel at night. So they stayed the night in an inn.
"Now that we have a wall we can use to hang a projection screen and a room to soundproof – it's about time we watched something new! Let me introduce you all to a world of glamorous wonder! Let's enter the world… of The Movies!"
/"Basically, he's feeling too lazy to keep memorizing lines and acting out making funny little voices."/
Miss Yumina raised her hand. "So, does this mean I can stop-?"
"Your video learning will intensify."
"Aww."
"Tonight we are going to watch 'The Princess Bride'."
Miss Yumina made a little 'Eeek!' sound and blushed. "Sir Zah, that is…"
"Trust me, you'll love it."
Miss Yumina twiddled her fingers and nodded slowly. "I… I will trust you."
/"Good choice, Player!"/
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Arma stared wide-eyed at the screen. So a movie was just a play that didn't need actors. It was captured sound and images. She giggled and squirmed in her seat. With everyone inside the room it was fairly cramped: the guards had to stand in the back, while Sir Zah and his team sitting in the middle and on the bed, while Arma and Olga sat on the floor with the best view of the screen.
Even the guards looked interested in the story instead of just the spectacle of it. Miss Yae narrowed her eyes at the flashy sword-fighting, then couldn't help but to give an amused snort at "You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you," and "You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die."
And then she sucked in her breath and made an atypical girlish giggle at the repeated "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
"Stop saying that!"
"MY NAME IS INIGO. MONTOYA. YOU KILLED MY FATHER. PREPARE TO DIE."
Miss Yumina at first didn't seem to like the movie, but then she looked interested at seeing Buttercup just keep failing at things?
Buttercup: You mock my pain!
Man in Black: Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.
But then by the end of it, she slumped back onto the bed and breathed "That was… remarkable. A remarkable tale indeed.
"True love… huh? That's powerful. If you treat true love as garbage… become the queen of slime, the queen of filth, the queen of putresence. Rubbish. Filth. Slime... oh that was good." She chuckled lightly and closed her eyes. "Dangerous thoughts for a princess to have."
Miss Elze made little punching motions when the giant Fezzik was onscreen. Miss Linze was silent through it all, her stare very intense. But that couldn't last. Eventually even she had to laugh and applaud as everyone ended up half-dead but victorious at the end, true love having won against the odds.
If this was a movie, then Arma wanted to see more of them!
"Get out of my way, Linze."
"I'm sorry sis, I can't do that."
"This is much better than chickens. He could have spread this around and made much more money instead. Get out of my way so I can strangle him."
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Morning came and with it, they prepared to set forth. The group grandly bought more foodstuffs before settling to the new pair of carriages for the second leg of their journey. The guards from Mismede and Belfast began poking at each other with sticks.
"You should beware. I am not left-handed," Captain Garm hissed at them to stop.
"What a coincidence, none of us are left-handed either!"
Arma giggled at she stepped into the carriage.
"I should send a letter ahead to the Beast-King," said Olga after inspecting the preparations.
"Milady! May… may I accompany you? Just to be safe, who knows what may happen out there."
Olga gave a small smile and nodded, turning away. "As you wish."
Sir Lyon beamed and followed after her.
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"Who was your favorite character?" Arma asked the others.
"Westley!" Miss Linze said immediately.
"I think Lady Buttercup had a strength of her own, as well," said Miss Yumina. "I rather enjoyed seeing her illusions broken and sacrificing her happiness for love, but the 'movie' reminded us that love goes both ways. That the one you saved of course would not rest but to seek your freedom and happiness as well! Sacrifices mean something, and you love someone you should not want them to sacrifice for you."
Miss Linze nodded eagerly. "They deserved each other!"
Miss Elze sniffed. "I liked Fezzik. Go ahead and call me a dumb musclehead, I don't care."
"Fezzik-san was a large man who possessed much kindness and wisdom, it is no disgrace," Miss Yae replied. She put her fists over her chest and said "Inigo-san avenged his father well. He was a great swordsman and he lived well."
"He was a thug for hire," Miss Elze objected.
"But in the end he found honor."
"That's fair." Miss Elze nodded and turned towards Mister Clown. "You probably like the evil Prince don't you, you villain?!"
"I like Vizzini and exploiting the classic blunders."
Miss Elze snorted and crossed her arms. "That… that's so appropriate for you."
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The carriages trundled along the road. They had three carriages now, but somewhat smaller than the ones they previously used. The roads were rougher, and the surrounding foliage was thick and overgrown, more like a jungle than forests. In the distance, one could hear all sorts of screeching and howls. There were a lot more monster beasts in the uncontrolled forests of Mismede than in Belfast, but ironically because the beasts had more easy prey nearby they didn't bother the settlements as much. Going out alone into the dark woods was almost considered suicide however.
To Arma, the sounds of completely unhindered native life were comforting ones. Belfast with its tamed wilds had thinner scents, less active wildlife, and like humans themselves, seemed to have a mediocre level of variety. She was almost home. Just a little longer now.
At their steady pace, they would reach the village of Eld at just before sundown. Lunch and the afternoon passed in more idle conversation. They were looking forward to another movie at any place Mister Clown could throw up a white sheet over a wide solid wall.
And then as the sky darkened, "Eld village is near. We should be there soon," Captain Garm informed the group in the middle carriage.
Arma's ears flicked. Mister Clown looked up sharply.
"Something's wrong…" he muttered. He rapped on the carriage door and ordered the driver to stop. The horse riders gathered around in a protective formation around the carriages and unsheated their weapons. "Monika, threat radar?"
/"Nothing on the scopes, Player. What are you sensing?"/
He stepped off the carriage and looked around. Arma peered out the window.
The sky was orange. The shadows were deepening under the trees. But… something… it wasn't something that they could see.
"Ah!" shouted one of the Mismede guards, the one with rabbit ears. "It's the sound!"
"Laim! What is it?"
"The sounds of the beasts… they went loud for moment like in panic, then quieting down. And… and now they're stopped entirely!" Like they were afraid.
All the beastkin suddenly looked up at the sky, hearing the flapping of great wings.
Something huge swooped past over them, the size and speed of whatever it was blew a gust of wind that shook the treetops and tugged at their loose clothing.
"What was that?" Miss Elze asked. She could only see a dark silhouette passing by.
But the beastkin who could see in the dark managed to get a clear look.
Captain Garm shouted "DRAGON!"
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