Chapter X
Insert Title Here
Darkness. They could hardly see a few feet in front of them as the reaper held their only light source at the front of their marching order. To light more lanterns would increase the rate of an early encounter from their quarry. Thus, the detective offered her hooded lantern in order to minimize their group's stealth. One step at a time— and sometimes stepping on each other's heels or extra appendages— they moved at a crawl with barely five feet of visibility in front of them.
The area was as cold as it was dark. No sunlight pierced through the rocky interior of the mine. The tunnels within were cramped, forcing them for most of the journey to move in a single line; to shuffle sideways or crawl on their bellies. Their path was riddled with twists and turns— routes that would either lead them to a dead end or to their early graves. But the detective led them down the right path.
They had to move cautiously. The monster terrorizing the local town could easily come crashing through the stone walls and consume them. One wrong choice could have them falling into the bottomless chasm of the mountain's core. A single rock moved out of place could have them buried, lost and forgotten by those who commissioned this hunt in the first place.
"Okay, who farted?!"
"Not it!"
"Cherry!"
"Wasn't me."
"That's natural gas, Gura," the detective said as she took a single wiff. Her nose crinkled and she quickly rummaged through her satchel for a mask. "We're getting close."
"Yeah, real convenient excuse there, Watson," the (self proclaimed) Not-Triton rolled her eyes and drew the collar of her battle dress over her nose. "We've stayed in the same room before. I know what your farts smell like."
"Why are you smelling Ame's toots?" the warlock gave Gura a curious sideways glance.
"S-Shuddup, Ina!" the small shark-person barked out. "That's not the point and you know it!"
"Now, now, Gura," the mother-hen of the group (with her nose pinched shut by her fingers) gave the smallest member a smirk. "You shouldn't be so defensive. Everyone has their own kink."
"I don't want to hear that from you of all people, Kiara!"
"Gura's tastes aside…" the reaper at the front stopped walking to hand back Amelia's lantern.
"Not you too, Calli!" cried Gura.
"We are close," continued the reaper. "I can sense its life source from here. It's dull and gives a constant sound, which means it's sleeping."
"Which means we need to continue on silently," Amelia finished tying her handkerchief with herbs and charcoal over the lower half of her face. Her eyes studied each of her party members. "Ready up. Masks and goggles on. Does everyone remember the plan or do we need to go over it once more?"
Amelia Watson. Self-proclaimed time-traveler. She was a teenage girl of average height with blonde hair that fell to her shoulders, bright blue eyes, and a peachy complexion. She wore the plain garbs of a commoner with the exception of an adventurer's coat with shoulder cape, traveling boots, and a bandolier full of various tinctures. The remainder of her accessories consisted of a single satchel, her favorite leather cap, a pocket watch clipped to her skirt belt, and a pistol far more advanced than any model the group had ever seen.
To the front of the group was Calliope Mori. Self-proclaimed reaper from Hades (or, as she called it, Hell). She was a young adult woman with exotic rose-pink hair that cascaded down her back, above average height, eyes as red as blood, and an almost sickly pale complexion. She dressed in a black battle dress made of enchanted silk and leather, with metal spikes protruding in the most unusual (yet practical in application) places, and a black tiara with a nigh-invisible veil running down the back of her head. Her weapon of choice was a comically large and grossly exaggerated harvesting scythe… to which she could summon and vanish from her hold with but a thought.
Behind her was Kiara Takanashi. A rare divine beast— a phoenix in the appearance of a young adult woman. But also being a self-proclaimed world jumper. Her hair was primarily orange that gradually changed to teal by the tips, eyes as pink as the reaper's hair, and complexion fair but just a tint darker than Amelia's. She wore basic boiled leathers… as most of her fortune went to dying said leathers as bright orange as her hair. However, the rest of the group couldn't say anything as she spent the remainder of her fortune on the pair of adamantine sword and shield.
Third in the group was Amelia, who dedicated most of her attention to watching both the front and back of the group.
Behind her was Ina'nis Ninomae. Self-proclaimed normal human. She had straight black hair that fell to her knees… along with two squishy appendages that hung from the base of her temples and seemed to come from her hair itself. There were also a pair of… horns? Ears? Flaps. Weird flaps twitched here and there on the top of her head. Her eyes were a soft gray and her complexion belonged to one who rarely saw sunlight. In terms of appearance, she was a young teenager with a nubile (borderline sickly) figure and average height. Her attire hung to her so close it may as well have been a second skin… especially when, sometimes, the observant could swear to have seen it move. She bore no weapons but cradled a thick tome close to her chest. Yeah. Clearly normal girl.
And the last member… Gawr Gura. A Half-Triton (self-proclaimed Atlantean). She was below average in height; confused as a halfling sometimes and a human child the others. Her hair was stark white with a few splashes of blue here and there, eyes as deep blue as the ocean, and complexion fair but often rosy at the cheeks. Her teeth were triangular, befitting of her shark heritage. She wore an oversized deep blue battle gown without the skirt and a merchant's set of bleached white boots. A shark tail nearly a third her size wagged behind her every step. In her hands was a trident so blue and translucent it looked to be forged out of the ocean water itself.
"...Why are you staring at me so hard, Watson?"
It was this final person Amelia tried to put emphasis to her question. At the blank expression and two clueless blinks, she sighed and asked her teammate, "Do you remember the plan?"
"What? We had a…?" Gura blinked again. She then looked away quickly and blew a raspberry. "Oh? That? Duh! But, you know, why don't you explain it to all the other dumb-dumbs here? Some of us— Kiara— might have forgotten."
"I will strangle you in your sleep, Gura," Kiara whispered with a strained smile.
"Yeah but do you remember the plan?!" Gura shot back.
"Of course I do!"
