Chapter 19

The first thing I wanted to do when I got back, was take my freshly hammered plate of ko-steel and start on the enchantment for the Occulus amplifier. The trip back was long enough that my tails were all brushed, and aside from a good shower, I had caught up with all my personal care.

Sadly, it was not to be. At least, not to be and still be... diplomatic.

We'd all gotten back to the 'Nest', had a few moments of 'wow you guys look like you've been turning ponds into giant ice cubes all day', and since everyone had been given the rest of the night off, well, there was a good reason for setting up the 'Nest' across the street from the pub.

"Come on Fox!" Aisha said after I'd told them my plans. "They're even paying the tab!"

The dozen or so JSDF who hadn't already went ahead to the pub backed up Aisha with a smile. Aisha could get along with anyone, and that included people from another world. Then again, a good party animal like her was sure to make anyone's time off more amusing.

"If I don't make this thing, we'll never actually finish what we came here to do." I said, "I've also got to work on a new anti-toxin with Mari. And Hagane wants me to scrub him down!"

Those same JSDF who were on Aisha's side gave me a sad look. I was being a stick-in-the-mud.

"At least come eat with us. The food's pretty good, and we've been cleared for a little spending." Itami said.

Seeing that the only way I'd 'win' was to be impolite, I sighed, "Fine. But you get to tell Mari why she has to stay up late." I looked to Soichiro, who was giving me a knowing look, "Speaking of, could you tell her to put this is a cool dry place?" I put the med-kit Mari had given me on his desk, "Don't open it without plugging your nose."

"Huh, well since I'm not the CMO, I'll just deliver it without getting curious." He nodded, "Have fun kids, I'll be there once I file these..."

So, without being able to go work on enchanting, have a shower or clean up Hagane, I was roped into visiting 'The Pub'. It was a pretty big place too, likely the largest single building in town. It had 'the bar', like most modern pubs, as well as enough seating for about forty people. As predicted, a few of the JSDF from the 'scout' and 'cleanup' teams were here already, but there were also a few locals. Local guards too, like another one of those wolf-men. His unfamiliar, almost monstrous looks caught my eye, but then I looked at the woman serving him.

A maid. A maid with purple/blue skin, yellow face markings, white hair, horns... And dragon wings. Yup, actual dragon wings, and clawed feet too! Ah, this must be the other apostle we heard about, Giselle.

She turned, her platter empty, and spotted our massive group of soon to be customers. She waved cheerfully and said something in the local language, taking a rag from a pocket in her apron and hastily wiping down tables so we could all be seated. A moment later, a pair of maids, one a cat girl, the other a... Aha, Warrior Bunny, came out and helped her clean up tables so we could all get seated.

"Would you like me to translate a little? Or ask them to speak Japanese?" Lelei asked by my elbow.

"It would make ordering easier on us." I said.

Itami must have heard me, because he spoke up with a, "Could you speak Japanese for our out of town helpers?" He motioned to me and my party.

"Oh? You're from..." The dragon lady started, but then Rory actually kicked her from under the table, "Ow!"

"Just out of town." Ryuu said, meeting her eyes.

"Sure sure. Want a menu? Or do you trust these guys to order something for you?" A pause, "Oh right, I'll be your server tonight, my name is Giselle."

"I'll take a menu!" Maki called out from her seat. She'd been surrounded by a few JSDF and Yao.

I raised a hand for one too, and sat next to Ryuu, but Aisha just shrugged, "I like the smell of this place." She said, "What's the strongest thing you have on tap?"

There was something... odd about the party. It wasn't that I drank a lot. I mean, I had exactly one beer, and not even the entire mug (I usually didn't like beer, so this wasn't a difficult thing to do). I felt like I was being watched. Studied. Examined. Almost like I was being hunted. But for the life of me, I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It wasn't from Rory, she was too busy trying to drown herself in the local stout. The JSDF -looked- at me, sure. They looked at all of the Orario Team (especially Aisha, who in true Amazon Fashion, made even that one size fits all Overall look really good). But someone in the room, maybe two someones, were looking at me with something very close to bloodlust. But I couldn't spot a single angry eye in the pub.

