Prologue:
Orario, the Center of the world, the city of legends where dreams came true, and heroes had ballads written in their honour. On a particular night, a bard who wrote these ballads wandered into the city. This was not news in itself; bards, minstrels, performers, and troubadours were always coming in and out of Orario. Some were part of musical Familias, while others were independent, not looking to be tied down. Our intrepid troubadour was the latter kind of performer; this was not for lack of trying, though. He often tried to join a famous familia based on his music, but he was always rejected. He tried his best, though, and that's what really counted.
Tonight though, he was not looking to join a Familia but to study one. The young human bard, who had hair the shade of oak and a complexion to rival an elf, was in the great city to research his newest subjects. It would soon be a year to the day of what people called "The Lover's Quarrel," and the city was on edge. The bard, named Dixen, knew that this was when people would be telling stories about what he wanted to write.
He searched far and wide for the pub he had heard of from the stories. The one where people decided not to fight out of fear. The pub with food with outrageous prices and beautiful, seductive women. Eventually, after asking a couple of questions, he found it. The Hostess of Fertility was bright and cheery, as all great establishments should be. He heard laughter and cheer. Before he had put one foot on the step, he was yanked inside.
"Nyan! What are you doing just standing there, pretty boy?" asked a catgirl with jet black hair.
"Hey, dummy kitty! He's got a big case on his back! I'm detecting that he plays an inyantrument!" replied another cat girl with brown hair.
"That's enough, you dumb cats! We don't have time tonight for your stupidity!" Like that, a human girl grabbed them by the collar and dragged them back inside. The human continued, "Hey Helun, carry these trays to Loki's table, please!"
A ponytail of grey hair swished as a girl fumbled with the many trays she was already carrying, "Luniore! I said to call me Syr! Come on, pleeeeaaassseee!"
All four must be waitresses, not just because they were carrying food, but only waitresses would wear such cute uniforms! Dixen could not get enough of the alluring legs hidden beneath the tights of these beautiful women. Not to mention the short length of their aprons and dresses. Whoever had designed these outfits had an eye for what people wanted. He was so entranced by the uniforms that he hadn't taken another step inside. So, it was no surprise when he was pushed inside. Since the culprit was an adventurer, it was also no surprise that he rocketed forward and crashed into a table, spilling beer and food.
"Really, you dumb wolf! You couldn't have been just a little bit more careful!" cried out a feminine voice. Dixen was lifted from the table and was face to…well, chest…with an incredible bust. He lifted his head to be met with the gaze of a beautiful amazon with long braided hair.
"Hey, hey, sorry about that, mister! Our dumb wolf didn't mean anything, promise!" He was set back on his feet by what must be the sister of one who had lifted him from the table. Maybe she was the younger sister? She was certainly a lot less developed than the other.
"Not my fault that the trash was just standing there!"
A silver-haired wolfman sauntered up to the table. The wolf clicked his teeth while he looked down at Dixen. Meanwhile, the bard got a good look at the rest of the table. There were two elves, one with jade green hair, the other obviously still not much older than a child. There was a large dwarf with a large beard, but what dwarf didn't have a beard?
Sitting next to them was what Dixen first thought was a child but was actually a blonde prum. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. The last two caught Dixen's eye, though. One was obviously a goddess, with crimson hair and slanted eyes. The last was a young doll-like woman with blonde hair and golden eyes. She seemed utterly disinterested in her surroundings.
As the rest of the table jumped on the werewolf, bar the doll, the prum walked over to apologize. Dixen returned the apology, and then the prum held out his hand.
"My name is Finn Diemme; it is a pleasure to meet you," said Finn, holding out a tiny prum hand.
"Dixen Trebule, please don't call me Dix," and then the lightbulb clicked, "Wait, the Finn Diemme? The Braver, captain of the Loki Familia? The greatest strategist in the world?"
Finn nodded, "That's correct. Anything I can do to make up for our adventurers' behaviour? Perhaps I can buy you a drink?"
"Actually, if you are who I think you are, and if they are to," Dixen waved his hand to the rest of the table, "Perhaps I should be buying you the drink."
"Ha, ha! I'll never say no to a free drink, lad!" said the dwarf. Dixen figured he was probably the famous Elgarm, Gareth.
Dixen nodded, motioned for a round from a passing waitress, and sat down. Dixen could feel his legs knocking against the table. These were the people he needed!
As drinks appeared and coins were exchanged, everyone settled in. Most eyed Dixen with varying levels of curiosity. The only one not paying attention was the sword princess, Ais Wallenstein.
"So, I appreciate the drink, but to get to the point…what do you want with my children?" asked Loki, her eyes much too piercing.
"Information."