"Then prove it!"
"Guys?" Calli looked over her shoulder.
"I'm not going to tell you!"
"Guys?!"
"That only tells me you don't really know!"
"You little shit just admit—"
"GUYS!" the reaper shouted loud enough to have her voice echo throughout the small tunnel.
There was a pregnant silence throughout the group. No one dared to move, speak, or even so much as blink. They all held their breaths as they waited in anticipation. The only sound being made was the ticking of Amelia's pocket watch. Though the device was muffled by her coat and metal lid, it was as loud as thunder at this moment.
A full minute went by and the lair remained undisturbed.
They all let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"Okay, okay, enough fooling around," Amelia spoke quietly and firmly. "Masks and goggles on. We're moving ahead slowly and quietly. Not another word until we know the situation better."
Heads nodded as they rummaged through their belongings. They each had a set of stitched cloth binding charcoal and herbs within. It wouldn't fully counter the gas leaking from the cavern veins but it would prevent them from becoming intoxicated or suffocating. Then, there were the special goggles painstakingly made to observe solar eclipses. They covered most of the eye socket with the exception of a thin horizontal slit. It limited their visibility greatly but it would give them an advantage against a baskilisk's petrification.
They moved one step at a time, bumping into each other more frequently from the lack of a lantern and due to the goggles for those with enhanced vision. They grunted and groaned but shuffled their way through the cramped space.
Eventually, Calli squeezed through a crack at the end of the tunnel and entered an underground chamber. No light peeked and the smell of gas was strongest here. She looked around, removed the goggles briefly to peer around, and then put them back on.
"It's clear. The monster ain't here."
One by one, the rest of the girls squeezed out of the crack within the wall… with the exception of Ina and Gura who were able to move normally through the space.
"What do you see, Calli?" Amelia asked. She was the only human and couldn't see in the dark. Ina didn't count. Her eyes gave off a faint silvery glow in the darkness.
Still, Amelia's other senses took in the surroundings. The gas was nigh intolerable here and made the air feel thick. There was also a dampness in the air. The echoing yet soft chorus of dripping reached her ears.
"It's down there," Calli answered. Amelia heard the reaper shift, probably to point. "You can light your lantern again, Ame. We're alone. The basilisk is sleeping under the lake."
Amelia did not light a single match within this gas-infested cavern. She instead pulled out a flashlight from her satchel and clicked the button. A cone of artificial light gave her just enough to see whatever she pointed the device at. Sure enough, the air shifted around in a thick haze. The gas was thick enough for them to see.
Several yards from them was a large pool of water. It wasn't exactly big enough to be considered a lake but she wasn't going to correct Calli on something like this. The water glistened when she drew the light above it.
"So now what?" Gura asked, pressing her mask closer to her face in hopes it would help against the smell. It didn't. "I can go down there but I can't fight it on my own."
"You are going down there but you're not going to fight it," Amelia tucked the flashlight under her chin and rummaged through her satchel once again. She pulled out another one of her inventions— a glass orb with wires and some magic dust. She handed it to Gura. "See this? This is a bomb. I need you to swim down there, find the basilisk, and plant it under its belly. Then swim back up here as fast as you can. All you have to do to activate it is twist it clockwise until it clicks, then—"
"Like this?" Gura asked… and did exactly what Amelia instructed.
The magic dust liquified and began to foam. The wires began to glow.
They all stared at it for an agonizing second.
"HOT POTATO!" Gura shouted and gave an underhanded toss towards Ina. Perhaps not towards her purposely but more so as a means of getting rid of the bomb immediately.
"I don't want this responsibility!" Ina gasped, fumbled with the bomb to catch it, and ended up slapping it away.
"I'm not legally allowed to handle these things anymore!" Kiara deflected the bomb with a hard hit from her shield.
Amelia dove, dropping her flashlight but catching the bomb in the process. It was heating up enough to sting. Quickly, she released it as high up as she could into the air while sprawled prone. "Calli!"
"YEET!" Calli appeared a few feet above Amelia, spun around in the air, and kicked the bomb towards the lake. It hit the water hard enough to skid once before sinking down below.
Almost immediately after, a thunderous blast nearly deafened them. Water went in every direction and splashed them all despite the distance Calli sent the bomb.
The reaper landed beside Amelia and helped her back onto her feet. "Well. It's awake now."
Amelia stared at the water's chaotic surface for a moment. "And there goes a hundred gold I'm never getting back. Alright. Usual plan then."
The water started to churn more violently. The waves shifted as they could all see something was coming towards them.
"Hit it 'til it dies?" asked Kiara as she drew her sword.
"Hit it 'til it dies!" Amelia said and moved quickly towards the back of the group. She drew out her pocket watch and opened the lid. The sound of ticking was loud enough for all of them to hear.
Calli reached into the open air and grabbed onto her signature scythe that appeared out of thin air. She twirled it around a few times before getting into a ready stance. Kiara joined her at the front, shield raised and sword tip pointing over the top. Ina stood behind the two of them, her grimoir open with magic words glowing with power. And between her and Ina, to assist and defend Amelia, Gura drew her trident from her back and readied herself.
"You gonna kill it this time, Calli?" Kiara asked with a teasing smirk.
"Come on, Kutsotori, you know I can't," groaned the reaper with an edge of tired annoyance.
"Guess I'm getting the final hit bonus. Again."
"Calli, dodge left in five," Amelia announced suddenly. She kept her light pointed at her watch while her eyes flickered between it and the field. "Kiara, no using fire. Ina, Eldritch Blast. Gura, throw your spear NOW!"
The surface of the lake erupted as a large, reptilian quadrapod leapt out. Its greenish-silver scaly hide shimmered with an unnatural sheen. One claw reached out to swipe at the first creature it saw— Calli— while it opened its mouth to spew its bacteria-infested spit.