That aside, the food was actually pretty good. I'd have bet someone from the JSDF had taught the kitchen staff how to really cook. Some of the dishes were very 'modern', and not exactly something you'd just 'come up with'. Like sashimi. Or deep fried... I wasn't sure, but it was deep fried and tasty.

But, a couple of hours later, (hours I could have been spending with our actual mission), I managed to slip out.

"One guest, coming in." I announced myself as I entered the Nest."

"Ah, so you haven't forgotten." Hagane rumbled, "I was beginning to wonder."

"Sorry." I said, "Where is..."

"Oh! Good good. Didn't want to leave before you got back." Old man Soichiro said as he came in from a side door, "Your friend here has some great stories." He walked over to the filing cabinets and came back a moment later, the plate of metal I'd made in his hands, "A little dustier than how you left it, but still here."

I accepted it and tucked it under one arm, "He's a hit at story time." I smiled.

"Story time?" He looked at me, "You have children?"

"Mot..." I was about to reply with my usual 'proud parent' line, but just said, "Yes." I didn't want to confuse this nice old man. "I need to get back to the base. Need good lighting and a nice flat table to work on this." I gave the metal plate a tap.

He likely saw through my still amateurish attempt at a topic change, but nodded, "Okay, well let's go back to the party, and we'll see who's sober enough to drive you up the hill. He took a ring of keys out of a pocket, and waited by the door for us to leave before locking the place up. "Sounds like you guys had a good time out there."

"It was messy." Hagane said, "But even I want to let off some steam after a day of monster slaying." A pause, "Hmm... yes, I actually do..." He mumbled, sounding like he was confirming with himself as to what he actually liked, instead of his normal 'partially shared' mind with Shinkage.

"Work hard, play hard, sleep like a rock. That's my secret." Soichiro said with a chuckle, "Hey! You better not have drunk everything!" He bellowed over the crowd as he pushed the door of the pub open.

"Hey!" Someone called out, quickly picking up a fresh mug of beer from the bar and bringing it over, "Sir! You gotta see this!"

Then I heard it.

"Chug Chug Chug!"

I rounded the corner, already expecting what I saw. At least, half of what I saw. It was a drinking contest, where both people already had three mugs upside down on the table in front of them. The participants though... Well, first was Aisha. She was steadily upending her mug, her throat moving with each swallow, and showing no signs of slowing down.

Considering she'd been drinking while we were all eating, this was probably her sixth or seventh mug over all. The alcohol was getting to her, and her overall was unzipped just enough to draw every eye in the house.

Her opponent though, in her nice frilly red and black goth-loli dress, was Rory. She'd also been drinking up a storm during the meal, and there was a bunch of JSDF behind her cheering her on. And when they weren't, they were eyeing Aisha.

Someone brushed a hand over one of my tails, and since there wasn't a sudden blood curdling scream of someone angering my tails, I turned to look at the person. "Ryuu? When did this start?"

"Almost the instant you stepped out." She sighed, speaking in Kione, "I'd never do such a thing myself, but I'll admit to being curious who would win."

"Abnormal resistance and a good tolerance against someone who can regenerate from any wound? My money's on Aisha. She must outweigh Rory by half again at least, and would have a bigger bladder and stomach too."

It was starting to show too. Rory was already red faced and wobbling, but wasn't slowing down at all as they both slammed their fifth mug down on the table. Aisha, was showing it too, but her blush was starting from her chest. Yes, she was getting off on the attention, and the competition.

They both stared each other down while Giselle set down another pair of mugs. And once again, the chant started, "Chug! Chug! Chug!"

I saw Aisha's eye look at me as she started to tip her mug back, and before Rory was half done, she slammed her empty mug back to the table and roared at the Apostle, "Catch up Rory! I'm about to overtake you! Another!"

A look of distaste washed over Rory's face, but she wasn't able to get her mug finished before Aisha slammed yet another mug down AND picked up the one meant for Rory. The entire room started to cheer for the Amazon as she held the newest mug out for Rory. The challenge was obvious, if she wanted to continue, she could take the mug. If not, well, it would still get drunk, but she'd be the loser.

