It's a tiny bit early, but happy new year. :)

Chapter 12

The night passed without alarm. I didn't know what to expect from the city, but this wasn't Orario, and the 'laws' were a little more wild here. That was fine. I had a few little foxes keeping watch while Hagane curled up near the little fire pit we'd made. Even if the big metal cat did sleep, his 'eyes' were never closed, and that alone deterred most predators.

My internal clock was still running on time, and I'd gotten out of my bunk at what should be the break of dawn. To my surprise, our little helper Amani was already out of her cot. Even with the beating she took right before bed, she'd managed to wake up before even me. Not only that, she didn't even wake me up.

But after a second or two of looking through my little sentry foxes eyes, I spotted her coming back from one of the little stone huts where the nearest well was located. So, I applied a little bug repellent, got my equipment on, and left the wagon. Of course, everyone else was part way through doing this by the time I'd left.

"Amani." I greeted as I stepped out, "Thanks for getting water."

She had a pair of buckets on either end of a pole resting across her shoulders. Kneeling down, she set the buckets down and said, "It's the youngest's job to gather water in the morning. Down here, there isn't much competition for a well, but up there, there is. And the rest of the Room gets grumpy if you're late with the morning's water."

"Understandable." I nodded, "I'll get something to throw into the soup pot, fill it about a third of the way?"

By the time I'd gotten some soup started and some flat bread baking on a flat stone next to the fire, everyone had filed out of the wagon. From there, it was basically 'morning stuff' for the next half hour. All the while, I could tell Amani was... restless? Yes. She had an odd nervous energy about her, like she thought she was supposed to be doing something, but didn't know what.

"Why so nervous?" Maki asked, most familiar with the 'nervous energy' considering her past.

"I'm not nervous!" Amani said sharply, "Just... we usually spar first, then eat. If we do well, we eat more..."

"You work for me. So you eat when we all do." Hagane rumbled, "Someone has to eat my share."

"You... don't eat?" Amani asked.

Hagane's hydraulic maw opened up, then clanked shut, "I bite, but never swallow."

Amani flinched at the noise, but then gave Hagane's metal head a pat. "If it makes you feel better, we'll do a little warming up after we eat." Aisha gave the girl's short sandy hair a ruffle.

She nodded, then looked to Shinkage, "Good! I want a rematch!"

"No you don't." She replied with a yawn, "You want to fight me until you win."

"We'll teach you how we spar back in Orario." Maki said, "And maybe you'll be able to show them who's boss when your job's done."

Amani was doubtful. Understandable. From what Aisha told me, and what I've picked up, the Amazon practised the 'way of domination'. No, not that kind (though it certainly translated in that direction...). More like what Shinkage had done before she'd become Shinkage. Ddraig was the 'Dragon of Domination'. Strong enough to win through sheer brute force. Overwhelming power. Might makes right because you're all too weak to stop me! That kind of thing.

But with the huge disparity of power levels back home, from level two to level seven, I would basically always win. And if not me? Bell. So, we toned it down. The stronger of the two would lower themselves to their opponent's level, and compete with skill.

Of course, we needed to teach our part timer another 'lesson' to get this point through to her...

"Why aren't you fighting seriously?!" She shouted at me as I tapped her spear point aside, but only gave her shoulder a nudge with my other hand to throw her off balance. She caught her balance again, just enough to stop herself from falling down, and tried a backhand sweep with her spear,

I caught the shaft on my shin, crouched, and used my other foot to hook her forward leg out from under her, putting her on her rear. "If it's just about power all the time, you'll never learn skill." I replied, waiting until she got up.

"If I don't fight someone stronger, I'll never get stronger myself!" She countered, thrusting her spear at my face, stopping part way then trying for real at my gut.

I was a little hesitant to do something like Shinkage had done, and just smite her with a hopelessly powerful attack or something. So I let the point of her spear tap off my side, then hopped backwards, "Stop. Where did you learn that?"

Confused, she stood down, brought her weapon back into both hands and said, "I was told to stop being so direct all the time. So I tried feinting instead?"

"And you just used that against a stronger opponent, managing to strike them even though you are weaker." Ryuu said from the sidelines.

