Okay I know it's been a while but I'm finally ready to continue this story again and start the final custom arc before we tie in to cannon again.
Disclaimer: I don't own ROTSH
The start of the following day didn't offer too much in terms of excitement after a meal consisting of dried and preserved meat the bow hero's party continued onto Reema occasionally encountering low level monsters that would try and ambush them on the road, of course said monsters were no real threat but they were more than a bit tedious to deal with since it was causing an unnecessary delay for the group's arrival.
A secondary objective that Audrey eagerly wanted to take care of while at Reema was finding a weapons shop in order to use the recently discovered weapon copy ability to gain more bow variants along with any stat boost they held, along with any potential new skills they might grant her, she had hoped to do so at the capital while at Erhard's shop but found that on that particular day the shop didn't hold any, while it wasn't convenient for her Audrey couldn't get upset since it was a safe bet to assume that any bows the shop had held had already been bought with the current state of the world.
After around another hour and half the party caught sight of a city surrounded by a stone wall and mote, Audrey had to admit this city certainly looked impressive for what it was, had she not already been to the actual capital of Melromarc she might have jumped to the conclusion that this place was it. "You seem surprised by the scenery." Bluebell mused to the bow hero.
"I'll admit that this place is a lot larger than I had expected it to be."
"Wait until we get inside, you might find yourself being more at piece here than any place we have ventured to thus far."
Audrey wasn't certain about that just yet but honestly it would be nice to have some scenery that didn't have some hidden ugly side, the capital was an anti-shield hotspot and Lute was still recovering from all the destruction it suffered at the hand of the previous wave so it was more or less next to impossible to truly feel at ease while at either place especially the former.
As the group came to the gate they were stopped by a pair of guards. "What business do you have here in Reema?"
"We're here to take up odd jobs from the local guild." Audrey answered
"So you're a band of adventurers."
"That would be one way to summarize it."
"Move along."
As Audrey and the other did so walking through a tunnel going through the surrounding wall Bluebell gave the her a questioning look. "Um Audrey?"
"Yeah?"
"Why did you tell them that we were typical adventurers?"
"Because I don't see why they need to know I am the bow hero."
"It might make things easier for you in some situations, just the legend alone makes it so that your identity as one of the cardinal heroes gives you a certain amount of influence."
"Maybe but I don't need everyone's eyes glued to whatever I'm doing, I was summoned to fight the waves and save this world, parading myself around like a celebrity like figure isn't going to help accomplish that."
"Fair enough."
"Plus I don't want to catch the eyes of anyone who has anti shield hero sentiments since they might seek to cause trouble for us because of my siding with Naofumi and not being prejudice against demi humans however low the odds of that might be."
"I….see your point." Bluebell conceded.
Baxley glanced back in the direction the group had come from. "At the very least none of the guards gave us trouble over my presence so I think there's a silver lining."
Upon hearing this Audrey smiled. "True, that's something I can appreciate- WOAH!"
The reason for the sudden outcry was the sight of Reema itself, If Audrey was a little surprised by its size from outside the wall then the city itself offered an even more astounding sight, of course it looked medieval witch wasn't surprised but even so the city looked more prosperous than Audrey could have anticipated almost like something out of a lighthearted fantasy novel or anime with people of all ages walking through the streets happily and even demi humans too. Reema also appeared to have numerous canals running through out it splitting the very streets into two halves with the building located at their far sides away from the canals themselves.
"I gotta say I'm surprised by all the canals; this place isn't anywhere near the ocean."
"From what I've heard the individual who funded this city had the canals built and then had numerous water mages filling them using water magic."
"So they're more decorative than anything."
"Well it does help Reema stand out in its own way."
"I suppose; anyway let's hurry and find the guild." As the group continued on their way Mason glanced around at everyone and everything curiously while many of the city residents were just as curious about him leading to someone asking themselves if Audrey was the rumored "Savior of the heavenly fowl", Audrey had to admit something about that name caught her attention, from what the name implied it sounded like this individual people were mistaking her for might have been helping a great deal of people if they managed to make a name for themselves that has spread by word.
Maybe they might be someone who could be an ally? Given that two of the four cardinal heroes were overconfident and delusional she would welcome any outside help she could get for herself and Naofumi but she'd have to meet them first before she could make any real judgements pertaining to them.
After around another fifteen minutes of walking and finding a place to leave the cart for the time being the group immediately began heading for the local guild and upon arrival it much like the one from the capital housed numerous adventurers varying from sword users to archers, to magic users and the like, more or less what was to be expected but unlike the capital it's atmosphere felt far more welcoming, no one was giving them and more so to the point Baxley any looks of malice or distrust.
