Chapter 6
Things were bright indeed. Risu, a short but very cheeky squirrel girl, almost shook Botan's arm off when they first met. She then pretty much dragged her away to the southern forest to her druidic circle for whatever reason. In Lord Daiso's words, a possible location of a hidden portal to the Feywild.
Lamy spent her time at the healing temple. Taking part in good works was a relaxing thing for her and she especially got along well with the younger acolytes, who saw her as a motherly figure. This brought her closer to the divine and she received more favor, to which she was thankful for. She even took part in a celebration that was held every full moon. It was during that time she got to know of Iofi, master artist and leader of the local artisan's guild.
Nene got to know her bardic seniors. Izuru and Rikka, the lute duo. Doris, mermaid triton and Artia's friend, plays the lyre. And then Moona, flute player and Risu's friend, surprisingly enough. She was taken aback when the duo told her Kira was also a bard, but not a practicing one, who preferred to play the bagpipes to annoy and prank all the other bards in the guild. She was entranced by how much they knew and tried her best to commit everything they told her to memory.
Polka spent her time sparing with the guild master. After revealing that he too was a practitioner of the martial arts, she chased after him to get him to mentor her. At first, he refused and this made her somewhat depressed as mentors such as these were hard to find outside monasteries or temples. That same day, she got drunk and then challenged him, who happened to be at Robel for dinner. It amused him to no end and the next day, he promised to teach her a few things when she got over her hangover.
Aloe spent her time trying to get to know her new friends. While a bit hesitant since she was a fiend, she began to enjoy their company. For once, she had begun to feel a sense of normalcy in her life. The Nine Hells is an ultra-competitive, backstab-happy place. Here, she could just… relax. She liked it. It didn't help with her becoming a better succubus, but she liked it.
Eventually, five days went by like nothing. Botan came back to the guild house on the sixth day. With a frown. She had green tribal markings over her face and her chain mail was decorated with flowers. She headed for the side room and found her party there.
Polka took one look at her, did a spit-take, and said, "Oh my gods, what happened to you?"
"Last day prank by the squirrel," she grumbled as she sat down at the table. As the other party members leaned in to her, she then gave them a weak smile and said, "Well, I'm sort of clear."
"Meaning?" pressed on Lamy.
"Well, the lycanthropy thing isn't doing anything to me," she explained, "I mean, they've never seen Gekko people contract anything like this. Full moon a few days ago? Nothing happened. It's like… it's asleep."
"Oh, oh, maybe your lion blood is sitting on it," quipped the succubus.
She chuckled and said, "Maybe. In any case, I don't have to be chained up or whatever. I'm fine."
"Ha! In that case, let's celebrate with a quest," cheered Nene. The others cheered as well and they walked over to the request board. She picked a random one and brought it over for Miyabi.
"Hmm, are you sure you want to do this?" the clerk asked as he narrowed his eyes. Getting nods all around, he shrugged and said, "Do you know where you hunt giant toads?"
Shaking heads.
"In the swamps."
Cringing faces.
"And it's also crocodile mating season, so there will be a high chance of meeting one," he explained further, "So unless you get lucky and one decides to hop out of the swamp and on the road, I highly doubt you will be able to just find one giant toad. Not to mention you have to hack off their legs."
"Even if you say that… we are still gonna do it," insisted the lion girl, "If it's a challenging one, even better."
A wry smile appeared on his face as he replied, "Very well. Don't say I didn't warn you."
The party found themselves outside a tavern right outside the swamp. Called the Toad's Stool, it was set up to house travelers passing through the swamp.
"Alright, so some giant toads were sighted nearby but they have been known to swim deeper in the swamp. So… anyone having second thoughts?" asked Nene as she came out.
"If we did, we wouldn't be here," said Botan with a confident grin.
"Hng… as long as I don't fall in, I'll be fine," muttered Polka as she looked at the swampy water with dread.
"We might have to wade in. Who knows when we could find a giant toad?" stated Lamy, prompting a groan from the monk.
"Well, I'll be disappearing now. I'll let you know if there's anything ahead," Aloe told them as she popped into the Ethereal Plane.