"So? It's a normal technique. What's the big deal?" Amani was really flustered now, trying to figure us out.

"When two strong people fight, the most skilled will win." Aisha said, "So, we fight at the same strength, and use skill to win. It was weird for me too, at first." Aisha added, though I couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or not, considering she'd fit right in the instant she joined us at the Manor. "Show her Fox."

"Do I gotta?" I asked with a smile, "Ready up Amani." I said seriously.

Since she understood fighting far more than combat theory, she got ready without hesitation.

So, I let out a little of my aura, my tails flicking back and forth as I let them get involved, and then said, "So, now that I've beaten you, what exactly are you learning?"

A pause, then a look of strain on Amani's face, "Wait... I can't... what did you do?!"

"I dunno. What DID I do?" I replied, "What ever it is, you can't do anything about it. So, you didn't learn anything, you didn't improve, and you didn't get stronger." Against a level two, my 'solid aura' effect was more than enough to lock a single person in place. "This is why we train the way we do."

I let the effect go slowly, and she relaxed a little, "That wasn't fair!"

"That's the point." Maki said, "If all she did was use her full power at home, there would be no point in her fighting at all. So, she trains without her full power, and builds skill instead."

"So if she meets someone as strong as her, she will have the skill to bridge the gap, and overcome them." Shinkage said, "Would you like that rematch now, or can we go about what we're actually here for?"

"If you're the strongest in your Room, then you need to test yourself against the Leader of another Room." Amani said.

Everyone looked at me, and I shrugged, "And who do you fight when you are the strongest?"

That stumped our part timer. "But..."

"And how does someone beat the Strongest, when they are weaker than they are?"

She reminded me so much of my own children. Coming to a realization that seemed to shake her right to her very core. "With... skill?"

"Exactly." We all replied.

"In the mean time though... You live in Orario right? If you're so strong, why not ask to fight Ottar?"

The question was asked with pure innocence, but I couldn't bring myself to lie to her. So, I kept silent. Aisha however answered for me, "She already did."

I gave Aisha a dirty look, but she only winked at me. "You fought Ottar? No way!" Amani looked at me, "There's no way!"

I shrugged figuring there was no way out of it now, "Kodori Haruhime, Hestia Familia, level seven and unofficially the Queen of Orario." Then to Aisha, "If I didn't know you'd like it, I'd spank you."

"Promises promises." She winked back at me.

"I think she short circuited." Maki said, walking over and poking Amani in the cheek, "Yup, no reaction."

"While we wait for her to reboot, let's clean up and get ready for our tour." I sighed.

Oddly enough, out Amazon helper didn't freak out or anything after she snapped out of it. By the time she did however, we were all set to find the man who they found in the jungle, and now with work to do, she had something else to focus on.

"Don't let the place burn while we're gone." I told Maki and Hagane, "And if the Crone comes by..."

"Feed her and check how she's healing." Hagane answered.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Amani asked the metal cat, getting one last headpat in before we left.

"I am far too heavy for your rope and wood mechanisms. And someone has to stay behind with Maki."

"I got a firm enough grip on local trade yesterday I think." Maki nodded, "Don't worry about the store. And someone with actual hands has to stay behind."

"Okay." Amani sighed, "This way then!"

Most people would consider this part of the day to be 'after breakfast'. The gloom cast over the 'ground level' of the city was only catching diffused light from the highest terraces above, and gave the place a feeling of 'should still be in bed'. However, the area by the gate was positively crammed with Amazon. Some were leaving through the gate itself, giving glares to their rival Rooms. Some were climbing ladders to the 'guard rooms' that had been carved into the wall, probably looking to jump out that way. I could see, way off down the street, another gate as well, similarly crammed with Amazon.

"Wow. That's a lot of people trying to get out." I commented.

"That other entrance down there." Ryuu asked, pointing. "Where does that go?"

"That leads around to the ocean on the other side of the crag, the salt bogs too." Amani said, "There's another gate past where you have your wagon, but that leads to the mines under the crag."