Commands were obeyed without hesitation. Calli leapt out of the way and brought her scythe around, clipping the monster's jaw in her retreat. A magic circle appeared at Ina's extended hand and a black projectile fired out of the center, striking at the beast's chest. And Gura chucked her trident hard enough for the team's combined attacks to knock it back into the water.
"TRIDENT!" Gura shouted as she gave Amelia a sideways glare. She extended a hand out and her mystical weapon flew out of the lake and back into her hand. "It's not a spear, Watson."
"We've been over this, Gura," Amelia muttered plainly as she checked her watch again. "Spear is quicker to say and you won't let me call it a fork. Even though it is."
"It is not!"
"Focus!" Amelia shouted and looked up. "It's not dead. All we did was piss it off."
"It's circling around!" Calli announced as her head turned to follow what they couldn't see. "Do we change formation?"
"Draw its attention to the land. Only Gura can fight it underwater. Annoy the hell out of it, Calli. Kiara, wait until it's away from the water to attack. Ina, see if you can restrain it."
Once again, her eyes flicked down to her pocket watch.
"It's kind of big but I'll try," Ina responded with slight uncertainty. The pages of her grimoire flipped as her brows furrowed in concentration.
Calli and Kiara both moved away from the water's edge but ran along its shore. Calli's extra senses were able to keep track of the monster and Kiara followed her with utmost trust.
"What should I do?" Gura asked.
"I don't know yet," Amelia answered honestly as she looked up. "Just be ready for anything."
Any further discussion was cut off as the basilisk broke through the water once more, this time several yards away from the group. Calli and Kiara were there to greet it. Calli was a flurry of slashes as she leapt over and around it. Her blade dug deep into its hide and the beast howled and hissed in pain. Yet not a single drop of blood was spilt.
Kiara found her opening and struck while the beast was distracted. She drew a thick red line across its snout.
"Move back!" Amelia barked.
Both frontliners obeyed without hesitation. A spray of disease shot out from the creature's mouth. It hissed and bore its long fangs before charging after Calli.
A greater magic circle appeared beside it. Instead of a dark blast, a tentacle as large as their bodies reached out and grabbed onto one of the basilisk's hind legs. As it charged, it was taken by surprise and fell forwards.
The reaper and phoenix leapt back onto it without pause.
"It looks like it lost its footing," Ina commented.
"...Was that a pun?" Gura's trident was lowered as she took a look of disgust.
Ina considered the question briefly. "No. It would have been funny otherwise."
"Would it really though?"
"It would be Inadequate if not," Ina shot back with a smirk of her own.
Gura could only give her a blank stare.
Amelia snapped her watch shut and ordered, "Gura. Switch places with Ina. I don't want that thing getting too close to her."
"Huh?" Gura blinked and glanced at Amelia. "Oh. Yeah. Sure."
"Humu, humu," Ina nodded a few times before walking backwards. She kept her concentration on her conjuration and kept an eye on the monster.
The monster thrashed around, throwing its body in every direction it could in an attempt to swat Calli and Kiara. They kept harassing it, mostly one at a time and switching when its attention was drawn and sometimes together to confuse it. Scratches were becoming cuts and cuts were quickly becoming wounds. Kiara was able to find the weak spots through their stratagem and teamwork.
Eventually, the basilisk realized there was little it could do to defend itself in its position. It forewent defense in order to divert all its attacks to the octopus tentacle around its leg. Calli drove her scythe through its back, making it momentarily reel with pain. Kiara took the chance to hack off its tail.
Frenzied, the beast chomped down on the tentacle and freed itself. The tentacle flailed wildly before being sucked back into the magic circle in the air. Ina gasped in shock and stumbled back as if she had been physically holding the beast. Amelia caught her by the shoulders easily enough.
"Gura, get in there! Don't let it recover!"
"You got it!" Gura kicked off the ground and practically flew through the air in a single bound. She sped forward and drove her trident into the basilisk. Her assault was joined with the other two mature girls.
"You ready, Ina?" Amelia asked with a cheeky grin.
Ina sighed and flipped to a new page in her book. She raised her hand over the sheets as glowing letters began to form. "You know she's going to be pissed when Kiara finds out."
"You mean if she—"
They vanished without a sound.
In the meantime, Gura, Calli, and Kiara continued to attack the basilisk in their own bloodlust.
"Get rekt son!" cheered Calli as she spun her scythe around like a windmill.
"Urarararara!" Gura stood her ground and stabbed into the beast's exposed side as fast as she could.
"Do you think we can get anything out of the tail?" Kiara asked as she smacked the monster with the front of her shield. She continued while it was dazed, "Maybe make some new equipment? Petrification-resistant armor would be nice. Or sell its saliva glands for—"
"Kiara, move!"
Calli rarely called her by her given name. That, and the reaper's alarming tone, gave Kiara pause. Her instincts went into overdrive. Her senses caught the sound of water shifting. Her head turned and in the corner of her vision… she saw a gaping maw slowly closing over her head.
Inhuman strength pulled her away as a second basilisk leapt out of the water and nearly crushed her skull. Calli had grabbed onto the back of her vest and pulled her away, but also throwing her own body closer to the beast. It kept coming and drove its fangs into Calli's arm as she put it up in defense.
Blood splattered. Calli roared out in pain.
The bigger basilisk lifted Calli off the ground, shook her around like a dog would with a new toy, and then threw her to the ground. Calli grunted but was still able to put up a hand to catch the claw that would have carved into her chest. Her right arm lay limp with blood pouring out through deep puncture wounds. She groaned and cursed as she used her other hand to push against the claw coming down closer to her. She kicked her feet around but couldn't land on the creature holding her down.