Another hand over my tails got my attention, and this time it was Maki, "She's on fire tonight." She had to lean in a little so she didn't have to shout, "I don't think I've ever seen her cut loose like this."

"It doesn't happen often." Ryuu said, "But she says she does it just to keep in practise, and only on days you and Haruhime are both in the dungeon."

"Huh." I mused, watching the two competitors of them wobble on their feet. Considering I hadn't gone into the dungeon with Haruhime more than a couple of times in the past two years... I mean, one of us stayed home to watch the children almost all the time.

The room quieted down as Rory looked at the offered mug, raising her hand for it, then she just tipped sideways into Itami's waiting arms. It looked like it was either well rehearsed by the two of them, or well practised by Itami. Aisha roared victory while the room erupted into cheers, the sound of Aisha slamming the last mug down on the table all but lost in the commotion.

"Time to collect our Amazon?" Maki asked.

"Yeah. Ryuu?" I handed Ryuu the metal plate, "I'll make sure she gets back... or at least doesn't get lost."

Now that the show was over, people were breaking up a bit into smaller groups. Some called it quits there, since they were still military, and would have to get up in the morning. Others ordered another round of their own, or some food. And finally, there was Itami and the few squad mates that had stuck around. Oh, and Aisha of course. Being one of the tallest in the room, THE tallest if you discounted Wataru 'the bear' Katsumoto, she was hard to miss.

"Fox!" She called out to me as I walked over, "I was just about to have ano-hey!"

I took the mug before Giselle could set it down, and drank the entire thing myself. It was bitter, had a weird aftertaste, and reminded me of a failed loaf of bread that Weine made once. "We got an early start tomorrow." I did my best to keep the look of disgust off my face, but I probably failed.

"Awww, come on Fox! Party!" Aisha laughed. She was certainly drunk, but about the only thing that changed was just how loud she got. It was one of the reasons we forbid her from joining Haruhime and I when she was like this.

"Come on you. If I have to put you over my shoulder, I will." I did however get real close to her, just so I could put an arm around her.

"Ehhhh no, that... might be a bad idea." She laughed, then pointed to a spiral eyed Rory, "You were a worthy opponent! I hope we both remember that in the morning!"

There was a bit of laughter, but of course Rory was unable to reply. "Hey Itami? Will they let us on base without you?"

"I'll call ahead, let them know. You sure? She looks..."

"I look great!" Aisha laughed, "But you can't have me." She then hugged me tight, and I had to suffer through getting a zipper pressed into my cheek from her overall. It wasn't all bad, since my favourite Amazon was also giving me a great view of her cleavage.

"We'll start walking. Ryuu, Maki and Hagane can go with you." I said after I got my face clear of Amazon bosom.

"Sure thing." Itami said, giving me the same look people gave him when he had 'girl trouble'.

"Come on you." I said up to Aisha, "You probably drank all of today's pay by yourself."

"You." Aisha said as we walked, her arm over my shoulder, "Are the weirdest adventurerrrr ever." She poked my cheek, the pad of her finger cool on my face, "I know... you have abnormal resistance too. But you can't h-hold your booze."

It had been about ten minutes or so, and the alcohol was really hitting her now, "It's a puzzle for me too." I admitted, "I mean, when was the last time anything in the dungeon even made me sniffle? Yet, I just can't drink anything stronger than a little sake without it getting me drunk."

"Make's you... noooo fun at parties! Great in a party, terrible at a party! Haha!"

"You were really having a party yourself." I said, making a turn at the next street and pointing us towards the hill that went up to the base. Poor Aisha nearly fell over me at the slow 90 degree turn, but well, I was holding her.

"y-up." She said, "A real party." She tilted her head a little and rubbed her cheek in my hair and against my ear, "last party. Yup."

I turned my head a little, "Last party?"

We took a few steps in silence before she said, "Yeah." She said, "See... You probably arrready know. But when I was with Ishhhhter... I was almost as bad... yup. Almost as bad as her." She took a moment to spit to the side in 'honour' of Ishtar.

"Explains why you were so good with my ears." I nodded.

"even... Even told Bell! Yeah... maybe that's why he was so shy..."