"Ah, I remember the bog." Aisha sighed, "When the tide comes in, it fills up a small lake. It's all salt water though, and nothing drains into it from inland. So it's just a salty tide pool."

"What lives in it?" Shinkage asked, "Probably something deadly, like everything else around here..."

"Well, you're not wrong." Aisha laughed, "Hey kiddo, ever step on an urchin?"

Amani shook her head, "Nope! I was careful. More careful than one of the other younglings at least..."

The rest of us didn't reply, figuring that we didn't want to know how that little accident went. "Mines?" I applied my skill of topic change, "Thought there wasn't any metal in here?"

"I don't really know." Amani shrugged, "That kind of work is for the men."

"Too bad sister you'll have to ask someone else." Ryuu 'fu fu'ed as I pouted.

"Speaking of men." Aisha said with a smile, "Think Brisid managed to get his 'owner's attention?"

We stood well out of the way of the Amazon trying to leave the city, making sure not to get in the way. Since only Aisha and Amani were dressed like Amazon, we did kind of stand out. I considered calling out, or maybe asking to just start walking up the stairs cut into the terraces. But it wasn't my city, or my call. So, I passed the time with a question.

"How does one usually negotiate for a man?"

Aisha laughed, Ryuu hid her smile behind her hand, and Shinkage gave me a raised eyebrow. I ignored the peanut gallery though, and looked at Amani for my answer. "Well, there's trade, either for another man, or something the Room needs more than new members." Amani's reply was serious, not like those silly party members of mine. "If you don't want to trade, there's always combat, or if you want to make a show of it, a duel in the arena."

"You could just leave him here Fox." Aisha said.

I frowned, not at the 'second opinion' on the plan, because yes, we could leave him here. So long as he worked... But he had no Falna and unless a God other than Kali came by, he'd never get it. This would doom him to a much shorter life of hard labour and potentially death by snu-snu. "No, he's probably got family elsewhere, and didn't exactly choose to end up here."

"Well, unless someone finds us to bring us to him, we might never find him." Aisha said.

"It is at this point she usually starts asking questions." Shinkage said, "Cracking her knuckles while she does so."

"You know it's bad when the least motivated of us starts suggesting extra effort." I sighed, "Who would I even ask?"

"You could ask whomever went out to the deep badlands last?" Amani offered, "I've never been out of sight of the wall so, no not me."

"And not Brisid either, right?" She shook her head, "Well, you do know about her latest mission to Orario, right?"

"Yes! I wish I could have gone, but..."

"Who gave her the mission?" Ryuu asked before I could.

"Oh! We could ask them, yeah!" Amani nodded, "I think I remember where they lived..."

It took a few tries, nearly started a fight, DID start a fight, and almost got Ryuu stabbed. But we finally narrowed it down to 'somewhere half way up on the right side'. That mass exodus through the city gates was like some kind of savage food line or something...

So, with the press of bodies thinning out, we started up the Crag. Some of the lower terraces were kind of nice. Some of them even had very small gardens or the like, signs of 'civilized habitation'. I know I know, a bit crass of me to say it, but wow these Amazon... I thought I was utilitarian. But they'd taken function over form to an entirely new level.

All of the terraces were marked VERY clearly as well. Some with 'heads on pikes' (monster skulls not people skulls), others with lines carved into the stone. Occasionally that line would be filled with paint, or blood as well. Most of them had a guard or two, some of them even had a man. But they were never idle. Cleaning, tending small food gardens, hauling water, stitching together cloth, treating hides, smoking meat. It really was like a village, except compressed into flat shelves of rock that were sometimes hardly big enough for the Yurt they put there.

Our little group got no end of dirty looks as well. No one outright challenged us, but I suspected that was because of Amani, and Aisha. One was young enough that 'guard duty' was all that was expected of her, and the other was openly wearing the rune carved bone sword. More than once though the guards of some of these terraces would very clearly tell us to keep our eyes to ourselves.

One thing I did notice though was that even with all this super spartan living, and the lack of 'modern' construction, that it was still clean. Even with the humidity (less now that we were going up a mostly rock city), the lack of piping and sewers, and various other things that this kind of cramped living would entail... There were very few insects, there was very little 'smell', and there was very little garbage.