"CALLI!" Kiara shouted and ran back towards her. She saw something in the corner of her vision and quickly raised her shield. The beast's tail hit the center with enough force to knock her off her feet. The tumbled through the air, hit the ground, but training and experience had her rolling back onto her feet.
"Why is there a second one?!" Gura shrieked. Though she had wounded the first basilisk heavily, it still had some fight in it. It found its second wind at the sight of its partner and started to attack back. Gura had to deflect multiple claw strikes as she was being driven back. "Ame what do we…?"
She peeked over her shoulder and saw that her other two teammates were nowhere to be seen.
"...A," was all she could say.
"You… You… BITCH!" Kiara roared. She tossed away her shield as she gripped her sword with both hands. Her eyes began to glow and change color. "I'll kill you, you hear me?! How dare you hurt Calli like that!"
She ran forward, this time ducking under the snake-like strike from the basilisk's tail. As it retracted, she leapt up and raised her sword over her head. The basilisk opened its mouth, intending to bite into her. She didn't care.
"Kirikiri!" she bellowed.
Her sword ignited into flames.
The world around them erupted into blinding light.
0-0-0
"Fired?!" Kiara was the first to react. "A-chan that's a terrible pun—"
"It's not a pun, I'm not joking, and don't call me that," the guild master responded in a voice as dry as the Sahara.
I, Amelia Watson, used this moment to sink into the comfortable leather seats. I don't know what they're stuffed with, but they feel sooooo great. It's hard to come by creature comforts like this. A-chan can yell at us all day but I'm just here for the seats.
It really wasn't a surprise that we survived. Well, I knew we all would. I may have had to drag the squishies (Ina and myself) out of harm's way but we survived. Gura is too dumb to die. Calli has some weird respawn mechanics. And Kiara is a phoenix.
It took Kiara a whole day to reincarnate, but, hey, what does it matter?
In the end, we all survived.
"You can't fire us!" Calli's voice snapped me back to consciousness right before I was about to fully doze off. "We have a contract!"
I rubbed my face with both hands and sat up. I was the team leader. I needed to be here. Mentally and physically. God I hate Mondays.
A-chan had said contract on her desk. She picked up, waved it before us, and then tore it in half. And then another half. And another, and another, and another, and… well, she did it in more halves than should have been physically possible. I think seven is the limit? She tore it ten times before tossing them up in the air like confetti.
"We have a copy," I pointed out.
"That was purely for theatrics," A-chan shot me a mean glare that made me shiver. And not in a good way. "Copy or not, you clearly did not read the print. Hololive may terminate the membership of any guild attendee at any given moment, with or without cause, with or without notice. The graduation ceremonies, like with Dame Coco, are purely out of respect. You all follow under what we call… the Rushia Incident."
Yeeow. Wow. Fuck. She did not pull back any punches.
…We don't talk about Rushia.
Were we that bad?!
"B-But!" I sputtered and stood. All eyes were on me. "We killed the basilisk!"
Several heads nodded in perfect sync.
"Yes," A-chan breathed out a hot breath. Still, we had hope… until her eyes sharpened. "While you did eliminate the target, you also caused tremendous collateral damage in the process. You blew off the south-eastern corner of the mountain, wiped out the nomads living on the aforementioned mountain, destroyed the farmlands at the base of the mountain, and opened a gaping wound into the underdark. While it is fortunate the lands had been evacuated prior to your hunt, you still caused insurmountable destruction to the surface and opened a new point of invasion for the Drow slavers."
"Wait," Kiara's voice was shaky. "Nomads? W-We killed—"
"As far as the crown is concerned, no one died," A-chan shot her a blunt look. "Especially tax-paying citizens. Since we can't prove the existence of those without a tax record, the crown can't tack on any further crimes against you. Please understand how hard I'm trying to not have any of you publicly executed."
Yeah. Thank you, A-chan. But I also see through your underlining words. You're also doing this to save your skin. We might be in deep shit but we're still members of your guild. You're just as responsible as we are.
In any case, her words did not calm Kiara at all. The girl was staring off into open space. I doubt she would hear the rest of the discussion henceforth.
"So what does that mean for us?" Calli asked through a strained voice. She had her foot resting on the couch cushion and hand resting over her raised knee. She glared daggers at A-chan. "We're, like, the best team from the guild. We've done a lot of work. We've saved several lives. And you're going to throw us onto the streets?"
A-chan clenched her eyes tightly shut and plopped down onto the chair behind her desk. She took a moment to pinch her brows before sitting up and returning Calli's stare. "You misunderstand popularity with efficiency. With functionality. With success."
I cringed.
She continued, leaning forward and cupping her hands together, "Your scores in the exam were the best I've seen since I've been appointed this territory's adventurer's guild leader. Second came Miss Takanashi, who was welcomed by the capital's archdruid via a letter of introduction. And then we had the sudden arrival of Miss Gura, Miss Ninomae, and Miss Watson; who all accomplished high-ranking quests on their own.
"I thought it a godsend when you all came to the Sword Coast at the same time. A divine beast, a demigod, a creature of folklore, a dark saint, and a girl who knows far too much? How could I not put you all together?! I was also stricken with fear. The last time a colorful group appeared was when Tiamat plotted to reincarnate into the material plane. I thought a similar catastrophe was about to arise!
"I am only slightly disappointed to know I was right. Only slightly. Tiamat coming to enslave us isn't as bad."
You're lucky I don't know who that is, A-chan! I'll probably kick your ass once I learn!