"Hardly. Until recently he-" Aisha poked my cheek again, then slid her finger over my lips, sorta.

"Shh. I told Bell once. I really like sex. Boy. Girl. One, two, three? Didn't matter. If I wasn't in the dungeon, or on patrol, I was having fun. Lots of fun!" She giggled. Yes, giggled like a little girl and not the big Amazon Warrior that she was. "Unlike that traaaavesty of nature Phryne, I had no trouble with men." She leaned over a little, and I had to stop breathing for a moment as the scent of beer washed over me, "A little of this, and that was it, all mine!" She hooked a finger into her overall and exposed most of a very nice breast before lurching straight again.

Since she'd poked me to stay quiet, all I did to reply was give her a light squeeze with the arm I had around her hips.

"But... but then that thing... thing with you and Hime. Hime knew... knows, all about it. Didn't care, nope. But she thought she was just as bad, just never awake for it, cause... you know." More giggles.

She fell silent as a Humvee went by, a familiar pair of pointed ears in the back catching my eyes, and me giving them an easy wave as Itami honked the horn once. Hagane was keeping pace easily beside them. I spotted his gold eyes looking back at me for a moment, but I waved at him to keep going.

"But then... then you two had to do that thing..." Aisha continued, poking my cheek again, "You two got married! I was pretty happy you know... yup. Two friends getting together, hopefully forever! Thoussssand years, right? That's what you keep saying..."

"And I mean it ever time." I smiled, looking and to the side at her face, then up the hill/ramp that lead to the base. This was going to be a long climb...

"But then you did that other thing!" She said, her tone almost lamenting. "You wanted to share! Me!" She laughed again, but sounded more bitter than the beer, "You know... until then, I'd never had the same person more than once!" She sighed, "That's not the way Amazon do things!" She shouted into the air, then leaned on me heavily again, "No... There's only two ways a real Amazon does things. Yup, she chooses you, or you take them."

Again, I simply gave her that little 'I'm paying attention' hug, helping her make another 90 degree turn as we walked past the checkpoint at the bottom of the hill. The guard seemed to know already, and just waved us by.

"You are both so strong. But different kinds of strong." She mumbled, "No matter what, no matter what happened, Hime forgave me. You know, I broke the first Killing Stone. But didn't do anything about it, and then almost killed her with the second one..." She sighed, "But she didn't care... no! Didn't mind. When that..." She spit again, "Ishhhhhtar went back... She just smiled at me like I'd come to say hello! Just like most of the rest of the Familia, I used her for her power too. But no, she just forgave me."

She nearly stumbled, but managed to kick my shin, "Then there's you! Suuuuure you're special... some kind of weird person from the East or something. Doing all kinds of things that no one else would even consider. Getting back up when staying down would have just been better..." She paused, "Uh oh."

We made another quick turn, took another step and a half, and I rubbed her back as she vomited on the side of the road.

After she was done, she scrubbed her sleeve over her mouth, stood up and went back to leaning on my shoulder, "But you just kept going." She sighed, "You're both stronger than me. Sure, I chose to accept your offer... but now? I'm the one coming back." She poked me again, "I stopped going off on my own, looking for fun... Because all the fun I could ever want was waiting for me." She nuzzled my hair again, "I chose you two once... but you both took me."

"Good to know." I said honestly. Her past, and past habits honestly didn't bother me. It would have bothered me if she were say, putting herself out by not having a good time when ever she wanted. "I'm happy that we can satisfy you and your limitless urges." I gave her another light squeeze.

"Jus so you know, they aren't limitless... nope. The two of you have never once left me unsatisfied." She leaned her head on mine again, "Well, okay, there was one time. But that's just once! Wasn't your fault your children were having a scary dream or something..." Again a laugh, "But yeah... Then... then there's that thing... sometimes happens... Now that's a party!"

"A little extra fun, to be sure." I nodded, "Wait..."

"Yeah... so that? That was the last party... No more." She giggled, "An' there you go... thinking clearly an' stuff... wanted to surprise you with the news..." She sighed, "No questions about 'how', nope... just... who's?"

I stopped, turned use both so we were facing each other, and replied with a quiet, "Does it matter?"