"You know..." I started as we traversed another roughly carved stairway, "It's been bugging me for years now..."

"You should get that looked at then." Amani commented, clapping her hand over her mouth and shying away from me as she realized what she just said.

Everyone else just chuckled, though Aisha laughed like she'd been drinking, "That was a good one!" One hair ruffle followed, and we continued up the steps, "What exactly Fox?"

"I know I'm not the most worldly here. But I've yet to see a really dirty place. Even the worst parts of Orario are reasonably clean." I said, "Ask Ryuu, some places back where I'm from are... bad."

Ryuu nodded, "It was a place of wonder, but at the cost of the world around them."

Shinkage, the most experienced with 'historical advancement', agreed with me, "Their are many inconsistencies in how things work here." She looked up to me, and we shared a nod, "For example, a place like this, with the cramped living, would cause many problems when it came to cleanliness and sickness."

Ryuu answered this one, "Adventurers are much tougher than a civilian. That alone will stop the spread of most sicknesses. But the first lesson the Gods taught us when they descended, was Cleanliness is close to Godliness."

A memory of Hestia saying, with as much of her kitten determination as I'd ever heard from her, "Hygiene is important!"

Huh. "This must be the only place in all the realms where the Gods first lesson is 'Brush your teeth'." I laughed, "Okay then." I filed that away under 'mental lint', "Are we there yet?" I asked.

Shinkage smirked, but Amani (very seriously) said, "One or two more levels."

"Halt!" One level apparently. At the top of the steps we were on stood yet another fine example of Amazon construction. Instead of a spear though, she had a sword, made of actual metal too! It was only a mildly oversized falchion, but the fact it was made of metal (and being held at the ready) made it stand out almost as much as the woman holding it.

Our little guide replied with a, "I am taking them to see the Room that scouted the deep jungle crags, under the orders of Brisid."

"And that they want to take our acquisition away too." She replied, "We like him, so that's not happening."

Amani looked back to us, since her 'authority' here was basically nonexistent past that of guide. Aisha, our next in line spoke up, "We are here to deal with what you found. And we're prepared to trade for him if we have to."

"And treat his wounds, since last we heard he wasn't doing well." I said.

"Fine. I've been given permission to speak of what we found. But not to trade." She moved her sword to a more casual position, but didn't put it away. "Who am I talking to?"

"Aisha, Ryuu, Shinkage, Kodori." Aisha introduced us in order of lineup.

She pointed her thumb at her chest, "Arsala. This way."

She walked behind us, probably to try and keep us out of trouble, but well, we just let her think she was. We walked past a stone hut, a Well house, and onto a reasonably sized terrace. It still only had one Yurt, but also a garden that was almost the same footprint as the Yurt itself. This alone made it anywhere between half again to twice as large as any of the terrace we'd passed so far. They were a 'high standing' Room it seemed.

Once on the property, Arsala shouldered her way past us and took up the lead position, "They're here!"

Two more Amazon stepped out of the Yurt, and they also had metal weapons. Oddly enough, they were also swords, not spears. "That man must be important if they're here already." One said.

"Too bad he's already exhausted." The other laughed.

"At least he's still alive." Shinkage mumbled, just loud enough for me to hear.

"What do we do first?" I asked Aisha.

"Tell us about what you found." Aisha said, "We came all the way from Orario to fix it, we should at least know what we're dealing with."

The three of them looked at each other, shrugged, then motioned us over, closer to the Yurt and away from their terrace 'borders'. "Sister." Arsala looked to Aisha, "Have you told them about our hunting patterns?"

"A little. Not really relevant in Orario." Aisha replied with a shrug.

"Fine. We have a pattern that we follow year round. Part of our strength is owed to the jungle around us, and without it, we'd never be a rival to Orario's strength." Arsala explained, "So we go by season. Our hunters bring back the ones who can't get away, and leave the young. This year was different."

"Something was missing, I'm guessing?" I asked.

"Yes." She nodded, "Some of the things we hunt are hunted by more than just us. The largest, most brutal of monsters are left alone. Not just because it would cost too much to bring them down, let alone carry them back, but they spawn the largest monsters we do hunt."