"Welcome!" The guild leader declared as they spotted Audrey's group. "You looking for anything in particular or just looking to take a load off?"
"We're looking for decent paying job, preferably one that will allow us to gain some levels."
"From what I can see all of your levels save for the kid's are all in the mid and early thirties, I think I might have one that'll suit your needs."
The Reema guild leader pulled out a posting for a job that involved monster slaying, Reading further over the specific contents of the job she found that the monsters in question were described as bear like monsters called "furbolgs" which reminded Audrey of a certain game from her world.
"These beasts having really been getting rowdy lately so you'll be paid well enough for thinning out one of their herds plus on top of that their average level is also around the mid-thirties so you might all just be able to bring your levels up to 40"
"Glad to hear it." Audrey replied.
"Should I take that this means your party will be taking on the quest?"
"Yes."
"Glad to see someone with the fortitude to thin the herd, I was worried that we we're going to be forced to wait for Reema to be attacked before anyone woke up and done something about the looming threat."
"Can you tell me where the furbolgs are located?"
"A forest to the north of Reema."
"Got it." With that Audrey and the others proceeded to leave the guild. "So I assume we're heading there immediately?" Baxley mused
"Not quite, I want to use this opportunity to copy any bow variants while I have the chance." Audrey replied. God knew she did not want to repeat the mistake she did in Herba by overlooking potential preparations that could make the difference between victory and defeat. Turning to Bluebell. "You know where the local weapon shop is?"
Bluebell merely smirked. "That goes without saying, come on it's not far from here." Within the span of a few minutes the group arrived at their next destination.
Upon seeing the party enter the shop the owner just smiled at them. "Welcome. Feel free to take your time and look around."
"Will do." Audrey said before going over to the available bows and found the store had three available models with multiple copies of all three of course, grabbing ahold of all three variants one at a time she utilize here weapon copy skill.
Traveler bow successfully copied
Stats: Spd + 14 stamina +35 str + 12
equip bonus: stamina up (Medium)
skills: None
Crossbow successfully copied
Sats: Str + 20 def + 10
Equid bonus: Peirce power up ( large)
Skills: eagle piercing shot
Knight bow successfully copied
Stats: str + 35 spd + 25 dex + 18 def + 16
equip bonus: None
Skills: Meteor shot
Once Audrey was done copying the new set of bow variants she was left more than a bit stunned by the gains she had made, while it was true she was hoping for the best in a sense the gains she had gained here were more than she could have ever anticipated at this point, all three bows not only contained considerable stat boost but two out of the tree had granted her access to new offensive skills but even the one bow that didn't still came with a useful equip bonus that would benefit Audrey down the road.
"Um Audrey are you okay?" Bluebell suddenly asked snapping the bow hero out of her stupor.
"Oh sorry I was just caught a bit off guard by the gains I made from these new bows,"
Bluebell gave the bow hero a curious look. "Were they not what you were hoping for."
"No it's actually the opposite." Audrey replied with a grin forming on her face. "They gave me far more better gains then I thought they would."
"That's great!"
"Yeah, it'll help ensure this quest goes far smoother than our previous one." Audrey mused before eyeing a pile of whetstones and deciding to purchase a few for Baxley to use on his axe whenever it needed to be sharpened and so she could give the shop keeper some kind of compensation for copying the weapons they had on sail, otherwise she would feel like she had essentially stolen from them even if they were completely unaware.
After getting the whetstone and leaving the establishment Audrey and the others wasted no time in heading for Reema's entrance.
XXXXX
Thanks to their new mode of transportation with Mason pulling the wagon the group arrived at the area where the furbolgs were said to reside and compared to the area were the group had faced the trial guardian this place felt far more normal (at least by the standards of this world) which a part of Audrey kind of came to appreciate in a short time span but just the same she was not about to let herself become complacent.
Finding their target didn't take much effort, the monsters in question actually came to them or at least what Audrey surmised was probably something of a scouting party, the furbolgs were all bipedal bearlike creature with dark brown fur coats.
A part of Audrey wondered if it was just a coincidence but these things really reminded her of a certain online game from her own world. Whatever the case her party's course of action remained the same, these monsters needed to be exterminated before they could try and wreak havoc upon the town of Reema.
Readying an arrow Audrey fired an arrow straight into one of the Furbolgs' eyes downing the creature instantly and earning a roar of rage from the others in the group.