"What are you some kind of spy?" asked Tione, "If you're looking for anything on the captain, I'll gut you!"
Dixen could feel the heat of her gaze. Before he could answer, the jade elf spoke up. She must be the Nine Hells, Riveria.
"He's a musician," she said, giving a soft kick to his lute case, "No offence, sir, but if you're here to try and write another song about us, please stop. You won't be getting anything from any of us."
The table grew suddenly disinterested by the traveller. Most ignored him, hoping he would go away on his own. Dixen regained their attention by shaking his head and waving his arms.
"Not at all! I was hoping you could tell me about some other adventurers you might know!"
Now it was Finn's turn to respond, his lips curling into a half-smile, "Perhaps, it depends on the adventurer and familia, you know? We're not gonna sell out our friends."
Dixen looked around to make sure no one was listening before leaning in to whisper. The rest of the Loki Familia executives followed suit.
"I was hoping you could tell me about Hestia Familia."
Dixen was not used to Orario yet. Many people in the city were seasoned adventurers with enhanced senses. That meant that as soon as the name Hestia left his lips, the whole bar heard it. Everyone stopped talking, and most people were staring at Loki's table. Dixen didn't notice any of that, though. He was too busy dying from fear. The Sword Princess heard something she found fascinating and was staring a hole into the bard's head. She spoke for the first time that night.
"Why?"
A single small word that might have been shouted for all Dixen cared. He looked for backup, but Finn just jerked his head and said, "Answer Ais's question Dix."
Dixen felt himself shrink into his seat, "Well…I was writing a whole series of songs and ballads about them, and when I met them a month back, they said if I really wanted to know…I should come here. I knew they were sarcastic, but I just thought…" He trailed off as the silence continued. The sword princess had narrowed her eyes, but the first to speak was the other Amazon, Tiona.
"Hey, hey, you saw Mister Argonaut! How was he doing?" She was smiling, of course, before Tione bonked her on the head.
"Shut it, you idiot," she turned to the rest of the bar, "And you lot can mind your own business."
The patrons returned to their drinks, but the waitresses were not so easily deterred. Among the newest members of Hestia Familia was a certain blonde elven warrior. She had left after the mess of 'The Lovers Quarrel' to find her Goddess. Her goal was to help the boy she loved, and she needed to find her Goddess to do that. That did not mean that her second family wasn't worried about her. Before the collected waitresses could voice their displeasure, the one voice that no one ignored in this bar spoke up.
"Loki, I'm gonna hear about what that boy has to say, or your familia isn't ever coming back, you understand me?"
Loki waved her off and nodded, all the while she was dragging Dixen off by the collar of his jacket. As Loki Familia walked outside, Loki gestured for Bete.
"Get Phai-Phai will you, Bete? I have a feeling she's gonna want to hear about this."
Bete tsk-ed, his teeth, grunted a fine and started running off to the Hephaistos Familia home. The rest of Loki Familia marched off. Dixen realized resistance was futile when the Sword Princess grabbed her sword after he scratched his nose. Tiona kept asking him questions, but he was told to ignore her by the other scary twin.
When they had finally reached their home, Bete had already returned. Hephaistos was standing there, hand on her hip and her one good eye focused on the poor bard swept up in circumstances beyond his control. Her captain, Tsubaki, stood next to her.
"We're going to be waiting on a couple more," Hephaistos said, "I've sent for Miach and Take. And that girl from the guild."
Loki grunted in acceptance before telling the guards to let up the other visitors. The group climbed up the Twilight Manor towers, all the way to Loki's personal office. Everyone took up seats on couches and chairs, and Loki sat on the desk. Dixen was brought to his knees on the floor and was held there by Tione. Tsubaki leaned forward.
"So, bard, how's my adorably annoying junior brat doing?" she asked.
Before Dixen could answer, Hephaistos spoke up.
"Don't answer her. Tsubaki, I'm only gonna want to hear all of this once. Leave the child alone and wait for everyone else."
After that, the room sat in awkward silence for ten minutes. Ten minutes of agonizing boredom almost caused Tiona to break a wall. Finally, they got a knock on the door. Their guests were coming up. They could hear Raul freaking out outside as he let their guests up and inside. Finally, the door was thrown open, and Takemikazuchi marched in, followed by Ouka, Chigusa, Miach, Nahza, and Eina. Loki took note of all the people listening.
"Where is she?"
Funny enough, the war god was on the warpath. Though he was barefoot, and his clothes were obviously threadbare, none could deny the intense aura he gave off. Take located the young bard on the floor quickly and quickly grabbed him by the collar.
"My daughter, how is she?" He demanded. At Dixen's confused face, he continued, "Mikoto, the samurai, is she ok?"