"You have been nothing but slander on the Hololive name!" she went on. Oh. I didn't realize she had more to say. She must have had— "I'm tired of it! Do you have any idea how many times I've had to—" yeah okay. Cut me off. That's nice. And there she goes talking about all the overtime she had to do. Do you know how many times we had to camp out in the wilderness, without indoor plumbing, without sleep, and without showers?! And, jeez, she's still rambling on about herself.
She said something, something, blah, blah, "—missions failed?! Monsters killed but the collateral damage alone set us back beyond the payout! Once was fine. Twice was a setback. Thrice was… a nightmare. But quadi, quince, and sexi?!"
A-chan's rant was broken by the small snickers of Gura. If looks could kill, A-chan would have completely incinerated the humanoid shark.
"I-I'm with Calli on this!" Gura spoke up from her seat. More like she stood on the cushions to be at a respectable level. "You're not being fair, guild leader! We worked hard to kill all the monsters you threw at us! This one included! The thing hid away in a pool of natural gas that was extremely combustible! A single spark would have lit the whole place up! If we didn't blow up the mountain, another adventuring party would have! Why do we have to take the blame?!"
Hey~ Look at Gura. That single brain cell she had is actually working for once! Way to go!
"Yet you were the ones," A-chan said with a heavy glare. "You're always the ones. The other teams don't cause tremendous collateral damage like you do. Please understand what I had to sacrifice in order to keep you all away from the chopping block. You being excommunicated from the guild is a mercy."
Okay. I don't know what to say at this point. Not that I've really been saying anything in all actuality. A-chan is right in her perspective and she has a right to secure her position. I do get that. Really.
But it's not like we're just going to be out of a job after this! This is our life! Our reputation! If we leave with this kind of mark on our record then no one is going to hire us! I don't even think I can get a job working for the local baker! And that's including the fact the owner wants to pawn his son off to me!
And I'm the normal one! Me! The other girls won't survive!
"Isn't there anything we can do to mitigate this?" I asked— no, demanded. I made sure my voice and expression was as hard as stone. "Guild master, you ought to know hunting monsters in their own lairs is dangerous. Lethal, even. Accidents happen and battle is chaotic—"
"I'm going to stop you right there," A-chan cut me off. "We've had this conversation before, Miss Watson. I've accepted whatever asinine excuse you had before and took the blame on my own; but no longer am I in a position to do so. I'm not announcing your excommunication from the guild as a formality. I'm doing so as a courtesy.
"I have been relieved from my duty as guild leader. This will be our final meeting. It is also my last gift to the each of you."
Oh. It seems we've been shouting things at a wall this whole time. And A-chan was patient enough to take it all. There was nothing she could do about either of our positions.
"What's going to happen to you then?" Ina spoke up for the first time. She had been quietly listening with her hands curled up into tight fists on her lap.
"I will be here for another week," A-chan adjusted her glasses. "At least until my replacement arrives. Once they have been inserted into the system, I will be returning home to the countryside. Beyond that is none of your business."
"I'm sorry," Kiara said. Her eyes were glued to the floor.
The room fell silent. A-chan shut her eyes, took another deep breath, and then spoke in a slightly calmer tone. "I've done everything I could for you girls. I would like to give you the reward money for the basilisk, but the money has been taken for damages. Your reputations are tarnished but I've kept you away from a worse punishment.
"I can only wish you the best of luck. If you have need for me, please hesitate to ask."
"...So that's it then?" Gura sank into her seat. "We're getting kicked out?"
A-chan gave a single nod before pointing towards the door behind us.
We all exchanged looks. Most of us were lost on what to do. Kiara… stared at me before quickly averting her gaze. She couldn't look at anyone. She was also the first to get out of her seat and head for the door. Calli sighed heavily and followed after her. After that, the rest of us got up.
"Miss Watson, please stay behind," A-chan spoke up. "As team leader there are some things we need to finalize."
Ina and Gura looked at me, silently questioning if they should stay or not.
"Go on," I waved them off. "I'll meet you guys up at the usual place. Just… try to cheer up Kiara, okay?"
"...She's not the only one that's upset," Gura muttered beneath her breath. Still, she turned and headed out of the door.
Ina looked like she wanted to say something to A-chan, thought about it, and instead bowed at the waist with her hands to her front. Only afterwards did she follow Gura.
I was alone with the Demon Manager of the Sword Coast. I plopped back down on my super comfy leather loveseat. "So~ Whatcha really want to talk about, A-chan?"
She shot me a sharp glare, "Was there truly no better way of dealing with the basilisk?"
I drummed my fingers against the armrest while my other hand played lazily against the surface of my pocket watch. "No. I can't say there was. The reason why it was attacking the local villages was because its mate had laid eggs. We didn't find out until we were at its den. If we didn't destroy the cavern, we would have never found the eggs. They would have hatched and we'd be back at square-one."
If we had more time and more people, we could have come up with a better plan. Our investigation told us there were well over thirty different entrances and exits into the mountain. The guild could not afford to pay enough adventurers to watch every point. We also had to act as soon as we found the nest. The basilisk would have known intruders were within its den and would have relocated immediately. Laying a trap would have been impossible.
I'd like to thank Kronii for reaching the den while it was asleep. I'd also like to curse the petty goddess for waking it up. The battle didn't trigger because Gura was dumb (though she was). Another force intervened beyond my calculations.
I'm not apologizing, Kronii! You hear me?! Never! Live with it and move on already!
A-chan let out a single huff of annoyance. She tapped a finger on her desk in the rhythm of my own drumming. A moment passed and she crossed her arms and leaned back. "Do you believe this justifies your actions? Your team killed innocents."
My drumming stopped as I gripped the armrest. I kept my smile. "We tried to convince them to leave. We even showed them the warrant you gave us. But they were too stubborn to obey. They even knew about the basilisk. They said they would rather die than leave the home they were born in.