Her eyes were only kinda focused on me, but she managed a slow shake of her head 'no'. "not with you two... nope... only matters that it was you two."

"Have you told Ha-chan?" I asked.

"pffft, nope! You're better at saying the things... about the stuff... I'm just a party annnnnimal. Well... I was. Party animal on break? Yeah!"

"If you didn't look like hugging you might make you vomit again..." I said with a smile.

"yeah... yeah. Jus... help me keep walking. Gotta potty."

"Isha doku desuka?" I asked, tapping on the door of Mari's office. Poor Aisha was snoring quietly over my back, my tails keeping her in place while I walked.

It had taken another twenty minutes to get up that hill, but that was only because she'd had to vomit again, AND go pee. Yes, she could do that standing up, something about needing to squat in the jungle inviting travesty. But no, there weren't any bushes to do it behind. I was just glad it wasn't windy, and no one lived directly below the ramp.

"Ah, Kodori-san." Mari looked at my passenger, "Oh my... urg... how much did she drink?" She backed up a little, covering her nose.

"More than Rori." I said, following her to one of the beds, carefully laying down my poor Amazon, "You got the package from Soichiro?"

"And his warning. You weren't exaggerating about the smell."

"You wouldn't happen to have a nice flat desk someplace? I have some work to do, and it will take a little time to process what we need from the mosquitoes." I retrieved my shiny steel plate from my tails, "And... I'm going to need a few things, most of which I see already, but not being used how I use them."

"Ah, well... Let me just clear this off. I am very curious how your world makes medicine..."

Mari was very accommodating.

I say this because as kind and gentle as she looked, she was still military, and with all this fancy equipment, a 'primitive' was about to basically show her something it couldn't do. So, instead of being mysterious, like I was kind of really getting in to, I told her exactly what I was doing.

The tubes I'd been given were filled with mosquito heads. Yup. No proboscis, no abdomens, just the head, and most importantly, the little sacs they had at the base of the 'jaw'. Those produced the venom that numbed, and later itched. In the dungeon, their poison was just deadly. The 'numbing' agent was strong enough to shut down your organs.

So, with the two of us wearing masks (hers was a disposable medical mask, mine was thick cloth) I started the lesson.

"What we want, are these little bulges here. It's a numbing toxin that becomes a severe irritant later. Not quite like a normal mosquito."

She watched as I very carefully squeezed the severed insect head, and dripped a few VERY smelly drops into a vial. "Curious, but why would their venom itch so much later? What would that accomplish from an evolutionary point?" I gave her a sideways look, "Oh, don't mind me... just taking notes, I might be going a little over your head..."

Without saying outright I knew what she was talking about, I replied with, "Because if you do survive a bite, being itchy to the point of distraction would make you easy prey for other things. They just want blood. Yours, or the thing that killed you, doesn't matter."

She helped me extract more of the venom while she absorbed my words. We needed about a third of a vial, and it looked like we would get just a little more than that.

"You mentioned these are 'smaller' than the normal ones? How large do you mean?"

"About a meter long, nose included. A single bite can put enough into a person to stop their heart if they're unlucky. Most adventurers who do get bitten will usually try to either cut the nose off, or push it right through like an arrow, so the mosquito can't inject its venom or suck their blood."

She looked horrified, "But..."

"That's right. You can only do that so many times before you die anyhow." I nodded, "Now, focus, we're going to take a bunch of these things over here, and try and mimic my setup from home..."

It wasn't perfect, but we managed to use a couple of her hot plates, a half dozen test tubes, two beakers and a triangle flask to get an alchemy kit I could work with together. I made sure to explain what I was doing, so she didn't just think I was crazy or something. Like why I was turning that triangle flask upside down so I could condense steam into it...

After we'd set up the monstrosity of glass and wire holders, I continued the lesson. "I'm sure you've heard that small amounts of poison can be a cure?"

"Well yes. Doctors of our world have been using various animal venoms for cures for centuries."

"Ours too." I nodded, "Now... here's where you might balk a little. I need something. Dry rice? Some flour? Some kind of edible, powdery binder. What we need is the vapour, not the condensate..."

