Let's take a little look around, outside of Kodori's Field of View, and see what's gone on behind the scenes for the past week or so she's been in the Special Region.
Chapter 36
(Throne of Prayers)
Under the Guild building, in what might be considered floor 0.5 of the dungeon, Lord Ouranos sat on his massive chair. In the back of his mind, at all times, his thoughts were locked onto the pacification of the Dungeon. It sounded simple, and after a thousand years it was simple. However, it meant the God of the Sky couldn't actually leave this spot. Doing so, even for a moment, risked the dungeon becoming more active, and put the adventurers inside at even more risk.
It wasn't his only job however. On paper, he was the leader of the Guild. The all important group of civil servants that kept the city from falling into chaos amid what was essentially the Gods largest playground. Truth be told, it was Royman and his small group of team leaders who 'ruled' the city, but when there was a problem they couldn't handle, they sought the guidance of Ouranos.
This meant, the Gate, which would be arriving nearby, was the current topic. Royman was quite capable, but 'other worldly' business was above even his pay grade.
"I do not like it." Ouranos said, moving a pawn forward, "Check."
Royman and Fels stood at the top of the steps leading to Ouranos's throne, and between them and the God was a chessboard, and a very large spider on a stool.
Sir Skitters, oblivious, or uncaring of the mood, bobbed his fuzzy body back and forth in thought, and moved a bishop to remove the pawn.
"Sadly, there are few options." Fels said, "There are technically many places we could move the Gate to. But aside from Rakia, I doubt anyone would be comfortable with such a thing in their back yard."
"As it is, the projected loss of... quality from the Amazon Nation over the next decade is a little alarming. We see it going one of two ways, and neither are optimal." Royman said.
"Explain." Ouranos said, moving another piece.
"The bulk of adventurers that Telskyura sends to us are already level two. This keeps their casualties down, as well as our own costs in training and initial stipends as they are usually well equipped from the moment they arrive." Royman explained, "With the damage done to their jungle because of the Gate, they may either slow down their caravans and the adventurers that stay for the Dungeon. Or, they will send younger Amazon, who are not as well trained."
Fels interjected, "Neither effect will be immediately felt. But over the years it will be noticeable until their wild lands recover. If they recover. The longer we delay helping them, the longer it will take for them to recover."
Sir Skitters moved again, then did a celebratory crab dance, waving his front legs in the air. Ouranos leaned forward a little, squinting at the board, "I see the necessity, but do not like it." He moved a piece of his own. "And once again, the Hestia Familia makes me sigh."
Royman and Fels looked at each other knowingly, "At least this time, we know much of what to expect. While we do not know exactly why, or how to resolve the larger issue of the Gate arriving here, we shouldn't have too great an issue in containing the problem." Fels said.
"My worry is the people." Royman said, watching Sir Skitters as he bobbed back and forth in thought, one of his hooked front legs hovering over the pieces, "From Kodori's report on these... people, they are much like the adventurers. Disciplined, trained, yet adaptable. But still, they are different, and the civilians don't readily accept those that are strange."
"Our efforts with the Xenos, diplomacy with Rakia, and the long list of new innovations from the Alliance has softened the People to new things. But this may be a little harder to digest." Fels nodded.
Sir Skitters moved again finally, and not only did he do a Celebratory Crab Dance, he did a little spin in place on his stool.
Ouranos sighed, "If all goes well, I will announce their arrival. The people already know something is afoot, but before the rumour becomes distorted, I will address them. Fels, work with Royman, and press Kodori for as much information as possible. I leave the finer details to you, but I will not make the same mistake as before, and we will inform the people properly before the lies start to pile up." Then to Sir Skitters, "Well done." He then lifted one of his hands.
Sir Skitters halted his happy dance, then zipped down his stool, up the arm of the throne, and parked his fuzzy rear under the upraised hand. Ouranos then gave the spider a pat, rewarding him for his win. Though, Royman and Fels wondered who exactly was getting the reward.
"Yes my Lord." The two said, before descending the steps to the Throne of Prayer.