"They would have been eaten alive by the hatchlings. Children torn apart limb from limb. At least this way they died without knowing what hit them. Does this justify my decision as team leader? Hardly. I can only pretend it to be a lesser evil.
"I was prepared to live with this on my own. I am sad to be kicked out of Hololive but not surprised. However… I don't appreciate you sharing the casualties to my team. They, at least, were in the dark."
"And that is why the crown can no longer tolerate your habit of destruction," A-chan snapped. "You blind your teammates, point them in a direction, and tell them to kill. They don't know what they're doing. But you do."
"My priorities are my team, the job, and the people we protect. In that order."
We had a long staring contest. It wasn't the first. I lost as my eyes grew dry and I had to blink. A-chan kept staring at me as if the contest was still going.
"If I could prove how you know these things in advance…" A-chan grumbled, "I'd bring you to the crown."
"Trade secret," was my response. I stood, put on my cap, and started to head out. I paused briefly. "Goodbye, A-chan. You were a great manager. I really do mean that."
"Your team was the absolute worst," she shot back. I heard something click from under her desk as her tone shifted. "Statistically speaking, you've saved more lives than anyone else in the guild. No one will very understand or appreciate it. Thank you for everything you've done, Amelia."
I adjusted my hat as I reached for the door. "I'll pretend I didn't hear any of that once the inquisition comes."
I stepped out of her office and crossed through the lobby of the Beregost Adventurer's Guild. Yeah, I know everyone was staring at me. Yeah, I see them whispering about me. And, no, I'm not going to accept your sending stone if you ask! I've told you enough times, guy!
I stormed out of the guild hall (like a boss) and headed down the familiar dirt road.
The town of Beregost was far from remarkable. Most people went around it. It was a small town used as a resting stop for those traveling to and from Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate. There were, like, forty buildings in total here. The temple, the adventurer's guild, and the mayor's tavern were the largest and busiest areas with all others being mom and pop shops.
We'd been here long enough for everyone to know about us. The town was also so small that gossip traveled faster than fire spread. The citizens and travelers looked at me with scorn, shame, or were outright ignoring my existence.
…It didn't help that the town had a clear view of the mountain with a gaping hole as if a god had taken an ice cream scoop out of it.
I ignored it as much as the people were ignoring me.
Moving on. My steps took me towards the only tavern in town, which also tripled as an inn and the mayor's house. I stepped through the door and was welcomed with the scent of sweat and depression. At least there wasn't a bard trying to flirt with any of the barmaids this time.
The bar area itself was rather small as it was half of the house's first floor. There were only two tables, a counter, and a couple chairs spread around. As it was still early in the day, only the mayor's daughter was working the front. There was the local beggar who was taking his time with his cabbage soup (which had probably been there since morning), a group of adventurers who seemed to have come back from a successful mission, and… us.
It was very easy to spot my friends once I arrived as they occupied one of the tables. They didn't seem to notice my entry as they all had their heads down. A small pup rested in Ina's arms with its chin propped onto the corner of her elbow. It noticed me and I saw its nose twitch. But it sensed Ina's mood and wisely chose to keep getting petted by her. I would too if I could.
His name was Bubba. He was a French bulldog and he was a very good boy.
"Hey guys," I announced my presence as I approached. "Everything's been taken care of so, uh, yeah… heheh…"
Just standing here bummed me out. Momma can use some lovin' too, Bubba.
His eyes opened, blinked, and then nuzzled back into Ina's arms.
Traitor!
"Wah!" Ina jerked up when I stepped up to the table. She quickly slouched again. "Oh. Ame. Hi. Sorry, did you say something? I was, um, lost in my own thoughts. Humu, humu."
I watched as her hand mechanically brushed along the back of Bubba's fur. She was completely under his spell.
"So what's the plan now, Watson?" Calli asked dully. Her eyes were focused on the empty mug she balanced on its edge with a few fingers.
I crossed my arms under my bust and thought for a moment. I knew I had Gura and Kiara's eyes on me. "I think… we give ourselves a day to think things over. We're no longer part of the guild. I doubt any others will accept us. We'll need to think of further plans for employment."
Bubba whined as Ina stopped stroking. She looked up at me, "Does… Does this mean we'll have to split up?"
I didn't answer right away. It was a high possibility we would have to. We all came together because of our skill sets. We were good at killing things and even better as a team. We all, somehow, were able to click together. Like Legos!
Having that said, we no longer had the backing of a reputable guild like Hololive. We didn't have equipment management, boarding, a salary, insurance, or, arguably the most important, a lawyer anymore. Without any of these things, going out to fight monsters on our own was a horrible idea.
A-chan lost her job trying to keep us from getting executed. That wasn't a joke or an exaggeration. We did cause tremendous damage to our environment. This wasn't even the first time, either.
"O-Oh…" Ina sagged in her seat when I didn't answer and clutched Bubba close to her chest. My little partner whined for her sake and licked her arm.
"It's not fair," Gura muttered. She had her chin resting against the flat of the table as she looked up through her bangs. "It was an impossible task. We didn't know there were two of them. Every other team in the guild would have been wiped. We beat them! And they're punishing us?!"
"They're punishing us because we did more harm than good," Calli interjected. Her mug fell sideways and rolled until it landed on its handle. "Yeah, we did our best. Yeah, I agree more deaths would have happened if we didn't go. But the fact of the matter is we were just unlucky—"
Kiara slammed a fist onto the table. The entire bar fell silent. Her shoulders shook.
"Luck?" her voice was strained. "Luck has nothing to do with it. I killed those people."
"Kutso… Kiara," Calli sighed. "I told you, you didn't know what—"
"That doesn't make it any better!" she shouted, looking up for the first time with tears threatening to fall. "Ame told me not to use my flame. I should have known! I didn't but I trusted her. And because I lost control, those people died and we're in this situation! It's all my fault!"