After a quick trip to the mess hall, she returned with a handful of uncooked rice. Now, to make this more of a 'miracle' cure, I'd need magic stone. But, this was basically the 'before Nazza was successful bargain basement cure'. The magic stone would act like an accelerator for the body, not quite like a healing potion, but close. Without it, it would be more of a 'take one and call me in the morning'. Oh, and taste really bad.

"Ah, it's good to see that those haven't gone out of fashion with all of this fancy stuff you have." I chuckled as she ground up the rice with a mortar and pestle. Things were bubbling away in the tubes, and I was carefully tapping away at my metal plate. The etching I had to do was complex, but I'd already made a dozen of these things so work was progressing quickly.

"To be honest, they have. But I've still found many uses for it, especially here in this world." She laughed quietly.

"I'm actually kind of curious... Aside from the obvious occupation of this place here, have you shared any of your marvels with the people?"

"It's nothing so harsh as an 'occupation'." She replied.

"You are outsiders, you've planted yourself here. I'm sure there are nicer words for it, but you're still occupying the place."

"I would like to think we qualify for one of those nicer words. We've helped the people here in many ways, while learning about them and this world."

"That town at the bottom of the hill has some interesting things in it too. No doubt from your world?"

"Oh yes. Would you believe they didn't have a real plumbing system here? Still using crude aqueducts and ditches for water and waste..."

"I did notice that. We have a reasonably robust sewage system under our city. And we only use aqueducts for decoration." She gave me a 5 degree head tilt, "Some people have large gardens, and like to get fancy."

"Ah... Well, is this fine enough?"

It took another half hour to finish the anti-toxin. The rice flour was put into a wide beaker, swished around, then emptied out. The fine powder that was left on the glass was used to gather the vapour from the steaming mosquito toxin. Before it could start to drip however, we took the beaker away, and rubbed the damp flour off the sides of the glass. This pasty mush was then made into tiny little pills. We repeated that until there was almost nothing left of the extracted venom. What was left of the venom was actually a 'concentrate', and would probably have killed poor Mari if I'd let her touch it with bare skin. This would have been SO MUCH EASIER if I had my alembic from home... but alas, sometimes, modern wasn't best.

"So, just let these dry, and give one to anyone who's still itchy. Make sure they get a good night's sleep, drink plenty of water, and they should be better in the morning." I explained, watching her finish writing down some notes. She, unlike every other doctor I'd ever met, had very nice writing.

"Understood." She smiled, "Back to your other topic... You looked like you had other questions about our being here?"

"Have you tried to elevate them at all? Surely with all these fancy machines and advanced methods you use, you've made other discoveries? Better foods? Medicinal herbs? I noticed that stuff you have in the nearby field, 'corn'. But that it was being used for fuel?"

She actually looked a little hurt. No... not hurt. Disturbed? "Our orders didn't cover that. But I'm not the one to talk to about that."

I nodded, not pressing the matter. "If you could wait about ten more minutes so I can finish this? I'll drag my friend out of your bed after. We both need a shower, and some serious sleep."

"Could you explain what it is? Seeing Lelei-chan work magic is so... incredible, but she doesn't explain it very well..."

"Magic, by its very nature is supposed to be a hidden art. But, enchanting is the essence of taking the hidden, and enforcing material control. So, I'll do my best."

Thankfully, there were no locks on the 'shower room'. I mean, it wouldn't have mattered if there were, but this way I wouldn't have to explain why it needed replacing. After getting my poor Amazon under the water, then stripped, then under the water again I finally dragged us both back to our room.

On the way from the medical building, and to and from the shower, I spotted a few of the patrolling guards. Most, didn't pay us any mind, likely because Itami only looked lazy and had told them about us. A couple however had come up to us, gave the air a sniff, and turned right back around. They knew why I was carrying someone like they'd just been shot, and to keep out of range of any potential vomit.

Once I put Aisha to bed, much to the amusement of Maki and Ryuu, I gave the Amazon's forehead a kiss, had my tails carefully set the metal plate down, and waved for Hagane to follow me back out. I said I would, and thus I did, using the ample lights of the stadium styled arrays over the base to give Hagane's body a scrub.