"Alright, let's go. The bartender told me about a path that could get us near the toads," said the bard as she motioned them to follow, "The sooner we do this… well, Polka doesn't need to wash out so much swamp out of her hair."
"Please don't remind me!" pleaded the monk as the rest followed after.
They followed the path for a while but when it reached late afternoon the path had disappeared and they were now trudging through soggy marsh with lots of water pockets everywhere. They dare not take a chance of stepping in them for fear of being deeper than expected. Everywhere they went, water seemed to seep out of the ground and the level slowly rose until it went past their feet while still being below their knees.
"Where in the world are those giant toads..." grumbled Polka as she glanced around. Everyone was doing the same, trying to keep an eye out for crocodiles.
"I'm sure we will find one soon," assured Nene as she pushed a branch away. Only, she noticed an eye open and blinked at her. A reptilian eye.
"Croc!" she shouted as a large jaw lunged and snapped empty air a hair's breadth away. An arrow whistled over its head while a dart pierced through its thick hide. More crocs lunged out of the water after Botan and Lamy, who dodged, while the one that started this off clamped its jaws on the bard's leg. Two more appeared, coming from another pool of water and were scrambling after the party.
"Get off," she shouted as she kicked its nose, prompting it to let go, and then stabbed the same part with her rapier.
"Woohoo!" she heard Aloe whooping. Glancing to her side, she saw the succubus landing while clawing the croc that was attacking Lamy. She then flew up into the air, hovering above its snapping jaws.
"Good idea!" cheered Polka as the monk suddenly jumped on the croc she was battling, landing with both feet. Jumping off the side, she then punched it in the side of the head. It writhed for a few seconds and then lay still in the swamp water.
The crocs continued to attack, all of them converging on the cleric's position. The half-snow elf was a tough girl; smacking crocs in the nose and the head with her shield, she was able to get them to release their hold and retaliate with her mace. Aloe struck from the air and always danced away from getting bitten. Botan was able to get away from the front and shot arrows on the beasts. Nene just kept up the pace, getting in with Lamy and stabbing the crocs in the side. One by one, the crocs were taken care of.
As the last one died, courtesy of getting brained by the cleric, she said, "Is everyone alright?"
"We're alright… what about you? You got bitten so many times," asked the bard with concern.
"...I just got bitten twice," she deadpanned as she uncorked her healing potion and downed it.
"Hmm, I wish we could bring these crocodiles back to sell off," muttered the fighter.
"Aah, bad enough we have to hunt giant toads," groaned the monk, "Please don't drag crocs back to the city too."
"Hmm, oh well, the toad's legs would be heavy enough," mused the lion girl, dropping the matter entirely.
"Well, I'll be disappearing now. Before you got attacked though, I did notice a few toads to the south. Try searching there," pointed out the succubus before going back to the Ethereal Plane.
They continued on their search for the giant toads in the directed area. Luckily, it didn't take long for them to hear loud croaking. In the distance, they spotted two giant toads on a small island south of their position. Slowly, they got nearer, just outside their jumping range, hidden by the brush.
"So… how do you want to do this?" asked Nene.
"Well, I can use one of my new arrow enchantments," spoke up Botan as she pulled one from her quiver.
"Ooh, sounds cool," whispered Polka in awe.
"Alright. Whenever you're ready," agreed the bard as the rest of the party gave the fighter some space.
The lion girl took a deep breath and nocked the arrow. Quietly muttering some arcane chant, the arrow took on a silvery sheen centered around the head. She released and the arrow flew true and lodged in its head. The sheen exploded and the toads flinched. Their heads swiveled straight for her. Nene took this chance to throw her dagger. As the toads moved and hopped towards them, the dagger sank into the slimy flesh. Polka's dart missed, just as more crocs suddenly burst out of the swamp water.
"I think your arrow attracted more than just toads!" shouted the monk worriedly as Lamy grasped her amulet and called for blessings upon them.
Aloe joined in the fight as well, repeating what she did in the previous battle. "Ugh, this is just ew," she exclaimed as she flew up after sinking her claws in a toad's skin.
"Firing another one," shouted the fighter as she retreated back and shot another silvery arrow. It struck the toad's leg and as the sheen exploded, the area around it indented and warped as the force exploded outwards, slamming into both toads and one of the crocodiles.
