Chapter 36
After the round of introductions, they left the cave to inform the rest. Anya was tucked snugly into Nene's belt. In the large cave at the entrance, they found Temma and Leda pouring over the papers at the desk.
"Hi, hi, Lamy finally let you go?" teased Polka.
"Yeah, laugh it up," he retorted good-naturedly. Turning back to the papers, he said to Leda, "We should get these to the head guard… maybe we might be able to persuade the king to create another knight squadron."
"If so, we should push that through Lord Aruran," suggested the lightning genasi.
"Hey, let's leave them to do their thing and intro Anya to the others," said Aloe as the succubus pulled the other two outside.
The rest were searching the tents. Lamy, Civia, and Kiara were busy hauling stuff out of the tents and placing them around the fire pit.
"Hey, come here. We found something cool inside," she announced as she pushed the bard to the forefront.
"Erm, okay..." said Nene hesitantly as she pulled out the sentient dagger, "Here. Introduce yourself."
"Hi!" it said as the bard held it up to show everyone else, "My name is Anya."
"Woah..." sounded off Civia in awe, the other two having eyes going wide.
"That's so cool," said Kiara, "Are you alive? Are you trapped inside? Are you a spirit? Are you-"
"Erm… n-no?" the dagger said hesitantly as it interrupted her, "I don't know how I became like this. I just… happened. I don't really remember anything else."
"Well… do you want to go back to see your creator?" asked Lamy.
The dagger fell silent. Then, a strange sound came out from it. "I apologize if I brought up something painful," the half-snow elf quickly apologized, having realized that she may have hurt its feelings.
"...No… it's fine..." it muttered after sniffling a little, "My creator passed away. I don't remember how long ago. I just… know." And then, its voice perked up a little, "But, I'll continue existing. I don't know why I was made, but at least, now, I'm with friendly people. I'm happy. You'll be my friends, right?"
"Sure!" said the bard with a smile.
"Yay!"
"Alright," said Temma, drawing everyone else's attention to the entrance of the cave, "Let us head back to the village and let them know about the base."
"But, not before we get to take some rewards for ourselves," chipped in Leda with a grin, "We took a peek in the storeroom you found. I think there's enough for us and the village."
The knight sighed and replied, "I suppose that is fair… but we are telling the village head of how much we took."
"Well, we can help the villagers carry everything in the storeroom back there. Then, we divide the stuff up," suggested the phoenix.
"Ah! I can agree with that," stated the blonde knight with a smile, "Let us do so."
The village leader was overjoyed to see their return. Then, he became astonished by the news of the spoils of the fight. He called everyone in the village together and told them the news. Then, every able-bodied person went with the party to the fort to help carry everything back to the village. It took several trips to transport everything, but they did it without any interruptions. By the time they were done, night had fallen and the party was invited to spend the night there. Everyone accepted and they had a feast in the middle of the village.
The next day, they decided to pick apart the spoils and see what they wanted. Temma traded his armor for a set of full-plate, which he took to the blacksmith to get fitted. Aloe got some replacement daggers. Botan got a new bundle of arrows. And everyone in the party took two hundred gold pieces each. After Temma's new armor was fitted properly, the party made their way back to the capital. It was quite the opposite from yesterday, as nothing disrupted their travel. Instead, they decided to quiz Anya on what she knew of the hobgoblins, which wasn't much to begin with. What she did reveal, however, was that her creator and former master was a mouse person.
With that fact out in the open, Botan suggested that she might have originated from Gekko, where she and Polka were from. She then suggested that maybe they should go back there someday to find out what happened to the dagger's creator.
"Really?" muttered out the dagger from her place on the bard's belt, "I didn't expect that. I do want to find out but… I have a feeling that they are already gone. But… yeah, it's nice of you to do that for me."
"We're friends now. Why not?" declared Nene with a smile as she glanced down at her belt.
"...Thank you..."
The party reached the last village before the city and Anya fell silent. The knight hired a cart and added a little extra to get the driver to pick up the pace as they continued on their way. How fortunate that nothing came in to disrupt their journey and they reached the capital without a problem. Thanking the driver, they headed straight for the guild house. Upon reaching there, Lamy's snow fairy flew down the stairs and threw themselves at her.