(I AM GANESHA)
To almost all of the city, Ganesha, GOD OF THE PEOPLE, was an idiot. A lovable, energetic God who could find positive way to spin almost any situation, with a Familia who was just as dedicated to THE PEOPLE as He was. Sadly, this meant that doing business with Him was basically impossible on a normal level.
However, His Familia was just as capable as He pretended not to be. And those few in his Familia who did know He was more than a lovable idiot were quite adept at handling business, even while He Himself stood nearby and acted like his overly cheerful self.
One of Brisid's housemates, a lithe Amazon who's leg muscles stood out even more than usual even for their highly athletic race, was finding this out first hand as she tried to talk with Him.
Thankfully, mercifully Shakti was standing between the God and the Amazon, and mediating.
Very quietly, "Is he always like that?" The Amazon asked, "I was told the Ganesha Familia was capable... I didn't spend the last two days running ahead of the caravan to deal with this."
If Shakti had a valis for every time someone had asked that, she'd have retired. Actually, no, she'd have built another orphanage or something. She loved her God and the work their Familia accomplished too much to abandon Him.
She still signed, "Yes." She said/lied, "But the Ganesha Familia is the foremost Familia when it comes to taming and capturing monsters. We have already prepared almost everything to descend into the dungeon and capture monsters for the Amazon Jungle. But we have several problems."
"Problems?" The Amazon asked, watching the grinning God with the silly elephant mask FLEX AND POSE.
"Monsters are so BIG! And UNRULY!" Ganesha declared, "But are they BIG ENOUGH?" He punctuated this by flexing his biceps while making his pectoral muscles twitch.
"One of the problems we have is the diversity. The dungeon, quite plainly doesn't have the same range of choice as your Jungles. The 'Matriarchs' your last envoy described are just... too big. And the monsters we could bring up that fit the request are..." Shakti sighed, "Can you read?"
The Amazon didn't take offence, "Not very well, never stayed in Orario long."
Shakti nodded and took out a roll of paper from her pouch. "OH! I remember this!" Ganesha said, "The Ligerfang is something I wish we could bring to our zoo!"
The paper had several pictures on it, mostly of monsters that would be able to adapt to the humid violent jungles of Telskyura. The Ligerfang, a truck sized cat that was similar to a Sabre Toothed Tiger of Earth was among the pictures.
"Ah, I've seen this one." The Amazon said, "Rather, one similar in the jungle. But it is too small."
"These are likely larger than the ones you might find in the jungle, but yes, they are not... wild enough. They also have a slow reproduction cycle, and we would need to capture dozens of them to found a population in the Jungle. We can do it, but it's not what you ultimately requested."
"Hm I see that. In heat once a year, a season to welp, half a year to full grown... I am reading this right?"
"YOU!" Ganesha pointed, "Can read very well!" The pointed finger turned into a thumbs up and a smile.
"We discarded the idea of firebirds." Shakti continued, "For obvious reasons."
"Good call."
"And you have a smaller version of these already, correct?" She pointed to a Silverback, the three or four metre tall apes.
"We do. But those are much bigger than the ones we have..." The Amazon nodded, "A good start."
Shakti took out a pencil and put a mark next to the picture.
A half hour later, the two of them (while Ganesha hovered around them doing silly poses and interjecting randomly) got to the last 'item' on the list.
"This monster here is... the best and worst idea." Shakti said, pointing to what looked like a simple flower. If course, the picture wasn't to scale, and while the flower looked like the mouth of a monster, it didn't look very threatening.
"It doesn't look that bad. Though I've never seen it before."
"This comes in three variants that we've discovered. And for all intents, would be the most suited for the jungle. However..." Shakti sighed, "It is because it IS a jungle that we were considering not putting this monster on the list."
The Amazon raised an eyebrow, "That sounds exactly like what we want."