Not to be deterred, both toads caught up to them, biting down on Lamy and Polka. The monk managed to wrench her arm free and pummeled the offending beast in the stomach a few times before somersaulting away. Meanwhile, the crocs got distracted, more than half of their number converging over the hovering succubus while the remaining one went after the cleric. The half-snow elf slammed her mace into the battered toad's head and ran to rejoin the party as the large beast fell over backward.
Aloe, unperturbed by the crocodiles, flew over and killed the one that went ahead. Flying back into the air, she warned, "There's three more crocs here. Better kill that toad fast."
"We are!" retorted Botan as she sent a normal shot at the remaining toad, the projectile sinking in its face. The Nene's rapier sank in its stomach next and finally, Polka ended it when her punch went into the same point, killing it as she ripped her fist out. At the same moment, Lamy sent a frost ray at the approaching crocodiles.
"Alright! Let's finish this!" cheered on the succubus as she made hurried swipes which missed as she flew past the crocs.
The fighter let loose another bursting arrow that blasted the reptiles with intense pressure. The bard and monk charged forward, the rapier piercing one in the head and the other getting a foot slammed into it. The fennec fox girl continued, the momentum swinging her body forward as she drove her other foot into the last croc. The cleric finished it off with a ray of frost, the reptile getting frosted over from inside and out.
"Yahoo! We did it!" exclaimed Polka happily.
She then yelped in pain when Lamy smacked her on the head and scolded, "You almost died to a toad, silly fox." Aloe just giggled.
"Here, drink this," said Nene as she offered the last healing potion as the monk muttered her apologies and thanks.
"Hey, when you're done, start helping me figure out how to bring these toad's legs out of the swamp," called out Botan as she began her cursory examination of the bodies.
After a brief discussion, the fighter cut through the meat and exposed the joint between the body and the leg, making use of the bard's dagger. Then, the cleric will freeze the joint until they could shatter it. Afterwards, it was a matter of tying up the legs and picking out a sturdy branch out of the swamp to carry them with. Botan and Nene ended up being chosen to carry their spoils; three legs, as the one that the fighter shot was too damaged by the wound, or so she said.
"I hope we can make it back to the swamp-side tavern before the sun disappears on us," said the bard as they hefted the branch up, "It's already evening."
"I hope so too," admitted the fighter, "I wouldn't want to be caught here at night."
"Stop, there's danger up ahead," warned Aloe as she popped out of etherealness, "There's a group of crocodiles up ahead. A few of them are fighting. I'm guessing mating stuff."
"Huh, so is there a way around?" asked Lamy.
"Luckily, I checked before coming back, so there is," the succubus informed them, "Going around the left side will take us near the edge of the swamp… but we will have to go through a crocodile nesting area. Going around the right will bring us near a moderately webbed area. I couldn't tell how many or what sort of spiders are there, but I would expect the worst as well."
Both didn't seem like very good options. However, the spider route seemed the least harmful, so they went with that. That brought the question of dealing with the spiders. It was decided that they try to toe the precarious line of going between where the spiders could sense them and the crocodiles would be attracted to them. Both were not favorable, but they were a lot more willing to take on giant spiders than a pack of crocodiles. So, to the left path they went. It took awhile and the sun sank lower and lower. It was late evening, a time where some creatures become more active. That included spiders.
It was Nene that thought she heard some rustling from some nearby trees. She shushed the party and motioned to walk quietly. Then, Polka also heard the faint rustling of leaves and whispered out a warning. They slowly dropped their spoils and drew their armaments warily, preparing for a fight.
Another shudder shook a tree. The fighter and the bard reacted first, the burst arrow and the dagger going into different trees. Very loud chittering came out from them as the blast shook some spiders out of them. The battle was only beginning.
AN: Hello, readers. Today, three of our friends get their sub-classes
After some chatting time with her senpai, Nene delves into Lore.
Nene Momosuzu
Lore Bard
After some time in the Feywild, Botan learns some magic to incorporate in her archery.
Botan Shishiro
Arcane Archer
Poka becomes even more of a clown than before
Polka Omaru
Drunken Master Monk
Ah, and to try out their new abilities, they go on a quest into the swamplands. Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.