Chapter 45
After getting their things and letting the others know about the portal, they gathered at the entrance to say goodbye. Except for Subaru, Mio, and Gura, since they have other responsibilities.
"Are you sure about this? I've heard some horrifying stories about the Feywild," said Choco as she gave each of them a hug.
"Well, Botan seems confident about guiding us, so we're going to trust her on that," replied Nene, the archer grinning behind her.
"I just hope we don't get lost," muttered Aloe.
"I'm sure they are capable enough, Choco," stated Ayame as she gave them a look over, nodding in approval, "They are certainly looking prepared."
Then, Lamy handed a sealed envelope to the tiefling and said, "Here is the message. Please drop it off at the guild as soon as possible."
"Of course," she nodded as she accepted it.
"Botan, do we need to look out for anything in the Feywild?" asked Polka.
"Keep calm and stick together," stated the archer, "Things tend to appear when the opposite happens. Oh, and if I get anything to guide us, please listen. Don't go off doing your own thing." The last piece of advice, she pretty much zoomed in on the fennec fox girl.
"Hey, I can listen just as well as anyone else," retorted the monk as she pouted.
"Anyway, let's get a move on," the lion girl said eagerly as she stepped near the portal, which had reappeared.
Botan went in first, stepping through and leaving ripples on its surface. Polka headed in next, followed by Aloe, Nene, and Lamy.
"Stay safe, my friends," wished the tiefling cleric as the portal closed.
The party stepped out into a large forest with trees that seemed endlessly reaching for the sky. The four who had never been here before looked around in awe. Meanwhile, Botan looked around for something familiar.
"Hmm, no landmarks," she muttered after a while, "Difficult… well, let's go. We need to find something or someone to guide us."
"Can't you?" questioned Polka.
"I don't think I've been around here before. I don't recognize the place," stated the archer, "But… I think we can head in this direction for a start."
She then led them northward or what she assumed was north. A path slowly appeared mysteriously as they made their way through the forest. The whole time, the normal sounds of the forest that was previously muted, slowly came back to normal levels of the hearing range. There was also increased rustling in the underbrush as if someone or something was following them.
"...What was that?" asked Polka, the rustling unnerving her a little.
"Keep calm and carry on," Botan advised, keeping her face straight.
Suddenly, a sprite flew out of a bush and exclaimed, "Hi! Welcome back, Botan!" The little fey then flew up and around the lion girl's head, finally settling to hug her ears. She wore a simple leaf dress, her wings were like transparent silk, and had blonde hair in a pixie-cut style with bright yellow eyes.
"Eh? Hello, Fu," she greeted with a relieved smile, "Are we near the circle?"
"Nope! You're not. But… a group of satyrs is having a drinking party around here, so do keep an ear out for that," the sprite informed her.
"A drinking party?" repeated Lamy with interest.
"Hmm, say, Fu, can you lead us to the Gekko portal?" asked the archer as she glanced up to her ears.
"Sure," she said as she nuzzled the furry appendage, "One moment." She then made very ecstatic squeals as she hugged the lion girl's ear intensely.
"Please don't," the archer said in deadpan, amidst the snickering of Aloe and Nene.
"I wonder what kind of drinks they have," murmured Polka in curiosity.
"All done! Come, follow me!" the sprite exclaimed cheerfully as she launched off the lion girl's head and flew ahead.
And so, they continued on their way, the sprite slowly leading them through the forest. The rustling that accompanied them before had lessened but did not go away. However, it stopped bothering them and they were focused on their journey. Eventually, they came to a crossroad of two paths, one left and one right. The forest seemed to hem them in, knitting together as if transforming into a wall.
"Eh? What?" muttered Polka in surprise as the four looked at the lion girl and the sprite.
"Normal stuff. Things like this sometimes happen," Fu explained with a shrug, "The forest is alive, after all."
"More like drunk thanks to the satyrs," muttered Botan with an annoyed tone, "Who knows where they lead now?"
"I can make a pretty good guess," declared the sprite as she flew over to the right branch, "Come on! This should be the general direction. We should be able to reach the portal you want this way."
"If you're sure..." muttered the succubus, not believing the fey in the slightest.
They spent the rest of the time walking. However, the forest seemed to be getting darker the further they went. It took a long time, but it was Polka that pointed it out.
"Hey, haven't we seen that tree before?" she asked as she stopped to point at a moss-covered tree.
"Eh? Have we?" asked Aloe.
"Botan, Fu, have we been going around in circles?" asked Lamy as she narrowed her eyes.
"...Are we trapped here?" asked Nene worriedly.
"Erm..."
"Fu, what happened?" asked Botan with a frown.
The sprite started poking her index fingers together, avoiding their gazes while looking down at the ground, "I… may have forgotten about this?"