Shakti shook her head, "These are plant monsters that are, on average, on par with level three and higher adventurers. In the dungeon, they have limited space, and can be killed with simple tactics. But in an open space like the Jungle, they may grow out of control and simply take over the ecosystem." She tapped the picture with her pencil, "However, if you know what to look for, they are quite easy to bring to the surface, so long as you take the appropriate steps to ensure they do not start growing."
"You mean they are actual plants? And you can bring their seeds instead of the entire monster?"
"Not quite. But close enough." Shakti nodded.
"ONE must be VERY careful with monsters!" Ganesha declared (for the tenth time). But for the FIRST time, he added, "There is no EASY way to deal with them."
Shakti and the Amazon gave the LOUD AND PROUD GOD OF THE PEOPLE different looks. One sighed, the other smiled.
Still smiling, the Amazon put her fingers between her breasts and took out a pendant that had gotten buried between them. It was the Kali Familia emblem, a ritual mask in the shape of a monster's skull. While the pendant was certainly ornate, its most defining feature was that it was made of Adamant, a metal basically unheard of in the metal poor land of the Amazons.
"By the Authority of my Goddess Kali. We'll take them." She said.
"The plants as well?" Shakti asked.
"All of them. But the plants for sure. Oh, but not the firebirds."
(The abandoned castle)
Already in disrepair, this poor old castle had suffered through many things other than of the passage of time. A wargame that saw the front gate ripped apart by a Crozzo Magic Sword. A back wall that had also suffered from a similar bombardment. The main tower that had been gutted from the inside by what amounted to a surface to air lightning bolt... Oh, and a fox smashing through part of the roof.
A token effort had been made to make sure there was at least a little living space, but after it had seen use, it was left once again to the elements for a couple of years.
But lo! The courtyard had been cleared, and the rough cobble replaced with stone slabs. These slabs were carved and etched, laced with magic, and became the receiving point for a gift from another world. But just to make sure it wasn't used a second time, since that other world was quite scary if you knew what to look for, or it knew to look for you, some of those slabs were broken.
Then the back corner of the castle, the last surviving wall... Well that was a small pond now. It had been created during the fight between Ottar and Kodori. Witnesses of that fight said the King had been thrown through that wall by Kodori, but with a single swing of his sword he destroyed the wall, the ground, and nearly Kodori as she was in the way of a lot of that debris.
But even after all that, it was still the best place to put the massive magic circle that would become the new 'home' for the Gate.
Such an endeavour needed labour. But with Orario a short distance away, there was no shortage of that, so long as there was money to be had.
It also needed skilled hands, with exacting eyes for precise work. Again, not an issue. While Hephaestus and Goibniu Familia both had many skilled workers, due to Kodori's influence there were many smaller Familia who were quite happy to jump at the chance for good pay that didn't involve the dungeon.
But lastly, it needed someone who actually knew what they were doing.
Riveria, of Loki Familia, didn't really know how to deal with the 'boss' of this project. She wasn't afraid of him. No, being one of the most experienced and powerful adventurers in Orario, about the only thing she feared was running out of socks before a big expedition. But that was only because she would then have to deal with Loki, and what ever she had done to her socks.
No, there was something quite clearly wrong with the shadowy man in the ink black robe.
But, she also didn't deal with the unknown like most people did. Some feared it, others charged at it to prove it could be killed. But no, Riveria asked questions.
"How do you know so much about this?" She asked Fels as the two of them (the most magically inclined of the project) looked over one of many-times-many bits of parchment that rested on a new 'Odds'n'Ends' drafting table (with all kinds of handy little brackets and attachments to hold paper in place, yours for only...) "And why have I never seen you before? Even when we put this place together the first time."
"I will answer the second question first, Lady Riveria. Unlike the last time, when I could appear during the darker hours to work, and merely needed the grounds cleared and stone laid out. This time we have considerably less time to accomplish the task." Fels touched the little finger of his glove to one of the diagrams, a thin blue glow following behind on the paper for a moment, "As for why you have never seen me before? That is because I should not exist."