"Drawing out her rapier Bluebell took a position in front of Audrey impeding one of the furbolgs trying to rush her before blocking a claw swipe with her shield and following up with a thrust to its heart which downed the beast. "It looks like our mission has started.
A third furbolg was decapitated by Baxley before Mason following up rending two more scouts to pieces with his talons. The last few tried to rush the party by a quicky rain arrow attack from Audrey quickly dispatched of them.
"That's the last of the scouting party but where's their main group?" Bluebell asked.
"My guess would be deeper in the forest." Baxley replied whilst the party continued traversing through the forest.
Before much longer the party found a much larger group which they were certain was the main body of the tribe including one Furbolg that was significantly larger than the rest of its brethren with a bright orange and white coat which according to Audrey's very own HUD was known as a "Furbolg chieftain" which upon spotting the bow hero's party roared loud enough for all the other present furbolgs to hear causing any of them that had yet to take notice of Audrey and the others to do so now.
Once the horde of monsters began trying to rush the bow heroes' party Audrey decided to open up with a poison mist creating a cloud of airborne poison between the two sides forcing the monsters to momentarily stop in their tracks which both Bluebell and Mason took full advantage of following up with a combination of their fire bullet and ice shard storm (Which Mason was able to learn on his own without any need of a spell book) spells which took out a number of the bear like creatures before the chieftain roared in anger and decided to rush the group itself before Audrey fired a thunder arrow in its direction.
To Audrey slight surprise to chieftain of the furbolgs proved to be surprisingly resilient as it managed to endure the very brunt of the skill relatively well, that wasn't to say it came out unscathed but it wasn't as damaged as Audrey had anticipated.
Mason meanwhile had offed one furbolg before having to block the thrust of an incoming claw from one of the others.
Bluebell was holding her own rather well but she was forced to stay on her toes as she evaded a downward swipe via taking a step backward just out of range before following up and moving in to counter with a thrusting attack. "These beasts sure are persistent but it's nothing we can't handle."
Audrey couldn't help but agree with that, yes the comment came off as a bit overconfident but this mission was nothing compared to what the trial guardian had put the party through.
The chieftain growled in rage as it turned its full attention on the bow hero and charged her wanting to skewer the otherworlder with its claws only for Audrey to dodge the attempt by jumping to the side before hitting the chief furbolg with a fast tornado that sent the beast sailing through the trees all the while many of the smaller furbolgs attempted to retaliate against Audrey only to be impeded by her party members.
Bluebell quickly off another Furbolg via a thrust to its eyes while Mason managed to rip a massive gash into another one which he was facing and Mason managed to send a few of them literally flying through the air with surprisingly strong kicks.
The chief of the furbolg tribe still not down and out yet came charging through the trees with a boulder in its paws which it chucked at Audrey who was forced to roll to the side before retaliating with another thunder arrow only for the furbolg to hold its arms out in front of itself in a defensive gesture before taking the hit.
'So this thing has the intellect to block attacks.'
The chief furbolg swung one of its' paws along the ground digging up pieces of dirt and sending them in Audrey's general direction forcing her to dodge the attack. Upon repositioning herself Audrey quickly fired a new arrow only for the chief furbolg surprise her somewhat as it deflected the shot and closed in before attempting to skewer Audrey through her midsection. Had it not been for the bow hero's speed and reflexes the chief furbolg likely would have succeeded and turned the entire tide of the fight, reacting just in the nick of time Audrey leaped over the incoming attack all the while the leader of the furbolgs passed underneath her.
Once Audrey landed she took aim and used her blizzard arrow which encased most of the furbolg's body within a thick sheet of ice before firing a skill she was unable to use until she had defeated the trial guardian due to her level being too low. "Dimension arrow."
As Audrey let her arrow loose the projectile dissipated into thin air just short of hitting the chief furbolg nearly leaving Audrey confused before she was met with another surprise when a number of bright lines that might have been described as tears in space appeared around and through the chief furbolg followed by a multitude cuts opening up throughout the chief furbolg's body.
While the attack did a great deal of damage to the chief furbolg the beast was by no means defeated, if anything the leader of the furbolgs seemed more determined than ever to fight to the end as it let out a loud roar before suddenly breaking free from its ice prison and charging at Audrey at new speeds that surprised her and forced the bow hero to dodge before the chief furbolg followed up sending more chunks of soil her way.
Unable to react in time to the incoming attack Audrey was about to try and brace herself the best she could before Bluebell was in front of her tanking the attack with her shield just barely managing to hold out against the force of the attack.