The cleric giggled and said as the fairy nuzzled her cheek, "Aw, I missed you too, my friend."
As the other girls cooed at how cute it was, Temma and Leda went straight for the counter and addressed Miyabi, "We need to speak with Lord Aruran."
The clerk looked at them for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll contact him for your request." He then picked up a smooth stone with a symbol carved on it and grasped it in his hand. Closing his eyes, he stood still for a moment. Then, he opened his eyes and said, "He will be here. If you would wait in the side room for him."
The guys then walked over to the ladies and the knight said, "Well, Lord Aruran is on his way. If you wish to stay, you can join us in the side room. If not, do as you may."
"Right, I should thank everyone for joining me for this weird trip to the mountains," stated Kiara, "Sorry that it wasn't really worth it for you all."
"Aww, don't worry," spoke up Nene, "Sure, we didn't really succeed but, I'd like to think we learned a lot about ourselves and each other during that time. The more you know, you know?"
The phoenix chef giggled and said, "Yeah, that's true. And… I better get back to Robel's and make sure my helpers didn't burn the kitchen down. Seeya!"
"Goodbye!" chorused the others.
"Ah, good morning, ladies," greeted Miyabi as the four girls came downstairs the next morning, "Lamy, a package came in for you today." He then pointed to a medium-sized crate under the bulletin board.
"Eh? Are you expecting anything?" asked Polka as they went over to examine the crate.
"I have no idea," replied the half-snow elf. Turning to the clerk, she asked, "Can you help us to open this? I do not have a crowbar with me."
"Alright, give me a moment," he said as he ducked under the counter to look for one. A moment later, he was pushing down on the crowbar to pry the top of the crate open, which popped off without any difficulty. All five of them peered inside and found a shield that seemed to be made of strange material. The cleric ran her hand over it and felt it strangely familiar.
"Actually, this feels like… oh, I think this is from Doris' captain friend," she stated in realization, "I believe he said something about sending me some armor." Carefully, she picked up the shield and turned it around. It looked well-made and well-shaped. Sturdy and protective. And when she picked it up, it started glowing blue.
"Eh?"
"Wow, where did you get that?" asked Aloe as she came in through the doors.
"Hey, Miyabi, why is it glowing?" asked Nene, turning to the clerk.
"Well, I'm not sure myself… but maybe you can bring it to the school to find out," he suggested.
They agreed that this was a good idea and brought the shield to the school. At first, they wanted to ask Rushia to introduce them, but she was busy in a class. Artia was in the same class so they couldn't ask her either. So, they waited outside the library while Nene went in to ask Rosalyn since she worked there. She found her easily as she manned the front desk at the time.
"Hello, welcome back, Nene," the librarian greeted.
"Hello, Rosalyn. I need a bit of help," she replied and quickly explained what was going on.
"Oh, alright. Then, you will need to see Professor Eriatta," the librarian explained and gave her directions to the classroom, adding, "Her class should be over by now."
Thanking the helpful lady, she rejoined her party and they went off to find the wizard's classroom. Finding it was not a problem. The wizard was a water genasi with blue-green skin and damp, slick blue hair tied up into a ponytail.
"Oh, hello there," she greeted warmly with a smile, "Do you require aid?"
"Yes. Sorry for disturbing, but can you help identify this shield?" asked Nene as Lamy brought over and placed the blue glowing shield on the teacher's table, "My friend received this as a gift and we're wondering why it was glowing blue in the first place."
"Hmm, do you know what it is made of?" the teacher asked as she gave the shield a once over.
"Umm, I believe it was made from chuul shells," replied the half-snow elf, "There was an incident during our travels and we ended up fighting a few. Then, it was mentioned that I would be sent a gift for our help."
"Ahhh, that makes so much more sense," the wizard said with understanding, "Right. What you need to know is that chuuls have a sixth sense concerning magical items. It is probably just reacting to any magical items present either on yourself or nearby."
"Ah… so, our amulets?" quipped Polka as she held up hers that was around her neck. The other four mirrored her actions.