Riveria was clearly displeased by such a... thin answer. "What do you mean? You are obviously quite skilled with magic, and those gloves and your robe are clearly enchanted. If I didn't know better, I'd say that work is better than anything Asfi has created."
"You should trust your intuition more then." Fels chuckled that 'sand over tile' chuckle of his. "I already owe someone an explanation for my appearance and secrecy. If you can suffer to work with me for a few days longer, I invite you to that conversation." He finished tracing the pattern on the paper, and walked towards the next section of stone. "Please assist." He said, "This section needs the forth array."
Riviera, with her ability of Mage, was able to create magic circles. Usually, they were always the same, an amplification array for her incredibly destructive spells. But recently, with a simple lesson from Fels, she had learned to spin 'harmless' circles, that were basically illusions. She did this now, projecting a different set of symbology on the stone in front of her, while Fels used his index finger to repeat the pattern his little finger had traced a moment before.
"You didn't answer my first question."
"I worked with Ouranous and Ganesha long before, and during the Xenos incident." He said, "And while Kodori is not from the Dungeon, she is certainly a Xenos."
While it was still a 'thin' answer, Riveria was quite capable of putting together an awful lot of pieces from that simple sentence. "And this time we're bringing more of her kind here?"
"No. The ones on the other side of this 'Gate' are refugees of a sort. From her world, yes, but certainly not like her." Another sandy laugh, "And the world they are in, seems quite similar to ours, save that there are no adventurers."
The two worked in silence for a few minutes longer, the flat stone before them being marked exactly so that the stone workers could carve it later.
"If there are no adventurers, then how did they survive the monsters from Telskyura?" Riveria asked.
"How indeed, Lady Riveria. Duty dictates we extend our hand to aid them, but we must be cautious. Let us continue our work."
(The Amazon Caravan)
"Finally out of bed?" Brisid asked as Shinkage emerged from the Bunk wagon after several days of being nearly comatose, and then another day of the Mini-zon Amani feeding her and making sure she could move around.
That was fine, payment was already promised, and aside from the single scout she'd sent to run ahead check on the Ganesha Familia it wasn't like they lacked protection on the way to Orario.
Instead of riling to the Amazon's deadpan ribbing, Shinkage asked, "Have you ever talked to yourself?"
"When I was younger, sure. Not much else to do when you're up a tree foraging. It was more to bitch quietly about the last beating you got, but whatever." Brisid shifted her rear a little on the driver's seat of the wagon, allowing Shinkage to take the reins.
"Imagine that, yet the voice talks back. The metal cat and I were of one mind, but in two bodies. Now that voice is silent. And the shock unbalanced me."
"Huh." Brisid knew the little girl next to her was 'odd', but again, she was getting paid. "How long have you been like that then?"
"Ten thousand years or so." Shinkage replied without hesitation, "Hmm, I seem to have slept past the swamps."
Brisid was silent for a moment, looking sideways at Shinkage. But while she couldn't believe the claim of being that old, she didn't feel she was lying either. So, like all good adventurers she just accepted it as 'improbable but not important right now' and accepted the topic change. "Hope you like snake meat. We caught one trying for the horses a couple nights ago."
"Good." Shinkage yawned, then looked up at Brisid, "I am curious, do you know what 'bog iron' is?"
A pause, then a slow, "No?"
"Hagane noticed some when he had to wrestle a snake in the swamps. The initial quality of it is poor, but with time, effort, and a little luck, you may have a source of steel closer than you think." Shinkage smiled slightly when Brisid leaned a little closer.
"Tell me more."
The caravan continued on, suffering through another coastal storm and few wild animals (think wolves, but with bigger teeth), but for a group like this it was rather boring.
Of course, Amazon have all kinds of ways to amuse themselves, and to no one's surprise beating the crap out of each other was high on the list. It was more than just fun but also part of their culture to continuously test themselves on any and everything.
So with only four guards keeping to the wagons in the late evening, the rest of them had gone just off the side of the road to form a bit of a battle circle.