As the others started groaning in exasperation, she hurriedly said, "I mean, this was supposed to be a repeating trap for any meenlocks so that they don't trouble anyone."
"Can you undo it? At least to let us out?" asked the lion girl.
"No? I didn't set this up," muttered the sprite. But then, she stated brightly, "But I know who did."
"Get them please," she requested as politely as she could muster.
As the sprite flew off, the party sat around a tree and looked around in silence.
"Huh, why can she fly through this while we are stuck here?" asked the succubus in annoyance.
"Feywild things. Don't think too hard on it," the archer replied.
"Botan, what are meenlocks?" asked the bard.
"Well, simply put, fey born from great fear," she explained, "And… they can create more by driving others to despair and terror, changing them into meenlocks."
"That… sounds quite terrifying," muttered the cleric.
"Well, I hope we don't bump into one here," muttered the fennec fox girl.
"After you jumped into my trap, I certainly hope not."
The party looked up and saw a strangely-dressed elf. Leather armor with a golden yellow shimmer. His frowning face glared at them with fully golden eyes framed by burnished yellow hair. After touching the ground in front of them and muttering something, he got up and motioned them to get out. The party hurried behind him and he repeated the motions.
Turning to face them, he took a deep breath and the golden shimmer became bronze yellow, his hair turning to a dark red. The now calmer elf said, "It seems the silly sprite forgot about this. Apologies."
"Well, it was unexpected but..."
"If you insist, sir," Lamy interrupted Botan, "If you could please guide us to the Gekko portal, we would be very grateful."
"Mmm, of course. Please, follow me," he replied politely and motioned them to follow.
Things progressed a lot more smoothly. The mysterious rustling in the underbrush was strangely absent when he was around, but it was a welcome change. The forest also seemed to lose its gloomy atmosphere and serene calmness returned to the air. They then suddenly stopped, their new guide holding up his hand in a familiar motion.
"Apologies. We are meeting someone here. She wishes to go back to your plane after visiting," he replied with a peaceful smile.
"Thank you for waiting for me, my friend."
She was a blonde elf wearing a leaf-green dress and was holding a staff. She had a radiant smile and greeted the party as she approached.
"My name is Aki Rosenthal. Well met," she wished them as she waved.
"Alright, let's get a move on," stated the trapper as the second eldarin joined the group, "We still have a ways to go before we reach the portal."
As they continued on, Nene proceeded to try and find out more about the mysterious druid. She recognized the name as one of Subaru's friends and from what she was described doing, was probably a druid of sorts.
They stood in front of the gleaming portal that slowly swirled into existence. The eldarin trapper stood next to it and said, "Here we are." Glancing over the party, he then said, "Well, I'll have to warn you, some of you may not remember what happened in the wild when you return." When asked why, he shrugged and said, "The magic here reacts differently to those who do not live here."
"But, I still remember my time here," Botan spoke up with a frown, wondering what was going on.
He scrutinized her for a moment, and then stated, "You learned how to use the magic of the wild. More than likely have a better chance of remembering."
"I believe the better you understand the wild, the lesser the effects on you will be," added Aki as she moved to the portal, "I believe we have disturbed him enough. Let us go through, my friends."
One by one, they stepped through the portal and exited into another forest. As the last person stepped through, the portal closed. The party then blinked and looked around.
"Eh? How did we get here?" asked Botan.
"Oh, my," the eldarin druid sounded with a smile.
"You don't remember?" asked Lamy in slight surprise.
After the cleric and the druid filled in the blanks of the memories of the others, they took a good look around the forest. The lion girl's eyes were practically shining when she faced them to say excitedly, "I know this place. Follow me!"
"Wha-? Wait, slow down!" called out the bard as the archer suddenly ran off through the forest.
"Let's go after her!" exclaimed Polka as she ran past the bard.
Shrugging, the rest ran after them. The fennec fox girl made sure to keep the lion girl in her sights while moving slow enough for the others to catch up. The forest slowly thinned and eventually gave way to an open plain whose yellows and browns stretched as far as the eye can see. The archer was standing at the edge of the forest, staring at a little collection of domed tents.
"Botan, what's the big idea?" asked Nene as the others came up, huffing and puffing, behind her.
"Everyone, this is Dankimba, my tribe," she stated proudly.
"EH!?" shouted the other four.
Aki giggled and said, "This is a pleasant surprise. Let's go and see your village, Miss Botan."
"This is way too much of a coincidence," muttered Aloe, getting over her shock.
"This is the way of the wild. You get used to it," the druid replied with a shrug, "Now, let's go to the village. I'm sure there are some very happy people to see."