Baxley followed up with his own assault dashing by the chief furbolg and making a new gash across its chest in the process before Mason added on to the assault sending the beast away with a powerful kick which the chief furbolg endured surprisingly well. Audrey found herself unable to keep herself from internally accrediting the chief furbolg for its tenacity.
Glancing at her Hud she saw that it stated that the chief furbolg was in a berserk state which would very likely explain its newfound speed. Still one way or another this fight needed to come to an end.
As the chief furbolg came charging at the party once more Audrey takes aim and utilizes another rain arrow which left the chief furbolg on the receiving end of numerous arrows which penetrated its hide.
After the skill was done the chief furbolg stood in place glaring defiantly at the bow hero and her party as a whole before its eyelids began to feel heavier and it fell forward onto the ground dead at last.
"I got to hand it to this thing it might not be nowhere near the level of the trial guardian it had an impressive amount of determination." Audrey mused.
"I've noticed that too." Baxley replied. "It had a lot more endurance than I thought it would."
Glancing at her HUD Audrey was pleased to see that her party members levels had all gone up to 30 in the case of Mason and 32 in the case of Bluebell and Baxley "Give me a little time to harvest the furbolgs for materials."
"Of course, we'll help move the process along." Bluebell mused before the party (Save for Mason) got to work so that Audrey could unlock the new corresponding bow variants.
Furbolg leather bow unlocked
Stats: def + 5 Cold resistance up (medium)
Equip bonus: none
Skills: none
Furbolg meat bow unlocked
Stats: str + 10 def + 4
Equip bonus: none
Skills: none
Furbolg claw bow unlocked
Stats: Slash resistance up (Medium) tool crafting + 12
Equip bonus: none
Skills: none
Chief furbolg leacher bow unlocked
Stats: str + 15 def + 13
Equip bonus: None
Skills: None
Chief furbolg meat bow unlocked
Stat: Impact resistance up (high) dex + 9
Equip bonus: None
Skill: none
Chief furbolg claw bow unlocked
Stat: str + 20 + spd 10
Equip bonus: None
Skills: Berserk
"Did you get anything that you can make use of?" Bluebell inquired.
"Yeah I got a berserk skill which as the name suggests more or less puts any opponent into a berserk state. Anyway let's hurry up and get back to Reema before the sun goes down." Upon receiving nods and replies of agreement Audrey and the others began the track back to the wagon and from there to Reema.
XXXXX
Walking through the front door of a warehouse Gilford scrutinized the place before spotting another figure who much like Gilford himself was dressed in decorative armor that symbolized the individual as a follower of the three heroes church. This other figure was a male around Gilford's own age group with hair tied in a long thin ponytail and a two-handed axe strapped to their back, they had been an avid follower of the three heroes church slaying and capturing many demi humans for enslavement over the course of numerous expeditions which led them to meeting Gilford and becoming a longtime friend of his, upon noticing the former the latter smiled. "Well met Gilford, it's good to see you again after all these months."
"I have the say feeling's quite mutual Keith, I'm a bit curious how you have been since our raid on the demi human settlement in Zeltobe."
The individual now identified as Keith chuckled. "Quite well, I've been training and further honing my skill on the battlefield to help pave the way for humanity's triumph over the demi human scourge that plagues this world."
"I'm pleased to know that, your skills may very well be tested going forward with our latest mission."
"I must admit that I am certainly curious, the entirety of the holy sect has never been assembled at any one time except during the war with silvelt. Am I to assume we'll be facing a fearsome opponent?"
"It is just as you suspect we are going against a formidable foe but before I reveal who let us meet with all the others so there won't be a need to explain this new endeavor twice in one day."
"The others are already waiting just in the next room."
As the two church followers made their way through another door leading into a deeper part of the warehouse they were met with three other individuals. The first was a young male likely in his late teens or just short of his twenties wearing thick white robes with a tabard that had the same design of Gilford's own and a pair of glasses. This individual was simply named Max whom had grew up in a family that was devoted to the teachings of the three heroes church before they were all lost in the previous war with Silvelt, since that time he had devoted himself to the teachings of the three heroes church as well as the arts of fire and water magic, after massacring a demi human settlement close to the silvelt border in order to gain Gilford's acknowledgement he was made a member of the holy sect where he has since furthered his skills so they he could assist the man he had come to view as an older sibling figure of sorts when the time came.