"We don't waste anything from our kills. If we can't bring it all back, we don't hunt it. Like those snakes you carted in with you." One of Arsala's roommates said.

"They wanted us for dinner, but we had the forks ready." Aisha laughed, "So the great matriarchs?"

"Yes. The great beasts that roamed the jungle crags are gone. They didn't chase the prey our way this season, so we went to look for the reason. In their usual nesting grounds, we found a building." Arsala looked to her left, and that roommate went back into the Yurt. A moment later she returned with a rolled up bit of leather.

She unrolled it, and yes, it was exactly what I didn't want. A big Greek/Roman structure, like a temple with a huge open front. "Right." Aisha nodded, already aware of what it was, since I did share all that back at the Manor. "What about the Man?"

"We found him, mostly delirious but still alive, about half way on the way back to Telskyura." Arsala said, "He'd been wounded, bitten by at least one snake, and his water container was empty. He had no weapons save a knife, and his only armour was an odd helmet and a strange tightly woven harness with many pockets. Oh, and boots. But our leader is wearing those." Again, a look to her side, and a retreat into the Yurt.

And yes, she came back out with a slightly tattered tactical vest and a Rambo Knife. I noticed that almost all of the pouches and pockets on the vest were open and empty, including the one marked with a faded red cross. "And the helmet?" I asked.

"Eh, more useful as a cooking pot than a hat." One of the roommates shrugged.

"Can we talk to him?" Aisha asked, "Brisid said he spoke something like Eastern?"

"He doesn't speak much, but yeah, sounds like that soft language of theirs." Arsala shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, he knows all the words he needs to." The other roommate said with a chuckle.

"Fox? You speak with him." Aisha said, "We'll wait here."

"Sure." I stood up, took off my gauntlets and handed them to Amani, "Don't lose those."

Our part timer 'urk'ed at how heavy they were, but held them close after she get her hands on them properly. I then followed the two roommates back inside. Again, I was surprised. Yes, it was cramped, but not messy. A clear area for sleeping, with a full dozen single sized bunks along one side. A small (very small) sectioned off area near those where I could see one of those wooden boards I was told never to lift. Another slightly larger area with a bunch of wooden boxes and containers. Cooking pot in the middle under a vent. And lastly a slightly bigger sectioned off spot. I was led inside that, and it was adorned by a bed that was just wide enough for two friendly people, and a few shelves. Those shelves had clay jars, and the confined space smelled like herbs and...

"What never smelled that before?" One of the roommates asked with a chuckle.

"Only around the entertainment district in Orario." I said, "You're overworking him if you need that."

"He's taking up space and not even working for it. Has to earn his keep somehow." The other said.

Then there was the man on the bed. For a Japanese man, he was taller than average, had a good muscle definition, and the usual black hair/dark eyes. His skin colour however was a bit pale, and it wasn't just because of the humidity. He had a few fading bruises all over his chest and legs, and one of his eyes had been blackened recently. At least they'd let him wear a loincloth, but otherwise he was naked save for a cast off sheet that was still over one foot.

Even after all that though, he looked at the three of us with stoic resistance. One thing was missing though, something every soldier had. No dog tags. Must have been taken or lost as some point. "You can stay if you want." I said to the Amazon, "But you probably won't understand much. Can I get some water too?"

"Sure." One stepped out, and I heard her bark an order to Amani.

The other stayed behind me, watching, as I took out a metal potion vial. At the sign of 'something potentially dangerous' his look hardened and he started to sit up and move away. It cost him a lot though, and he didn't manage more than a weak flailing of a hand to ward me off.

"Easy." I said in Eastern, "Healing pills." His uptick in breathing told me he was starting to catch a bit of 'swamp lung' from all the humidity as well.

"You speak..." He started, then stopped himself. A Prisoner of War was only supposed to say name, rank and number after all.

"Eat these." I said. "They'll help with the pain."

He made no move for them, so I sighed, looked back and said, "Hey? Slash my palm?" Since she still had the soldier's knife on her.