Of course, being the 'weakest' Amani was first in, and out of the circle. She made a reasonable showing of herself but was ejected from the circle after taking failing to avoid a grapple throw. "Not bad runt! That time with the city folk wasn't wasted after all!" The winner laughed, planting the butt of her spear into the ground.
"Ow..." Amani pulled herself up, "I think I prefer the way they did things after all." She rubbed her rear but took her place outside the circle as the next Amazon stepped in to fight the winner.
"Hmm?" Brisid gave Amani a side-eye, "And how is that?" As usual, one had to look at her face, and not listen to her voice to guess her mood.
"Ah, well..." Amani shrunk a little under the gaze, but recovered and replied, "The stronger of the two lowers themselves to the weaker one's level, and they fight with skill, not power."
The next nearest Amazon chuckled, not looking at Amani since the two in the circle were more evenly matched level threes. "Sounds like soft city folk stuff to me."
Shinkage, who was on the other side of Brisid replied with, "It offers more opportunity to learn, and keeps the strong from becoming complacent."
"It's why I learned so much." Amani said, "Even Kodori sparred with me! And I even hit her!" She brandished her spear and performed the same feint-strike she'd used.
"You hit the strongest adventurer in Orario? You?" The other Amazon asked incredulously, peeling her eyes away from the current bout, "She must have been sleeping or something."
"Well... she wasn't being serious, but I did!"
"She did." Shinkage said, "When the stronger of the two simply overwhelms the weaker, neither learn anything."
The two in the middle seemed to be coming to a conclusion, the winner from the last bout running out of steam and becoming a hair too slow to avoid a kick that sent her tumbling out of the circle. Brisid looked to Shinkage, "Prove it. If you think your way is better, then you have to back it up with action."
Sighing like an old man, she shrugged and stepped into the ring. Before she took two steps however, she tossed her Loli-sized padao to Amani, "Hold that." Then quietly, "How does Kodori enjoy this?"
Once in position, the winner of the last fight gave Shinkage a raised eyebrow, "No weapon?" Then shrugged, "Suit yourself. Bring i-"
As soon as the Amazon had gotten her spear up, Shinkage put more weight on her back leg. At the word 'Bring', she pushed off as hard as she could. With a splintering crack of wood and a grunt of pain, the Amazon across from her was sent rocketing out of the ring by a very tiny flying knee right between her breasts.
Now on her back several metres out of the circle, the dazed Amazon barely heard Shinkage say, "And what have you learned?"
From the sidelines, Amani said, "I was surprised too... But Kodori said she beat Ottar when she was level five. But she had become so skilled that she could bridge the level difference."
"Huh." Brisid nodded, "You know, she might be on to something." Then as Shinkage started to walk out of the circle, "Hey, you can't leave yet."
Shinkage sighed again, "Fine, Amani?" She looked to the mini-zon, who tossed her padao back to her.
(Some boring meeting room in the Underworld someplace)
"Lady Leviathan? Is something amiss?" A stuffy looking Devil asked from across the meeting table.
Serafall looked left, right, out the window, up through the skylight, under the table and even checked her phone, expecting to see her little sister looking at her and being disappointed with her for some reason or another. Not seeing her, she replied with, "I just had the strangest feeling, that's all. Now, why exactly does this need my attention again?"
"Ah. Well, as I was saying..."
(Hearthstone Manor)
Looking perfectly official, Eina was walking towards the Manor while being escorted by Ouka. In her hand was a scroll tube, which was used when a simple envelope was not enough for what ever documents were being delivered.
Ouka, always polite and friendly towards the Manor's favourite Guild employee couldn't contain his curiosity and asked, "Eina-san, is that for the upcoming capture mission?"
"It is." She nodded, "It seems it will be a little more... involved than we first thought, and I need to consult with Miss Delly, as well as Master Welf."
"Aunty Eina!" The call came from all around them, from the open door of the Manor, around both sides of it, from Gros's enclosure, from a balcony, and even from under a shrubbery along the path towards the Manor. Moments later, she was mobbed by a small sea of happy fox ears and their happi-coated owners.