The next of the three was a young woman around the same age group as Max wearing the outfit of a nun who went by the name of Martha, similarly to Max she was raised in a family of church devotees which naturally led to her becoming one herself, throughout her life she studied the church's exploits as well as that of past sword, bow, and especially spear heroes, during the earlier years of her life she harbored a fantasy of being courted by a new hero of the spear until she heard of Gilford, upon tales of his name reaching her ears she began researching his deeds and all that he had accomplished in the name of humanity and soon after her infatuations became centered around the self-proclaimed holy knight leading her to train herself in use of the spear so that she could fight alongside him, luckily having met and befriended Max prior to his own recruitment her connection with him allowed her to also join the holy sect as a newer member thanks to Max vouching for her.
The final member were another young lady just short of her adult years with blond hair tied in a short pony tail she wore a sleeveless white shirt that left her midriff exposed along with an open vest and brown shorts, the girl in question was named Serra and unlike all the other members she wasn't truly a devoted follower of the three heroes church, in reality she was a thief stealing from whomever she was able to before an attempt had gone wrong and forced her to murder an entire family and subsequently led to her being arrested however Gilford who had heard of the incident decided to intervene of her behalf for the combination of two reasons, the first being that he was impressed with her skills given how long she had alluded the authorities for has long as she did, the second was because the family she had been forced to butcher happened to be a family made up of demi humans, as a result in exchange for avoiding execution she was made Gilford's slave and made to support the three heroes church as a member of the holy sect.
Bending his knees to bow before Gilford Max was the first to speak. "Sir Gilford we are all ready to assist you in whatever endeavors you may face in the coming days."
Martha quickly follow suit in bowing. "Know that my spear is yours to command my lord."
Seeing this display caused Gilford to let out a chuckle. "At ease both of you, You are both members of the holy sect and as such you are more than mere soldiers but true comrades in our quest to ensure all of humanity's triumph, please rise."
Upon hearing this both members did just that with Max looking at Gilford with admiration and Martha trying to hide a blush all the while Serra whom had been sitting atop a crate merely scoffed at the sight though she was largely ignored as Keith asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "Now that we're all here I think it's time to find out what our mission entails."
"Of course." Gilford mused before addressing everyone present. "As I'm sure all of you have heard Melromarc has summoned all three cardinal heroes along with the devil of the shield."
Serra rolled her eyes uncaringly. "Yeah it was impossible not to hear of the news since the devil of the shield turned out to be more of a degenerate than the church made him out to be trying to rape his own companion."
"While it is true that the shield devil is even further removed from any path of redemption than many have previously thought there was never any hope for him to begin with, his downfall will come soon enough."
Upon hearing this Max felt a sense of excitement grew within himself. "Does this mean our mission is to strike down the devil of the shield?!"
"Your enthusiasm is appreciated Max but no, our query happens to be the hero of the bow."
Upon hearing this Max's face fell whilst Martha looked at the leader of the holy sect in confusion and all the while Serra merely snickered at the news. Causing both Max and Martha to glare at her.
"Gilford I don't understand." Keith said. "Nor do I think anyone here does."
Gilford let out a sigh. "Your confusion is understandable but unfortunately the church's plans with the hero summoning have not gone as his holiness has intended."
Everyone stared at Gilford waiting for further elaboration. "First let me start with the unfortunate shortcomings of the spear and sword, The spear hero has nearly caused the destruction of a small settlement with a special seed that nearly devoured the place and caused the destruction of another called Cadia when he slayed all the local guards allowing it to be raided by bandits."
"And the sword?" Keith inquired almost stoically whilst Martha wore a look of devastation hearing of the spear hero's failures and Max tried to process what he had just heard.
"The sword hero went to slay a dragon which had made its' layer near a village."
"Shouldn't that mean he's doing what he is meant to?!" Max asked wanting some semblance of good news.
"As much as I truly wish I could paint this as a great accomplishment I cannot, while he may have slain a dragon he had left the corpse behind which in turn had rotted and caused a plague that nearly wiped out the village."
Keith raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. "I understand the two heroes are showing much incompetence in their intended roles in this world but from what you have said It sounds like the two settlements aside from Cadia survived, surely that would have worth."
"That it would if it had been by either of their hands that catastrophe was prevented."
"That by who's hand were the people saved?!" Martha exclaimed whilst Gilford let out a long sigh.
"Unfortunately by the worst hand possible, the two villages were saved by that of the shield devil."