I kept quiet. I had known Kiara would lose control and no matter what I did would change that. All I could do at the time was mitigate the damage. I had saved myself and Ina from getting caught in the blast. I don't know how Gura survived but my choices had insured she would.
I knew the blast would kill or at least destroy the mountainside villages. I didn't, however, know it was going to get us thrown out of Hololive.
"Dammit, Kutsotori," Calli growled. She ran a hand through her hair before giving Kiara a fierce look. "Do you remember when we visited their village and tried to get them to leave? I didn't say anything then but… there was nothing we could do. I knew their time was coming. It was inevitable. Why… Why do you think I was waiting for you on the mountain? Did you think I was really waiting there for a full day to clothe your naked ass? I was harvesting their souls."
"What?" I blinked.
"What," Kiara also voiced her concern. She searched through Calli's eyes and found something unsettling. It angered her, "T-Then why didn't you do anything! Aren't you a shinigami or something?"
"My job isn't to determine when they die," she said patiently enough. "My job is to guide them to the afterlife. That's it. I have no control over when or how they die. Besides, I didn't know how they would die. And even if I did and averted it, something else would have killed them to keep the schedule on time. That's just how it works."
Kiara looked down at the table again. She spoke in a quiet voice, "Maybe. But I didn't want to be the one to do it…"
Bubba crawled from Ina's lap and into Kiara's. The lazy dog didn't offer anything aside from its body as it plopped down into her arms. Ina looked reluctant to let him go but didn't try to control him. And Kiara didn't resist him. Soon, she began to rub her fingers against his pelt.
"Wait, you know when things die?" Gura sat up.
"I'm not telling you your death date," Calli stated flatly.
"You know when I'm going to die?!"
"Why else would you ask?!"
"I just wanted to know if you knew the giant snake-dog was going to die!"
Calli shrugged, "Yeah, as soon as I saw it anyways. But, again, I don't know what the cause will be. I had assumed one of us would have done it in."
I didn't know Calli knew they were going to die. She had kept it to herself for the team's morality. I didn't even suspect a thing from her. If what she said was true (and by that I mean making something up to calm Kiara), then it would mean there was truly nothing I could have done to save those people. It doesn't change the fact of what any of us had done, though.
I clapped my hands together to get everyone's attention. "What's done is done. There's nothing we can do about it now. Right now, we need to focus on ourselves. We're out of a job and I, for one, don't intend to split the party just yet. Let's all just get some food, have a rest, and consider our options when we're all feeling better."
No one seemed inspired by my short speech. Gura rested her chin on the table again. Ina wouldn't look me in the eye. And Calli propped and elbow and rested her cheek on her palm.
Kiara took a deep breath, slapped her cheeks a few times, and gave a few shakes of her head. "Ame's right. The world isn't going to wait for us. We can recover from this, guys! Waitress! Can we order some food?"
The mayor's daughter… Sam? Susan? Did it even start with an S? I don't remember her name. The barmaid looked up from where she was reading her book. "Sure. We still have some leftovers from lunch. You'll have to wait for dinner if you want anything else. But before that… It's Monday. You'll need to pay off last week's tab before placing any more orders."
I blinked. Once, twice, thrice.
Shiiiiiiiiit. I hate Mondays!
"Sure," I called out to her with a smile. "Can you give us a moment?"
She nodded and went back to her book.
We all huddled tightly together at the table. Our current depression was all but forgotten as a new catastrophe presented itself before us. All of our heads touched as I began the discussion in a hushed but strained whisper. "Okay. Everyone empty out your pockets. How much do we even have left?"
Ina dropped three pieces of silver. "M-My spell regents are expensive…"
Calli dropped a single silver. "I, uh, had to give those souls my coppers to cross over…"
I dropped a single gold coin. "Okay. This will at least cover a single meal for all of us."
"But not your tab."
The barmaid slipped a note between our huddle and calmly walked away. We all stared down at it. Most of us flinched. I could feel the sweat rolling off of Gura and Calli.
"A dozen plates of spaghetti?" Kiara's voice was dry. "Really, Gura."
"A-At least I didn't buy a bottle of wine a day, CALLI!" Gura snapped back. The reaper didn't respond. "And where's your cut in this, you dumb bird?!"
"My money burned up with me on the mountain!" Kiara hissed. "I don't see you contributing either! Do you even have money?"
Gura opened her mouth.
"You're right," Kiara cut her off quickly. "I'm sorry. Dumb question."
"Hey!"
"Guys," I slammed my palm on the table. Though our voices were low, I'm pretty sure everyone in the tavern could hear us. We all pretended otherwise. "I don't want to spend a night in the streets. Or in jail. We're going to have to pawn off some of our things. What do we have that's of value?"
I looked at Gura… who only had the clothes on her back. Next, Calli's dress was nice and made out of silk. Unfortunately we wouldn't be able to find an immediate buyer out here in the boonies. Maybe if we sold her tiara? What was that thing even made out of?
I had some of my own things. Modern items that couldn't be found in this fantasy land. You'd think a wizard or adventuring party would be gung ho about a flashlight. But, no, they think it's cursed.
There are literal walking, talking robots in the capital and they think a flashlight is black magic?!
Yeah, not many people are interested in things from the twentieth century.
Ina's book could probably fetch a good price to the right buyer. But it was also the source of her magic and, like with Calli, we wouldn't be able to find the right buyer. Even if we pawned it as a wizard's spellbook, that wasn't something just anyone would or could buy at the drop of a hat.
As if reading my thoughts— or just keeping track of my staring, everyone turned towards Kiara.
"No," she said immediately.
"You don't even know what I'm going to—" I began.