"Aww, trying to earn some trust?" She laughed, but put a thin cut into my hand. She had to try twice to do it though, her eyebrow raising a little.

The soldier watched as I brought my hand down into clear view, licked the slight welling of blood off, then smeared the cut with a potion pill. Another lick to clean the last bits of blood off, and I showed him a perfectly healed hand. "It's alchemy for healing." I said.

"Here's your water." The other roommate came back with Amani, who put the bucket just inside the room and was shoved out of the Yurt again.

The soldier accepted the pills, his eyes going a little wide at the taste (strawberry, because Jiru was the best patch of moss ever). "Can I get a cup?" Already, the bruises and black eye were clearing up, accelerated by the pills.

"Eh? Here." One was put into my hand.

I looked at the soldier, guessed his body weight, then filled the cup with water and a few drops from another one of my potion vials. "You were bitten?" I asked, handing him the cup, "Sorry, this is bitter."

He accepted it anyhow, and didn't push my hand aside when I helped him down it without dropping it. His face twisted up into a perfect Buckley's face, but his next breath didn't have that subtle rattle to it he had when I came in.

"Wow... What do you charge for something like that?"

I half turned my head, "I'll show a few Crones how to make it before I leave." Then back to the soldier, "Are you okay?"

He handed me the cup, "More, please?"

Half a bucket of slowly drunk water later, he'd finally slowed down and leaned back again. All the while, the two behind me were making quips about how much I was spoiling him. But I was diplomatic, and didn't reply.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"Himeno Roku, Master Sargent, SC004." He replied.

Name rank and serial number. "Well, Himeno-san." I replied, "Your method of arrival has caused some trouble."

He looked at me, eyes wide, but managed to stifle the shock and return to a neutral expression.

"What you faced on the way here was part of a very well kept ecology. In order to fix it, we need to go back to where you came from, and get rid of it." I continued, "This doorway, this... Gate... needs to go. They've told me about it." I gave a little head motion to the Amazon behind me, "So I know what it looks like. But what's behind it?"

I could see him put his professionalism on the scales with his urge to get home, and he replied with, "More of my people. They would have closed the Gate as soon as the monsters got through though..."

"One problem at a time." I said, "I will do my best to get you there. With that Gate there, we can't replace what went through."

Again, that should I/should I not look, "I... can't say. I know nothing of the Gate, simply that it was supposed to lead back home."

I nodded, empathizing with him. I mean, I knew what it was like to be dimensionally displaced. "Are you being treated well?"

He froze, "Well..."

"This is an Amazon city. There are only women here, aside from men they've captured. Can you endure another half day? I am here mostly as a diplomat, and cannot... no, should not break you free."

He looked a little upset, but nodded, "I understand." He then tried for a joke, "I don't have a headache anymore, at least."

I gave him a 'did you really just go there' look, but nodded, "I'll tell them my intent to acquire you. Hope for the best."

He nodded, took a deep breath, and asked, "Your name?"

"Haruhime Kodori." I said, using my last name first, "But just Kodori, please, Roku-san."

He nodded, his face thoughtful as he watched me stand up. "All done with him then?" One of the Amazon asked.

"I don't generally have fun with people watching." I replied. They walked ahead of me and I followed them out, "I still intend on buying him." I said as we left the Yurt. I gave a nod to Aisha, Ryuu and Shinkage, "He'll help us get that building off your lawn."

"If you can convince our Leader too part with him, well, you'll be lucky." Arsala listened to a mumbled word or two from one of the Amazon who guarded me, "You city types must be soft if you treat the men like that."

I shrugged, "Well, if you didn't keep punching him, he'd perform better. He's no good dead, and he was starting to catch lung rot."

"If they can't tolerate the heat, they're no better than bait." One of the Amazon laughed.

Seeing that I wasn't going to get anywhere talking to them, I looked to Amani, "We're done here." Then to Arsala, "We're down at the market. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get your jungle back into shape again."

Aisha added, "Ganesha Familia is waiting for word to start an expedition to capture some monsters. Remind your Room Leader about that when she brings the male to our wagon later."