"I think I'm starting to see some part of the picture now." Keith said. "If the shield devil is saving those that the sword and spear heroes are causing more harm than good to then that would inevitably lead to citizens turning away from the three heroes church and beginning to warship the shield devil himself."
"Precisely."
Serra who had only been listening half heartedly not really caring about any of this personally let out an annoyed groan. "Okay so the shield is fixing messes made by the spear and sword which makes everything bad for the church, I think everyone here gets that but what does any of this have to do with the bow hero?"
"To explain that I must first inform you all of the churches latest plans."
"And those would be?" Serra shot back.
"To launch a crusade to correct this string of mishaps via the elimination of the false heroes along with the devil of the shield, our mission is to eliminate the traitor of the bow first."
Keith raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I must ask, how is the hero of the bow a traitor? You have mentioned the wrongs of the sword and spear but have yet to say anything of the bow hero."
"Believe it or not, she has actually proven to be the most competent of the three, saving the people and bringing reverence to her name just as the church would have wanted even making the bandits responsible for the destruction of Cadia pay with their lives, however she has strayed from the path set out before her in a way that's far grimmer that the spear or sword."
Max and Martha tensed up upon hearing this as Keith let out the obvious inquiry. "What has the Bow hero done that is more egregious than her fellow heroes?"
"She has steadfastly supported the devil of the shield, when it was made clear just how much of a despicable monster he truly was she claimed his crime to be a lie and has lent him her support throughout these trying times in fact some members fear she may even hold the shield devil within her heart, not only that but recent report state that she now has a demi human within her party."
"I see, So we're to remove her from the picture so that she cannot interfere hen the time comes to strike down the devil of the shield before he can poison the mind of our fellow humans any further."
"Yes, We all must do our part to ensure the church's dream of humanity's victory over the scourge of beasts comes to fruition no matter the cost."
"I understand, You'll have my full support through this endeavor." Keith announced resolutely.
Max bent a knee once more before meeting Gilford's gaze with a looked of determination. "I will follow you and the three heroes church down whatever path you might take, this I swear upon my family!"
Marth followed Max's example and got down on one knee. "My life has always been devoted to the three heroes church and since becoming a member of the holy sect to you as well, may my spear become instrumental in purging the whore of the bow."
Serra merely shrugged indifferently. "Our arrangement pretty much makes my general answer a given so I won't bother with some fancy declaration."
Gilford smiled. "Good, our sources have informed me that the bow traitor has been seen heading to Reema so we will follow her there in due time."
XXXXXX
"Thank goodness we made it back before night fall, for a while I thought my streak of bad luck was starting again." Bluebell mused causing Audrey to sweat drop and both Baxley and Mason to glance at her in confusion.
Scratching the side of his head Baxley glanced ahead taking in the sights, even though it was night the streets of Reema were still relatively busy, granted it only just got dark an hour ago but still Reema was livelier than he thought it would be and from the looks of it the bow hero shared his sentiment as she glanced around with a content smile on her face as she glanced around at the little things in Reema.
As the group wondered back toward the local guild both Baxley and Bluebell were harboring similar thoughts, seeing Audrey's mood lifted to a more positive one compared to what it usually was the better part of the time due to having to be wary of the people around her was something they actually wanted to continue if only for Audrey's own sake, with the situation revolving around Naofumi leaving her with no shortage of disgust along with the behavior of the other two heroes, the tragedy at Cadia, the mishap she made with the mission in Herba along with the very mission being a set up in hopes that she would die both party members figured that this was the break that Audrey needed beyond a doubt, for once they didn't have to worry about someone trying to harm their group or Audrey.
The longer this peace for the party lasted the better.
Before long the bow hero's party arrived at the local guild where the receptionist smiled upon seeing them. "I hope that your return means you were successful with your mission."
Audrey simply opened her monster drop inventory. "I believe this should suffice in that regard." With that she produced a pelt straight from the hide of the chief furbolg.
The guild master's eyes widened considerably before they smiled and laughed. "Well I'll be damned, you guys actually did it, now we don't have to worry about the safety of this city." With that the guild master pulled out a large bag of coins. "Here's your reward."
"Thanks." Audrey said before taking the bag and storing it in her currency bow and from there the group proceeded to order some food for dinner.
"With that mission done maybe we can use this area to raise our levels all the way to 40 and then get class ups." Baxley mused.
"I told you this area had monsters around our current level, it will just be a matter of taking the right missions and fighting the correct opponents." Bluebell replied.
"Meaning will be better prepared for the next wave." Audrey added.