"Indeed. So, perhaps once enough time has passed, the glow will die down and reset for detecting something else," reasoned Eriatta. Getting nods from the adventurers, she clapped her hands and asked, "Alright, is there anything else you need?"
"Well… how about this?" asked the bard as she produced Anya's body while Lamy took the shield off the table.
"Oh? Hmm, give me a moment," she stated before she went to a side table and picked out a pearl and an owl's feather. Coming back to the table, she requested, "If you would please place the dagger on the table."
Nene did so. The wizard placed both items on either side of the dagger. Then, she pulled a piece of parchment and a bottle of ink. She placed both items next to the feather. Taking a deep breath, she started chanting, placing one hand on the dagger while the other hovered a distance over the feather. As the chanting continued, a crack was heard and the pearl began turning into dust, swirling around the dagger making an arcane symbol. The feather then started levitating above the table. It dipped its tip into the ink bottle and started writing on the parchment. As the chant ended, the dust flashed and disappeared into the ether, the feather falling down lifelessly onto the piece of parchment.
Eriatta picked up the parchment and began reading off it aloud, "The enchantment on the dagger is strange and unknown. It is possible that the gods of luck have looked favorably on the enchanter and blessed it to bring some minor luck to their endeavors." She then looked at them and said as she placed the parchment on the table, "I must say, it seems Lady Luck has definitely smiled upon you if you actually found this."
"Woah, cool!" exclaimed Polka. By that time, the glow on the shield had died down and several students had made their way into the class.
"Ah, it seems my class is starting soon," the wizard stated.
"Thank you for your help," replied Nene with a grin, taking the dagger from the table and sliding it to her belt.
"Miyabi! Anything new!?" called out Polka loudly as the party of five entered the guild house.
"Other than the everyday stuff, check the board, Polka," stated the guild clerk, "You don't have to ask me. Unless there is an emergency request, everything will be on the board."
"Ah, okay then," she quipped in reply before the party went to peruse it.
While that was happening, someone else stepped into the guild house. She wore traditional religious clothes colored red and white. Her hair and her furry ears were snow white. She stepped up to the counter and asked, "Hello, are there any members present for help?"
"Ah, Miss Fubuki," greeted Miyabi politely, "Yes, there are. Over there." He motioned to the bulletin board, where the five of them are still looking through the requests.
She clapped her hands with a happy face and said, "Wonderful!" She approached them and asked, "Hello, everyone. Can you help me with something?"
"Oh? Help with what?" asked Aloe, a little puzzled by the sudden appearance of the fox girl.
Looking at the five members present, she frowned as she looked at the succubus, "Hmm, a problem. I need some help cleaning the shrine near the city… but I don't think you can get in."
"Ha? Another shrine..." muttered the fiend with a pout, "Looks like that's another place I can't get into."
"You are taking things much better than I expected," stated the fox cleric with a raised brow.
"Erm, you see, it was like this," started Nene as she proceeded to fill her in about the island shrine.
"Oh… right, right, right, that makes sense," she replied, her frown now absent. Turning to the succubus, she apologized, "Sorry you can't help, but rules are rules."
Aloe waved it off, trying to show unconcern about this, "This is fine. How long do you need to tidy up a shrine, anyway?"
"In any case, we should be done by evening, so you can reunite for dinner," assured the fox cleric with a gentle smile.
"Alright, let's get started," said Polka eagerly.
"Indeed. Let us settle this quickly," agreed Lamy.
Smiling all the way, Fubuki led the group of four out of the guild house, leaving Aloe and Miyabi behind.
"So, what will you be doing while they are helping Miss Fubuki?" asked the clerk behind the counter.
"Eh, I'll think of something."
AN: Hello again, readers. Welcome back.
Okay, thus ends Kiara's quest. Had fun gallivanting over part of the mountain range? I hope you did. Right, after divvying up the spoils of the raid, they headed back to Rivirapolis. The next day, we have a shield made of a chuul shell for Lamy. Getting it identified took awhile but neatly done. Then, we have a returning character hire some of Holo5 to clean up the shrine. Aloe had the rest of the day to herself.
Next chapter, we take a few days to settle the in-between before the next arc. Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.