"I'm not selling my weapons," she went on. "It's all I have left and they're the only things that can survive my own powers. You even said it was a good investment! Having a single sword and shield was better than having to replace them all the time!"
Before we could say anything else, Nameless Barmaid-S cleared her throat and gave us a flat look. "Do you need more time or would you prefer to have a word with my father?"
Slowly, my clueless, helpless teammates turned towards me. They even gave me puppy-dog eyes! Not the puppy-dog eyes! Don't do that! I don't know what to do! I don't have all the answers! Think for yourselves for once!
Seconds ticked by as my mind raced. Should I seduce the barmaid? Dine and dash? Maybe convince Ina to wash the dishes for a week? I don't have any money at the moment! And we're out of a job with credibility! It's not like I can promise to pay it off later! No one is going to come crashing through that door to offer us a job!
"I have heard Team HoloMyth is present! I've come requesting aid!"
I… Who do I thank for this? Mumei for the creation of recruiters? Baelz for the nuttiness of deus ex machina? Definitely not Kronii, even if it is for the timing.
A tanned man in vibrant red garbs burst through the door with a flourish. He stood at the entrance, posed with both his hands on his hips, and head scanned around the room like a hawk. I knew he had noticed us (the tavern was small enough to see everything from a glance) but made it a show in searching for us.
"That's us," Calli said as she sat up straight. Her posture was stiff as her eyes narrowed. "What can we do for ya, bud?"
The man threw half of his shroud over his shoulder, took lengthy steps towards us, and extended a sealed envelope towards us. "I have traveled far to deliver this message from my master. If the rumors are true and you are indeed creatures of honor, you will come to the aid of my people at once! Know you will be rewarded with glory, treasure, and praise!"
I accepted the letter but kept an eye on the guy. The timing of it all was just… weird. Totally sus. I wasn't the only one as the other girls were watching him closely.
"Didn't you hear?" Then, Gura opened her mouth. "We're fired. You can hire those guys over—"
Calli and Kiara dove over the table to tackle her. Ina used her magic to summon two tentacles to hogtie her.
Still, the man blinked and followed towards where Gura pointed at. We weren't the only ones in the tavern. There was the usual old man beggar who was still working on his soup a tiny sip at a time. And there was the group of four adventurers.
The red adventurer said something in such a thick accent I couldn't understand him.
The blue one became flustered suddenly, "Oh. Crap. Line! What's my line again? It was… Wah!"
The purple adventurer spun his chair around, planted a boot on the seat, and posed like Captain Morgan. "IT'S MAGGIN' TIME!"
The gray and black adventurer rubbed the ridge of his nose and muttered, "We had one line for our cameo and you chose to say that?"
Our attention returned to the mystery man. The entirety of the tavern ignored the argument that quickly erupted by the other adventurers.
"Erm… no," the man said. "I am but a simple messenger. I have come to deliver a message and the message has been received. All the details lay within. Miss Proprietor, accept this on their behalf. See to it they are well fed and rested should they choose to accept the quest."
He didn't wait for our response as he approached the barmaid, handed her a… rather thick bag of coins, and quickly turned on his heels. As quickly as he came, he was out of the door.
So that was a thing.
The barmaid undid the strap and peeked within the coin purse. Her eyes widened before looking back at us. "Um… So. It looks like your tab has been covered. As well as any other expenses you might have with us. Shall I fetch you some food while I prepare your usual rooms?"
"And a bath please!" Kiara leapt at the opportunity.
"The hell with my usual, I want some of that elvish good stuff!" Calli blurted out with a crazed hunger in her eyes.
Gura said something. But it was inaudible as she was still being wrangled by Ina's tentacles. At the same time, Ina gave me a curious glance.
I kept staring at the door. Who the heck was that guy? And who would hire us all out of the blue? I mean, he didn't even stick around to see if we were going to accept the job or not… whatever the job was. We could easily just take the money for ourselves.
"I sent a tako to follow him," Ina whispered.
I nodded in thanks. Hopefully one of Ina's strange friends(?) would give us some insight on the messenger's real intent.
I sat back down and looked at the envelope. The paper was of high quality and the script belonged to someone proper. It had to belong to a noble but… I didn't recognize the wax seal. Then again, it's not like I knew every noble house.
I tore it open and began to read.
Once I was finished, everyone had returned to their seats. The barmaid had laid out some snacks for us and Calli had a crystalline glass of clear liquid. I put the letter down and Gura picked it up. Her eyes squinted and brows creased as she tilted the letter sideways, trying her hardest to read the flowy script.
"So…" Kiara dragged out the word. "What does it say?"
I looked at each of them. Their attention was locked on me. I couldn't help but give an excited smile.
"Tomorrow at dawn, we head west to a land called Barovia!"
Hellooooo everybody! For those who are new, welcome! And for those who are more familiar with my works; it's been a while, hasn't it?
This story is a crossover between Hololive's English branch, Myth, and Dungeons and Dragon's infamous adventure, Curse of Strahd. I fully intend to write this out as a first-person POV, going around in a rotation, just as seen in my Broken Rules story. I sincerely hope to do the stars' personality and thoughts justice.
Though I placed the girls in the world of Faerun/Sword Coast, the entire D&D world doesn't need to be known to read this. If needed, things will be explained. As for the girls themselves, their own backstories and how they came to this world will be explained later down the line.
It was a struggle between picking this adventure and Out of the Abyss as they are the two adventures I know the most. If the girls manage to survive Strahd (and I finish a story for once) I might have them face against the Demon Princes of the Abyss later down the road.
I hope you all enjoy this story and for what's to come. Without further ado, on with the...
Wait. Author's note is at the end this time. Damn. What else can I say... oh yes.
Wah!