We got a trio of dirty looks, but were unchallenged as Amani walked ahead of us, leading us off the terrace and down towards the ground.

We returned to the wagon with about the same amount of 'incident' as before. Glares, not -quite- hostile action, and the occasional call of 'tourist' said in an insulting manner. If I still had my 'anger issues' from before, I might have done something rash, like see if I could throw someone over the wall. But no.

Maki was still here, Hagane was still here, and nothing had been disturbed while we'd been away. Maki had apparently gone a bit more 'native' though, and the rising humidity had gotten her down to a Loki-styled t-shirt, covering her breasts but exposing her midriff. I didn't blame her, since the humidity was nuts, even in the shade down on the 'ground'. Even my tails, usually pretty social, wanted nothing to do with people and their 'extra warmth'. The only reason Ryuu and I were wearing our armour still was the Norse enchantments I'd put on it for temperature regulation. I was pleased to note however, Maki still had her mask on her belt, ready to use, as well as her sword.

"Hey sister!" Maki called out, "You just missed the Crone."

"She was less... foul tempered."

"I'd imagine. No one likes being laid up in bed." Aisha chuckled, "At least, without good company."

"She had to use a bit of our paper and ink, but left you a couple of notes." Maki continued, walking over and giving Hagane a pat, "How did it go?"

I accepted the bit of paper, sighed, then handed it to Aisha, "Could you?"

"Sure." Since it was written in what ever they called the Amazon text, I couldn't read it. But it did have a couple of simple pictures as well, identifying it as (at the very least) an Amber Jar recipe.

"Well, aside from being very sore, he's from the other side for sure." I said, "Gave him a couple of pills, a half bucket of water, and a few drops of cure-all."

From our 'market stall' Aisha called out, "He's pretty tough for a civilian."

"Funny you call him that." Maki chuckled, "He'd be calling people back home 'civilians'. He's a soldier, but instead of Falna they get top grade equipment and training. They serve a country instead of a God. But otherwise, its pretty much the same."

"To survive out there, even with good equipment was quite a feat." Ryuu said, "He survived a snake bite... Most people don't survive the snake, let alone the bite. Not without being an adventurer."

"His medical pouch was empty." I said, "I might have had some things to keep him alive. Not heal him, just keep venom from killing him." I didn't bother to explain 'adrenaline shot' and 'wide spectrum antibiotics' to them.

"Um." Amani, a (small) warrior, but still hanging on to her childlike curiosity, interrupted us, "You talk like you know where he's from."

I looked down at her, having basically forgotten she was there. "Maki and I are Kitsune. We are supposed to be mysterious and wise."

"Expert Excrement Expediter."

Aisha broke up laughing, Ryuu managed a 'fu-fu' and Maki shook her head and looked down. "But yes, we're a little more wise to what's really going on." I continued, since I didn't want to just outright lie to the girl. "Anyhow. Gonna call home. Maki? Trade for something other than snake?"

"Oh, yeah." She recovered from her suppressed laughter like a pro, "Got some... I think it's bird. Smoked really well at least. And some fish too. That's easy enough to tell by scent."

"Amani? Couple of buckets." Aisha said, "We'll spar some more while we wait."

Our part timer still looked a little suspicious, but nodded and got to work. I myself headed into the wagon to find our Occulus.

"Oh..." I was speechless.

On the other side of the Occulus, my wife and our children were all sitting down. Delly had come by to help with the focus, but she was out of the 'picture'. With Haruhime in the middle, our seven children in front of her, they were all holding up a little ball of foxfire. The flames were different colours and tiny, Haruhime's smallest of all, but they'd done it.

"As you can see Ko-san. Our lessons with Yakasa-sama have been going well." Haruhime said with a smile. Her flame was a gentle gold with a dark purple outline. A reverse of mine.

"We have also been learning fire safety!" Kei said proudly, their flame a pure white as before.

"We already had an oopsie..." Tatsuo pouted, his sister nodding, beside him, their flames a perfect match of sapphire blue.

Toshi, his hair much shorter than it was when I left, nodded vigorously, the flame over his hand gold like Haruhime's but without the extra purple edge.