Dixen almost broke his neck with how fast he nodded. As the blood drained from the bard's face, Miach grabbed Take by the shoulder. The war god started to breathe slowly and lean away. Miach took his turn to give a gentle smile to the assembled room, which happened to be quite crowded now.
"I believe we are all here for the same reason. People we know and care about went missing, and now we know about someone who knows about them. I believe the only thing for us to do is listen now to his story, yes?" Miach spoke to the whole room. When the room gave words of assent, Dixen swallowed, his throat bobbing, before he started his story.
"Well, I was wandering in the north, hoping to catch a story about the Dragon Valley, when I stopped in a small town for the night. Towns like this don't often have blacksmiths, right? So, when I heard the sound of a hammer pounding, I was curious, to say the least," that part of the story got a smile from the two blacksmiths in the room, "While searching, I came across the most beautiful renard girl carrying a bag of food. I asked her about the hammer, and she smiled and told me that it was her Familia." Takemikazuchi Familia shared warm grins.
"She led me to the outskirts of town where a small Familia was gathered around some covered carts," Dixen paused as Finn raised his hand. Dixen nodded.
"How many were there, including the Renard?" asked the prum captain.
"There was the goddess, five humans, a prum, an elf, a half-elf, and the renard," Dixen replied. Everyone did a mental tally. They noticed that there were three more members than there were a year ago. That was interesting…
"What happened next?" asked Miach. There would be time to focus on the recruits later. It was unfair to say, but the focus needed to be on the people they knew. They needed to understand how their friends were doing.
"Well, they seemed like an interesting group, so I asked them about who they were, and then I asked them what they had been up to. They told me about Orario, their adventures in the city, why they left," Dixen continued. He stopped when everyone else in the room flinched. Some looked away, some grit their teeth, and some seemed terribly sad. It was apparent that whatever had happened had affected them all deeply. Dixen decided that it was best not to ask questions about it.
"Next, I tried asking them about what they were doing in a small town in the middle of nowhere, but they just said that they've been on an adventure." Again, small smiles on everyone's faces, "after that, I asked them for more stories, but they told me to come here. They kept insisting that they didn't have any more stories that they could tell. They just said to look for Loki and Hephaistos. They told me to look for the Hostess of Fertility. I did what they told me, and now, here I am. I gotta say, though, they're just like the songs make them out to be," Dixen finished, a wistful look on his face.
Tiona tilted her head, "Songs, what songs?"
Dixen looked around the room, "You mean you haven't heard the songs yet?"
The room shook their heads.
"Ever Burning Love?"
Tsubaki laughed, Hephaistos blushed, and the rest of the room shook their heads.
"Ballad of the Fox and Crow?"
More head shakes.
"The Tale of the Tiny Tyrant?"
That was a negative from the room.
"The Sword of Justice?"
No one had heard of it.
"A Beautiful Hearth?"
That one made Loki growl out a no.
"The Ruby Ghost? Lost Love of a Banshee? Bouncing Bunny's Dream of a Princess?"
They hadn't heard of any of those songs. Although those last three titles were definitely telling on who the songs were about. In fact, every song was clear on its subject. If these songs told them anything about what had happened, they wanted to hear them.
Eina spoke up for the first time that night, "Were there any others?"
"Songs? A collection of them, but those were the most famous. I mean there's, Enchanting Seductress and Lost Knife…wait! There was one other famous song. People are saying that it's going to be the new epic," Dixen got lost in thought. Before anyone could get him talking, he started humming. Then he started singing.
"Hark, follow the well-worn tracks,
Seek out when in need of aid,
Spot the large, overstuffed packs,
They require nothing paid.
Wandering familia,
Strength of mind and strength of heart,
Hestia Familia,
Heroes who help from the start."
Dixen blushed when he caught everyone staring at him, "Obviously, it needs some work…but it really starts to pick up through the middle. Apparently, the Familias of the muses is hard at work refining it."
"Who wrote it?" asked Eina.
"No one knows; some people say it just sort started coming together one day when a crowd of adventurers got really drunk at a bar," replied Dixen.
That got some snickers from the cynically minded members of the crowd. When it died down, Miach spoke up, asking the question on many people's minds.
"Would you mind singing some of them for us?" he asked.
Dixen nodded, and the next hours passed pleasantly. Some songs made them laugh; some made them cry. A certain goddess of the forge definitely started blushing at one point. The songs ranged from drinking songs about a fox and a crow to marching songs about a prum to ballads about a smith longing for a lost love. It was a good night, where people laughed more than they had for many months before. Eventually, Dixen's throat grew sore, and he went to find an inn to stay at. After he left, the assembled Familias sat together. There was much to discuss.