"You seem distracted." He said as I used tiny amounts of my Senjitsu to keep the cloth I had taken from our dorm's minuscule kitchen wet.

"Your voice is too loud. So just listen?" I asked, waiting for a nod from the giant catto. "One of us is going to be a father again." I said very quietly, "She told me on the way here."

Now, having a face that was incapable of expression made 'surprise' difficult to convey. But Hagane moved his head back just a little, and his mouth opened a tiny bit.

"Surprised me too. Never expected her to 'settle down' at all. She always has so much energy. But there it is." I made sure to clean the top of his head to a dull gleam, and to get the tiny angles between his eyes and face, "Of course, she doesn't know who's it is. But at this point, I doubt the three of us care."

"I see." He said, a totally non-specific phrase, "No doubt you are eager to return home. Is your project finished?"

"Just need to get Lelei in the same room with it, and put the Occulus down on it. The 'rules' of this world seem to lean towards a more universal acceptance. But, unlike 'Earth' where 'God' was supposedly the creator of everything..."

"You doubt that?"

"I think it's more of the system he put the others under, that makes them specifically unwelcome anywhere but there. If there can only 'be one' then 'others' are unwelcome." I tried to explain my thoughts on it. "It could also be an effect that was added later."

"The people's faith distorting the original intent? It wouldn't surprise me. Humans are very powerful in numbers. And that faith spread to all parts of the world once."

He helpfully lifted his paws as I got to them, scrubbing them clean. "Then there's Orario, where there simply isn't 'one' God, but 'all Gods'. And here, with that." I looked back in the direction of the Gate. "Anyhow. I think you're clean."

"My insides may be a little muddy, but there is nothing sandy anywhere." He said.

So, I stood back up, gave his big metal head a hug, and we both got back inside.

"there's that music again... can someone stab it?" Aisha mumbled quietly as the PA system started playing Reveille. "Wait..." Since the cots were really narrow, she had to wiggle around like some kind of caterpillar to roll over, "Oh, okay..."

Just because she was far FAR too drunk to do it before I put her to bed, I did it now. I uncorked one of my potion vials, the 'Cure All', took a half sip (recommended dose for terrible hangovers), and gave Aisha a kiss. While we weren't married, she was my wife and I's official partner, so, suffering was shared as the super bitter medicine was passed from me to her. I also made sure to pinch her nose so she had to swallow it.

"Come on guys, this is a shared room." Maki complained sarcastically behind me.

Once she'd swallowed, I let her nose go, and we had a proper kiss while the medicine went to work. At least until Ryuu 'ahem'ed. "Someone at the door."

And then someone knocked on the door. Tiny and polite, there were only three people it could have been, and only one of them was in this world. So, I let Aisha go, handed her the cup of water I'd poured for her just before the music started playing, and went to the door.

"Good morning." It was Lelei, "You have recovered?"

"I wasn't the one who got so drunk she needed help to get home." I smiled, "We'll be about five minutes or so." I looked back into the room, "Hagane? Feel like entertaining a guest?"

"If it saves me from watching your weird fleshy rituals? Yes." He said, stalking past me, but brushing my leg (very carefully) with his shoulder. "Good morning."

Once Hagane had cleared the door, I shut it, got my own cup of water from the sink, rinsed the terrible taste out of my mouth, and went about getting ready.

"See you in the Mess Tent once I get Lelei set up." I said as everyone walked gracefully/yawned obnoxiously/stretched their way out of the room.

"Don't be too long, or I'll eat your share." Aisha said.

"We will use the same room." Lelei said, "The dorms are only here for guests, and those recovering from illness, yet not needing a hospital bed."

"I suspect there aren't a lot of visitors up here?" I asked as we walked a few doors down to the room we'd used the Tarot in.

"No. It is generally much faster to travel from here to where ever the meeting is. The JSDF's ability to travel greatly surpasses most of the rest of the world." She opened the door and flicked on the light, then closed it behind me.

"Most?"

"Some wizards, like myself, can fly. While some of the larger fiefdoms have wyvern stables." She watched as I set the plate of etched Ko-steel on the desk and fished around in my 'delicate items' pouch for the Occulus.