Even if she was the most professional of people, Eina couldn't resist giving them all headpats while kneeling down to accept and give hugs. "Now now, I'm here on business today. I can't play."
Ouka chuckled and came to her 'rescue', "Help Eina-san out, and go find Delly-chan and Welf-san. Maybe Hestia-sama as well."
There was a collection of 'awww's at being unable to play with Eina, then a similar chorus of 'Haaaaaiiii!" and a scattering of children as they went to find those in question.
Standing and straightening her uniform a little, Eina sighed happily, "It's wonderful to see them all so cheerful."
"Thanks to the efforts of the Alliance, and the Guild, it's possible." Ouka nodded with a grin, "Head to the kitchen, and I'm sure someone has some tea on. I'm still on guard duty."
(In front of Babel, main street.)
It was one of the single largest expeditions in history. Almost two hundred adventurers total, it clogged the front pathway into the tower with the incredible amount of stuff such a trip required. Food, equipment for the adventurers, then all of the capture equipment they were bringing.
Thanks to the efforts of the Odds'n'Ends workshop, the capture equipment wasn't nearly as bulky as one might expect. Collapsible cages, tightly woven fabric straps, gadgets that would remain in their component parts until needed... It was all broken down and packed neatly, instead of pre-assembled. Of course, on the way back up that would be different, but for now, the entire caravan could made it down to the eighteenth floor without having to lower wagons and massive cages down to the first floor.
The adventurers as well weren't ALL going down to the middle floors where the bulk of the monsters would be captured, but would be minding the equipment, and later the monsters, bringing fresh equipment and tools down to the hunters when needed, then escorting filled cages back up, like an assembly line. Thanks to the new communication crystals, there would be no guesswork on what party needed what and when.
Still, it was a staggering undertaking.
"Well? How ya feeling Delly?" Welf asked, plunking his hand down on Delly's head and carefully scroofling her ears. Normally, he wouldn't do such a thing, but the poor girl looked nervous.
Delly almost relaxed into the well meaning ear scritching, but grr'ed and flailed at Welf's hand, "Hey stop that." She pouted, "Your hands are too rough!"
"My bad." He laughed, "You going to be okay?"
Seeing the easygoing smith switch to a serious expression brought Delly around, "Yeah. Just a little pre-dungeon nerves. Without Maki, the party feels a little incomplete, even with all these people here."
"Yeah, when you get used to having someone at your back, it feels weird to not have them. But hey! I'll be down there. Am I not good enough?" He went back to grinning.
"Master Welf, you never use that hand cream, so no, you are not." Kaede the Hume-Bunny Samurai said as she approached from the other side of one of the many wagons, "You don't have fuzzy ears, so you'd never understand."
"Well now I just feel bad." Welf said, his laugh making it plain he didn't feel bad in the slightest. "Hey, Where'd Odds go?"
"She's doing one more equipment check." Kaede sighed, "We'll never get going if she doesn't finish though."
"Suppose I should go rescue the expedition then." Welf sighed, "She should really just come along."
Delly and Kaede watched Welf grumble his way towards the wagons, "Come on, don't look so nervous." Kaede gave Delly's ears a much better scroofle than Welf, "She'll be fine, I mean, she's with Kodori-san."
"I know. Just been a while since I haven't had one of them nearby. Let's find Momiji. I'm going into fox withdrawal." Delly laughed, not actually moving until Kaede stopped petting her ears.
(Hearthstone Manor, night before the transfer.)
Haruhime wasn't one for drinking. In recent years, she had slowly gotten used to 'the special occasion' type of drinking, where her and those close to her would share a small bottle of something and enjoy what ever occasion it happened to be. Birthdays, a successful return from a long expedition, a level. You know, notable things.
Yet tonight, she had retracted the dome of Kodori's little telescope observatory, and gotten out onto the roof, the highest point of the Manor. Next to her was a small stone bottle of sake, Momiji's latest attempt to 'make something worthy'. Truth be told, Haruhime rather liked these 'unworthy' attempts, since they generally had something unique about their taste, unlike most sake you'd find that was made in large batches.