Mason simply gorged on the food in front of him which actually prompted Audrey to make a mental note to see if teaching Mason any semblance of table manners was possible, a part of her couldn't help but doubt it since he was a filolial but still she felt the need to try considering how he stood out when he ate food in his human form.
For around the next hour or so the party simply enjoyed themselves before they finished and left the guild and began heading towards the inn where they had paid for a room in advance and soon caught sight of a tent set up between the buildings.
Normally Audrey and the others might have simply ignored this sight but unfortunately doing so became impossible since it stood out it in a way that put a major crack in Reema's seemingly perfect image.
Simply put the establishment's true nature was shown by its opened entrance with the sight of various cages which held various individuals inside of them, it was a slave tent. Now what really caught Audrey's attention was not simply the fact that the tent was even here to begin with, or even the fact that some of the people inside were actually fellow human beings but rather who one of those very people were.
Audrey only vaguely remembered them from through the few times she saw her during the time that the heroes were given their parties, the previous wave, and the incident where the people of Lute were nearly extorted out of what they had, but upon walking closer to the slaver tent and getting a closer look at the individual in question any room for doubt of the generality of their identity disappeared, it was one of Motoyasu's very own teammates.
A part of Audrey wondered if this discovery was someone's idea of a sick joke as she almost subconsciously began making her way over to the tent.
Once Baxley noticed what the bow hero was doing he was about to call out to her before he was stopped by Bluebell who shook her head before speaking. "Stay here with Mason, I'll go with Audrey."
"Are you sure?"
"Someone we recognize is being held in there."
"Alright, I'll leave it to you."
"We'll be back as soon as we can." After reassuring the Hyena demi Bluebell proceeded to follow the bow hero inside the establishment.
Once the duo were inside the slave owner (Not the same one from cannon) looked at the two woman with a slight scowl. "Who are you? Did you come here to offer yourselves up as sex slave? Either way you can consider yourselves my property from this day forward since you were foolish enough to come anywhere near my tent let alone inside in the dead of night."
No sooner than the slave owner finished that very sentence did all their bravado leave them being replaced by sheer terror and regret as in the span of a single second Audrey had crossed the distance between herself and the slave owner grabbing him by the next and pinning him to the ground whilst her other hand held a summoned arrow just mere inches from the former's eye, he might have tried to verbally protest but two things stopped him dead in his tracks. The first as the most obvious one which was the sheer amount of forced Audrey's grip on his neck held behind it which cut off his entire air supply making it impossible for him to breath let alone speak, the second was the look of sheer malice Audrey as giving him which from his perspective made her look like the devil incarnate and only served to increased his fear to new heights.
Realizing the situation he was in where Audrey only had to thrust her other hand downward and the head of the arrow being grasped within it would enter his eye and at best he'd end in a great amount of pain losing an eye in the process and at worse dead, glancing in Bluebell's direction the slave owner only felt more dread as he saw the sky blue haired sword user staring down at him in disgust with her hand ready to draw her weapon at a moment's notice.
Between the two potential would be killers Audrey was the first to speak. "If you ever let another contentment even remotely like leave your shit infested hole you call mouth again I am gonna fucking take my time eviscerating your ass and I promise you'll begging for the release of death long before it comes. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
In spite of Audrey's iron grip around his neck the slave owner managed a nod before Audrey finally released his neck before grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him to pull feet. "Tell me." Audrey then gestured her head towards Motoyasu's teammate. "Why did she end up here?"
"Sh-she was brought here and sold to me."
"How much to buy her?" Audrey demanded.
"Sev-seventy silver!"
Audrey the slave owner away from her before pulling out a bag of coins containing the exact amount she was informed of before chucking it in the slave owner's direction. "There's your money now get the cage open."
The slave owner wasted no time in doing just as Audrey had ordered. As the newly purchased person was let out of her cage Audrey gestured for Bluebell to take her outside whilst the bow hero shot the slave owner one last disdainful glance. "We're done here."
The slave owner did not dare reply for fear of his life as he watched Audrey leave.
Once the group reunited with Mason and Baxley who turned to Bluebell. "Is this the person you were talking about?"
"Yeah."
Audrey meanwhile turned to the newly freed slave. "What's your name?"
"…Rino." The woman said.
"Forgive for asking but I need to know how exactly did you end up being sold as a slave?"
Rino began visibly shaking as she dug her fingernail into her arm with enough force to make fresh cuts causing both Bluebell and Baxley to wince whilst Audrey maintained a stoic demeanor. "Did this have something to do with the red hair bitch or Motoyasu?"