"Makes sense... Flight is still mostly unheard of where I'm from. But that's slowly changing. And our rail way system is still very basic." I set the Occulus down in the small dish I'd made in the middle of the plate. I was rather happy the Smith had a peening hammer of the right size.

"Oh! You have trains?" A pause, "Do they go underground too?"

"Ah, no. Only from Orario, our home city, to a vast series of mines north of the city, where most of our iron comes from. A second rail is being made, to a budding trade hub, Rakia, but it will take another two years... maybe." I waved the topic away, "Now, unless the rules of this world are really weird, this should work." I waved her over, "Now, you're a wizard, right?" She nodded even though we both knew the answer. "Hold my hands?" She did, "Now, can you do this?"

Slowly, very gently, I started to feed her 'raw' magic power. Just a tiny amount. "Ah, direct eter cycling? Yes." She shivered a little, "Your mana makes my skin tingle."

I let the effect go, "My elements are Air, and Void. But now, do that to me. Just as much as I gave you?"

She nodded, closed her eyes for a moment, and I could feel that same tingly current push into my body. "Like this? It is similar to what I do with my staff."

"Just so. Perfect. Sit down here... then..." I turned the Occulus so the slightly flat side was facing her properly, "Now, just like you did to me, put your thumbs on these two spots here, and give it a little power."

The etchwork slowly started to glow. As she added power, and the enchantment lit up, the magic inside the Occulus was coming to life. "Oh! This adds power, while making sure any excess is bled away, so it doesn't overload... Like the electricity from the wall sockets..." She was of course talking about the 'hot' and 'ground' of your usual two prong plug. "Oh, call his name? Fels?"

There was no answer, so I gave her shoulder a pat, "Just a tiny bit more power. Once the connection is made it will become easier, but the first push is always the hardest."

"An object in motion stays in motion." She mumbled, the lines and spirals glowing a little brighter, "Fels?" And a little brighter still, "Fels?"

"Ahhh, you've got it working." The Occulus, very dark compared to the glowing metal suddenly lit up as Fels took the cloth away from it, "Lelei, a pleasure to see your real face."

"Ease back on the power." I said into Lelei's ear, before looking at the Occulus, "Good morning Fels. She got it to work on her first try."

"Kodori." The hooded head nodded to me, "It makes me hopeful for the task ahead."

"Mr. Fels?" Lelei started as the glow of the enchanted metal all but ceased, "Why do you use magic to hide your face? I do not mean to be rude, but the effect is quite unnatural."

"She is also incredibly curious." I said, "But..."

"Ah, a young mind, full of questions and vigour. But, my appearance has no bearing on the task ahead. Are you sure you want to know, young Lelei?" Fels asked, raising his gloved hands to the sides of his hood, "The fate of our two worlds rests on us working in harmony, and what you see may change your opinion of me, and how we work together."

I was surprised Fels was actually willing to satisfy Lelei's curiosity. But, that was nothing compared to the shock of Lelei shaking her head, "No. It's not important."

Fel's hands dropped from his hood, "If we ever meet in person, I will show you. But until then, let us get to work. Kodori? Are you able to stay?"

"Life here is VERY regimented. I have to eat, and hopefully finish up the cleanup from the monsters spilling into this world." I replied.

"Equally important work then. It would hardly do to fix our world, while leaving theirs endangered by the Dungeon." Fels nodded.

"I will say, before I go." I gave Lelei the headpat I'd been wanting to give her since the first second I'd met her, "You'll want some paper or something. And, to stay on topic. At least until the work is done."

Lelei actually pouted at me, but nodded, "Mr. Fels? I will return in ten minutes with the proper supplies."

"Very well. I look forward to your return. Kodori? Take care."

"Of course." I nodded, watching as Lelei took her hands from the plate, and the Occulus going dark. "Take this with you, and do not lose it." I said, motioning to the Occulus.

NOTES

And so a certain thing hinted at back in like... chapter... I forget... is brought up. Not a huge surprise, since well... But all in the name of plot and character development!

Anyhow, questions and comments go in the usual place, see you in five days.

Daeore on Ko-fi and Inkitt.