"They're still out there then…" Takemikazuchi started.
"Yes, my Lord, they are, and they sound healthy too," added Chigusa. Ouka nodded, the tension he had been carrying for months easing from his shoulders.
"Not only healthy but stronger and with more allies. I'm curious as to who they could have recruited…" added Finn.
"It was a half-elf, a far-eastern boy, and a far-eastern girl, right?" asked Lefiya.
Riveria nodded. They were all quiet for a while. The only one who hadn't spoken all evening, besides one word, was the Sword Princess. Her mind had been on a downward slant since the fateful events of a year ago. She still remembered the look of betrayal on Bell's face when she turned away from him. Nothing could make her feel better; She had been so worried and depressed. The rest of the Familia had picked up on it, with the higher-ups worrying about her mental state.
Meanwhile, her closest friends had been knocking their heads together for weeks on what to do about it. Finally, though, she felt something stir inside of her. Her bunny was alive and well, and hopefully, he'd be coming home soon…
"Well, that's enough of that. Not like speculation will do us any good!" declared Tsubaki. She rose from her chair, "If they come home, they do, nothing we can do about it, except be ready to welcome them home."
Hephaistos nodded with her captain, rising from her chair. The two departed, followed by Miach Familia. Nahza waved goodbye with a droopy grin and a half-swish of her tail.
Ouka reminded his God of his early morning shift tomorrow. Takemikazuchi despaired then for all the potato puffs he would have to sell. He nodded to Loki before leaving with his familia.
All that left was Loki Familia and the guild receptionist. Eina had been quiet since hearing of Bell's whereabouts. Part of her was relieved that he was still alive, another part missed him terribly, and a third part was so unbelievably angry that he hadn't come back yet! As these parts of her subconscious warred within her, she was unaware of Lady Riveria helping her to her feet. She registered in a vague way that Lady Riveria was going to escort her home. Having Lady Riveria do anything to help her would be taboo under normal circumstances, but these were obviously no ordinary circumstances. Stupid Bell and his stupid adventures! He was supposed to know better! Adventurers don't adventure!
After she had left, the last of Loki Familia gathered around. They wanted to talk about what they had heard, but no one knew what to say. Finally, Tiona decided that silence was dull and painful. It is better to speak now and sound stupid because…well, everybody already thought that anyway, so who cares?
"I gotta say, I'm relieved Mr. Argonaut is ok! I mean, I do still feel pretty bad about what happened," she trailed off, unaware of how to continue.
"We couldn't have intervened, and you know it! We gotta protect our familia first and foremost, right Captain?" Argued Tione.
Bete followed with a tsk, "We can say that all we want. We didn't step in because we were afraid of showing everyone how weak we were. Those Xenos things were stronger than us that day. The only Familia weaker than us was Hermes Familia."
Tione whipped her head to the werewolf, "You wanna call the Captain weak again, wolf-boy?"
"Quiet, you two," rumbled the voice of Gareth, "What do you say, Finn? How's that thumb of yours doing?"
Finn had spent the last hour staring at this thumb. He didn't look up as he answered, "It's been trembling ever since we met that bard. Whatever happens next…I think it starts with Hestia Familia coming home."
"Do you really think so, Finn?"
Everyone was shocked. There was more emotion in Ais's voice than there had been for a year. There was sadness, some guilt, and maybe just a little bit of desperation mixed in.
Finn nodded, "If they do, though, I want you to hold off, Ais. We need to get the lay of the land first," he could feel Ais glaring at him, "I want to help Bell Cranel to, but I want to do it right. I don't want any surprise favours called in."
There it was…the elephant in the room. The younger members were all shocked that Finn had even brought it up. Ais frowned; her lip was…trembling? That never happened! She excused herself to her room without another word.
"Oi, Finn! That was a little harsh," asked Tiona.
Gareth shook his head, "No two ways about it, Lass. Ais made a grave mistake. Owing Freya a favour, that's an act of stupidity yet matched, and Ais is gonna have to learn to live with the consequences and the guilt."
"Ok!"
Loki clapped her hands together, "I think it's time for bed, you lot! Before you go, Lefiya, I want you to head to the Hostess of Fertility and tell Mamma about what happened. Oh! Also!" Loki turned to her window, "You can tell your boss the shows over!"
There was an eep from outside and the trees rustled. The executives dashed to jump out the window, but Loki called them off.
"It's just Hermes's kids. No need to worry; I knew they were there the whole time. They didn't hear anything important. Besides, that rat bastard would have heard it later anyway. Listen up, you lot, it's like Tsubaki said! There's nothing to be done, for now, so head off to snooze land! I'll come and tuck you, ladies, in later!"
With that, the Loki Familia retired for the night.