"Ha-chan?"
The quiet, just behind the ear voice made her smile, and with her free hand she took out the rectangle of Ko-steel she always kept close when her wife was away. "My love?" She replied quietly, her eyes focusing on the background of the picture and bringing the Tarot to life, "Ah, we're of similar mind tonight."
Haruhime could see the stars of an unfamiliar sky behind Kodori's head, "Well, had a little bit of a scare. Nothing dire, no injuries, just a surprising event. But, just in case no one has told you, we'll be back on that side tomorrow."
"I got the news this afternoon, yes." She smiled, "The capture expedition has been in the dungeon a couple of days now, though, Shinkage hasn't returned yet.
"I think they'd be another day or so out. But yeah..." Kodori sighed, "I miss you all. Oh, there's going to be a huge surprise coming through with Maki and Hagane tomorrow. Be sure to greet them for me, and don't be alarmed, she's friendly."
"Bringing home more strays Ko-san?" Haruhime giggled.
"I've had great luck so far. Why stop?" Kodori laughed, "Make sure to go with Takemikazuchi-sama tomorrow."
"Yes Ko-san. I am looking forward to seeing a little of this new world, since I missed seeing the last one you travelled to." She smiled.
"Well, you might actually get to go there in person at some point, depending on how things turn out. It's a nice place, but the Gods here are no fun." Kodori sighed, "Anyhow, going to do one last check before bed. My love? How are they?"
"They miss you, as we all do. But they are waiting patiently." Haruhime lifted her little sake cup, "To you my love, a thousand years."
"A thousand years. And save a little, we can share when I get home."
(The Ruined Castle, Day of Transfer)
Adventurers were well known for taking risks. Their job demanded they did so to make a living. But, they weren't stupid. So when Fels and Riveria told everyone who had gathered around the castle to stay behind the line, they stayed behind the line. Sure, everyone knew magic existed, but when one of the foremost minds and this other guy who seemed to be the one who knew exactly what was going on said 'this would be dangerous', well, even the most hard core adrenaline junkie among the adventurers listened. Especially when the one in the black robes said, "It may turn you inside out if you're too close."
Among those gathered (well behind the red line) was Royman. As the Guild Master, he didn't want anyone else to take this spot at the front. At his side were two other guild employees, though they were there with clip boards in hand, not as ambassadors.
Takemikazuchi was there as well, with Haruhime and Mikoto at his side. He was one of several Gods there, such as Ganesha (who was quietly flexing in the back someplace), and Goibniu, who was trying to pass off his curiosity as something he actually had a little time for.
Other notable people were ones like Tsubaki, who was there since Hephaestus couldn't be. Some of Loki Familia, though only Gareth (who had resigned himself as 'the official greeter of foreign parties' years ago) was among the level sixes (aside from Riveria).
There were many others, but there was only one more of significance, walking up from the rear of the onlookers, a small white fox in his hand.
"Ottar?" Someone mumbled, catching everyone's attention.
He of course ignored the looks, though nodded to anyone brave enough to look him in the eyes. However he didn't actually speak to anyone. No, he was listening to the fox in his hand far too intently.
"It is her hope that you understand a little more about the possible dangers should this meeting get out of hand." Loaner said to him, doing his best to angle his head so that Ottars well meaning headpats counted for a little more.
"Is this group dangerous?" Ottar mumbled, watching over everyone's head from the back of the onlookers.
"Only if provoked. They are but a small sample from her world, and like Orario, it has many different people there. These ones however, are usually quite polite, and respect honourable dealings quite highly. They share many similarities to those from 'The East' here in this world." Loaner replied, waiting until Ottar had stopped patting his head to look back and up at the Boaz.
Ottar met the little fox eyes, nodded, then went back to observing the wide open space in front of them.
Well at the front, Fels took out a small glass orb. "Lady Kodori?"
Only those close to the front of the pack could hear the reply, "We're all set here. Is the area clear? And I mean really clear?"