Chie's flame was a gentle green, like grass, or the colour of Jiru's back. "Bell-san had water ready for us already though!"

Yuki and Yumi giggled, their flames were purple, like mine, except they didn't have that 'angry static' texture, but a 'flowing water' one.

"Now now, you must concentrate, or put them out." Haruhime said, her own flame going out, while everyone else did a 'Haiiiiiiiii' in chorus, all the flames vanishing with a quiet 'fwish'. She took a moment to lean forward a little and give them all a hug. Like most children their age they wiggled about a little, but accepted the affection before being released, "Go and play now, I have to talk to O-ma."

Having been given their freedom, they all ran 'off camera' excitedly. "I am... really proud of you guys." I said, "Oh, hey Delly." I half expected her to have left the room, but she'd stuck around.

"Hey boss!" She sat next to Haruhime, blinked, reached back and captured one of her tails and started to pat it like a cat, "I worked with HIDA-lite and with Welf's help I had a fire suppressor spell card made." She held up a little Ko-steel card with a collection of geometry etched into it.

"Just in case." Haruhime nodded, "How does your mission go? We've been busy here as well, but nothing exceptional has happened."

"I disagree. My children and wife learning how to use foxfire is exceptional." I smiled, "But it's good to hear nothing is actually wrong." They both nodded, looking as relieved as I felt, "Well, we got here without too much trouble. We did run into a few wild monsters, but they taste much better than the dungeon versions. Aisha's help with preparations has gone a long way to making sure we're... less uncomfortable than we might have been without them."

"I hate humidity." Delly pouted, "Makes my wings feel weird and heavy."

"Even in the shade, if it wasn't for my enchantments, I'd be dressing like Aisha." I admitted, "We found the JSDF guy, and yes, he's alive, but no, he's not 'free'. We're going to negotiate for his release later, then -hopefully- head to the Gate. I'll be calling Fels right after this to tell him so, and make sure he's got something in mind."

"If the Amazon in the district are anything like the ones from their home..." Haruhime went a little red faced.

Delly giggled, but eep'ed when one of Haruhime's other tails swished at her, "Sorry... Ganesha is still waiting for word. Should I give him the go-ahead?"

"Yes. One way or another, we're going to get rid of the gate. Let's hope they can bring up something that can live out here. It's pretty crazy, and diverse! Let me tell you..."

After going into a little more detail about what I'd seen, we finished the call. From outside, I could hear the sounds of sparring, and smell the start of fish stew. I took out the second Occulus, and spoke into it, hoping this would be a shorter call, since the smell of food was making my stomach grumble.

"Fels?"

There was a moment of silence, then a blue light from the Occulus, "Ah, Lady Kodori." The hooded figure appeared in front of the blue light, "I have been waiting."

"Sorry, we're hopefully going to be going into the wilds tomorrow, and hopefully be at the Gate soon after. Do you have an idea on how to get rid of it when we get there?"

"Yes and no. More information has been... declassified? And Ajuka has told me that without magic, the Gate is unbreakable. Apparently they tried to chip a few bits off of it while they had it in Japan, and couldn't. They of course didn't dare try anything more severe, not with their people on the other side, so at best was can assume 'normal force' would be ineffective."

"I dunno... I can apply a lot of 'normal force' all on my own."

He chuckled, the sound like sand over tile, "No doubt. You recall our 'string' theory?"

"A string tied to either door, but on the inside face."

"Yes. To begin to fix this, we need access to one of those strings." He said, "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to go through it. Without access to at least one end of the string, we'll have no hope to untangle our world from both of the others. The Gate artifact is gone from Japan, but the doorknob remains anchored there."

I sighed, "If we go through, would we end up in Japan?"

"We find it doubtful. The possibility is there, but we think it is slim chance at best. Too many unknowns, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Okay, we'll get there and call again. If the Gate is closed on the other end though..." I hmm'ed.

"Worry not. If this Lelei girl is half the genius you've reported her to be, she will notice someone tampering with her wards."

"Let's hope. Talk soon."

NOTES!

Well, we all know what's next. See you next chapter!

Daeore on Ko-fi and Inkitt.

And happy new year!