Rino let out a bitter laugh. "The former mainly but the spear hero didn't exactly help matters."
"What exactly would have led them to do this do you?"
"I'm sure you've noticed if you were able to recognize me of all people even though we're never spoke to each other even once then you have to have noticed how member from the spear hero's party have disappeared."
"Now that I think about it yeah." Audrey admitted. Looking back Motoyasu didn't have the same party members now that he did when the heroes were all initially summoned to this world. Putting more thought into it she realized at least three were gone. "Did Mien have something to do with that."
"You catch on quick, it a just as you suspect, since the parties were initially formed she alongside her best friend have been gradually pushing other members out so they can manipulate Moto- the spear hero as they see fit it make for quite a pathetic sight."
"I can imagine considering how far that piece of shit is up the princess's ass and eating out of the palm of her hand."
"It's likely even more sorrowful than even you realize."
Audrey shrugged indifferently. "Maybe but then again maybe not."
"Getting back to answering your question. "When I tried truly supporting the spear hero Mien and her friend didn't take particularly kindly to it."
"Wait you're telling me she doesn't want Motoyasu's dumbass receiving any support."
"Not exactly, it's more that the spear hero's lack of intelligence has led him to believe it's the duty of any woman in his party if not literally all of existence's duty is to cheer for him as he does the fighting or hide behind his delusional protection."
Audrey could only sigh as show wondered just how far Motoyasu's delusions went, then again she probably shouldn't be surprised considering his belief led him to slaughter the local guard in Cadia believing he had saved the female half of the settlement when in reality he condemned them to fates involving butcher, enslavement, and rape by the bandits that razed Cadia to the ground. "I'm assuming the Mien tried to drive you from the party?"
"Of course but I refused to leave so she tricked me and brought her to that slave owner to be sold, later that very same night I was sold the spear hero walked by the tent and I tried to call out for him but…"
"He never came."
Rino let out a bitter laugh. "Of course not, he went off with that bitch having forgotten about me, since that time I've been purchased by multiple men and…." Rino trialed off as she began visibly shaking.
"Alright I got the full picture." Audrey said before handing Rino another bog of coins shocking the woman. "Take this and go."
Rino glanced at the money and then back to Audrey. "Why would you help me?"
"I think you paid enough of a price for believing in Motoyasu at all and even then you didn't deserve what happened to you."
Rino could only smile bitterly. "You're not wrong that I paid a hefty price for choosing to travel with the spear hero, or believing the royal family held any ounce of morality in them." With that the woman ho had become completely disillusioned with her image of the hero of h spear left.
Once Rino as far enough away that she was out of sight and out of hearing range Audrey suddenly did something that both confused and shocked her fellow teammates.
She began chuckling, before it turned into laughter and from there became near hysterical laughter.
"Au-Audrey?" Bluebell asked unnerved by the bow hero's sudden and unnatural change in demeanor.
Once the bow hero's laughter subsided she replied. "I'm sorry, it's not that I'm finding any joy in what happened it just the sheer irony of it all especially when you consider Motoyasu's entire mindset."
Bluebell wanted to protest until she realized just how right Audrey's statement had been all the while Audrey continued.
"Not only is he strutting around thinking he's the protector of all woman but all he's ever really doing is trying to save the ones who don't if his duel to free Raphtalia is anything to go by and overlooking the ones who do all the while not having the ability to realize the one he's infatuated with the most is the most morally depraved individual to ever exist who might I add is pushing away anyone who actually believes in him."
Even if Bluebell or Baxley had actually wished to protest that point she really couldn't, if Cadia was anything to go this news only further cemented the fact, the cardinal hero of the spear was utterly worthless.
Just when it seemed like our main OC was going to finally have some peace, a new bombshell just had to dump its way into Audry's lap and ruin the mood and that's not even considering the new threat that'll soon be coming her way.
Anyway of course I was gonna have to have Rino rescued from her predicament, she may have doomed herself when she decided to follow Motoyasu of all people but what happened to her was messed up.
Also having Rino rescued provided an opportunity to show the irony of Motoyasu's entire mindset when it comes to himself and woman. As shown through Audrey's dialogue he might think he's the savior and protector of all woman but the reality is he's just wasting his time on those who don't need his help (Raphtalia being the primary example) and overlooking the ones who do (Rino being the primary example) which just makes it all the more ridiculous when he insist that being in Naofumi's party will lead them to harm and the being with himself is their best choice when its the absolute opposite in reality and Rino's fate is proof of that