"Yes. To my surprise no one doubted me. I should get out more." Fels chuckled.
"Okay. I'm not going to count down, but expect either the Gate, or another call in about thirty seconds." Kodori said.
"Understood." He put the orb away, and started to count down quietly. Of course, counting down near a crowd who was waiting was all it took for someone to pick up the count as well, and it rippled out from there until everyone but Ottar, Royman and the handful of Gods were following along.
It was around ten that something started to happen.
(Deep jungle, Telskyura)
I stood behind Lelei as the mini-mage held her arms out towards the complex magic circle around the Gate. With a hand on her shoulder, I was simply letting my mana flow into her by osmosis, from a high concentration (me) to a low concentration (her) letting her pull as much power from me as she needed, when she needed it. This would prevent me from overloading her and making the spell fail, or her explode. We could always try the spell again, but we only had one Lelei, so I was careful.
Slowly, the mana demand increased, and the gold wire and gems inside the circle started to spark and glow. The 'corrective' projection Lelei had out over the entire thing also got brighter, getting closer to the ground almost like a key fitting into a lock.
"Almost." Lelei said, leaning forward just a little, as if pushing against the magic. At the same time, the mana demand from me rose even higher. A little blurry vision, a brief wave of vertigo, a hint of nausea, the urge to yawn...
Then with a weird stretching motion, the floating magic circle over the gate extended upwards, obscuring the building from sight, and with a weird stretching internal snap the mana demands cut off. Lelei and I fell against each other, the two of us failing to support each other as the sudden demand on our magic and concentration ceased. But after a moment Itami and Aisha helped us to our feet, a bit of water and some mana pills being fed to us.
But it worked. The Gate was no longer here. In its place there was nothing but a slightly smoking super complex magic circle that had been scratched into a hastily made concrete platform.
"Woo." I said woozily, feeling the mana pills hardly touch the mental fatigue I was feeling, "That was... okay no... help me sit?"
"We can't stay still long." Ryuu said, "Lelei?"
"Very tired." She said, "It's only gone, but did it work?"
From my pocket, I dimly heard, "It worked! Lady Kodori! Can you hear me?"
Aisha fished in my pouch for me, "Hey Fels. She's taking a minute to recover. No problems?"
"Ah, Miss Belka. No, it arrived exactly where it was supposed to. Though, there are several curious blood stains on the walls, are you all safe?"
"The fight before hand was pretty messy." Aisha said, "And we can't kill all the mosquitoes around here."
"A fair explanation. Recover quickly, and return home as soon as you are able. How long will it be before they come through?" Fels asked.
"Here." Lelei handed Itami another Occulus, "Ah... Tuka? Can you power that?"
"Sure!" A pause, "Here you go Papa."
"Ah, test test? This is First Lieutenant Itami, test test!"
"Oh! I hear you!" It was Cato, "Let me just... um... Here!"
The Commander spoke next, "Itami? Report!"
"The Gate is away, and has arrived in place." Itami said, "They are asking for your ETA."
There was a pause, and there was clear relief in the Commander's voice, "Five minutes."
I made a clumsy motion towards the Occulus that Tuka was holding. "One moment." Itami said, motioning for the cheerful elf to bring it to me, "Here."
"Lemme say it before anyone else Commander. Welcome to Orario." I said when I saw his face through the flat glass side of the Occulus, "We'll be no longer than ten days back from here, so take a little time to sight see."
"Understood Kodori-san."
The Occulus went dark, and it was handed back to Lelei. Aisha then said, "Hear all that?"
"Yes. I'll let everyone know." Fels said, "Well done."
A moment or two later, I was starting to get the feeling back in my legs, "Okay... Now we get to clean thus up, pack it up, and quick march to Telskyura." I stretched my arms over my head, "Lets get started."
NOTES!
And the Gate has landed! Again...
See you all in five days, with a little more split view as the occupants of Alnus meet the adventurers of Orario.
Daeore on Ko-fi and Inkitt etc etc.
See you in five days.