With the lion girl in the lead, the group headed towards the village. On the approach, the village gave off a pleasant air of peacefulness. There wasn't a wall or even a palisade, indicating a nomadic lifestyle. The village consisted of large animal-skin tents, each one arranged around a fire pit. They counted five pits in total. One was bigger than the others and it was near the largest tent in the village. There were several villagers about, mostly women and children. One of the playing children spotted the party and called out to the others. Several tent flaps were pushed aside and several men came out armed with bows and short swords. However, the villagers approached them with smiles and cheers, all of them focused on Botan.
"Hello, everyone! I'm back!" called out the lion girl as the others surrounded her. The children cheered on to the big sister while one of the women hugged her and started kissing her cheeks.
"Mama, stop. I'm fine," she pleaded with a smile but made no move to make her stop.
"Hush, you. I am your mother and you will accept this," the older woman playfully scolded her scion as she ushered her over to the family tent.
"Ma, wait a bit," she protested as she patted her mother's arm. Gesturing over to her friends, she introduced each one to the crowd.
"Well, at least our little runt made some good friends," declared a lion man as he and another smirked at them.
"Good to see you too, Hiron, Kirov," called out the archer in reply.
A closer look showed that they indeed bore a resemblance to her, being older than she was but younger than the proclaimed mother. Both were sporting leather armor with their weapons kept sheathed and slung. Their beards were not as long nor as large but framed their faces quite well, giving them a rugged handsomeness.
"Ha, welcome back, daughter," a deep voice sounded.
A large lion man, a bit taller than the other two and more heavyset, stepped through the crowd as it parted to make way. He wore similar equipment to his sons though he sported dual shortswords instead of just one.
"Father, I'm back," the lion girl spoke proudly as she stood her tallest as she faced him.
He nodded sternly and glazed at the rest of the party. Nene and Aloe looked nervous. Polka waved and grinned. Lamy stood still, trying to look as stoic and regal as she could. Aki just stood there and smiled serenely.
"What strange friends you have made, daughter," he commented as he turned back to her.
"Yeah… but I couldn't ask for better," she declared with a smile.
He chuckled and replied, "Very well. Come, we had better explain to Elder Leon what the commotion was about." And after glazing over the arty again, he added, "Bring your friends too."
The crowd then dispersed and went back to their routines. Except for the children, who followed after them inquisitively for a moment before running off to play, and her brothers, who brought up the rear. They walked up to the main fire pit in front of the big tent, where someone had already seated on a large chair. He was decked in clothes made of rich skins with chainlinks peeking out from under them. He also wore a fur hat and an eye patch.
Next to him was a much older person. She also wore animal skin clothes and wore her hair in a ponytail with the front part of her head shaved. On the shaved part were vibrant tribal tattoos that Nene suspected held a magical significance. Beside her was a staff with all manner of feathers and animal's teeth hanging off it.
The man then stood up and extended his arms in a welcoming gesture. "Welcome, travelers. I am Elder Leon," greeted the elder as he gestured to take a seat, and addressed Botan, "It is good to see one of ours return to their roots. What brings you back here, young Botan?"
"I wanted to see my family again," she replied, "It has been a few moons already and I wanted to know what has been happening."
"She is fey-touched," the old lady stated as she pointed at the lion girl, "What have you been doing, girl?"
"Umm..." she sounded as she scratched her ear, "Well, it started out when we were checking something out for a guild mission."
She then told the story about the werewolf fight during the mission where they met Aloe, her subsequent treatment, and being brought to the druidic circle where she got introduced to the Feywild.
"Wonderful tale you have, young Botan," stated the elder with a chuckle, and then declared, "All of your friends are welcome to stay with us until you wish to leave again."
"Thank you, elder," said the lion girl gratefully while the rest of the party just grinned excitedly. Then, she exclaimed, "Ah, I have a gift for you elder." She then produced the dragonhide cloak from her pack and presented it to him.
"Ho, ho, this is truly a wonderful gift, young Botan," the elder exclaimed happily as he threw the cloak around his shoulders.
The lion girl just grinned.
AN: Hello again, readers. Welcome to the next chapter.
We are going to the kingdom of Gekko. Yes, we shall see the return of a certain rabbit princess. But first, a jaunt into the Feywild. Yeah, we get to see a small part of the Feywild in this chapter. A little taste of what Botan has seen before. Almost got lost there but they made it through with a little extra. Aki comes along with them but only for a moment. For now. And what do you know, we happen to come out outside Botan's tribe. So, this is what I imagined her family to be. A tribe revolving around hunting and living off the land. Kinda like the barbarian tribes in Faerun. Her dad is the lead hunter of the tribe. I kinda imagine him to look like Leo from Guilty Gear. The unga-bunga manly man. Then, Holo5 was brought to their leader. The old lady next to him is the tribal shaman, as the hints indicated. And Botan gives out her gifts. The cloak goes to the tribe's leader. Next chapter, her dad gets the armor.
Next chapter, time to go further inland. Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.