After the trip to Hyllia Island, Akko ended up gaining an extra boost in the number of arrows and bombs she can carry, as well as improved boots and boomerangs that help her explore dungeons even more and can also be another advantage against Andrew Hanbridge, leaving the warrior from Luna Nova much improved for the occasions to come, With that, they set off on a long journey towards Eire Island, which will be the great indicator for the next dungeon. It's been days on the open ocean, days of constant rain, the sky has only remained cloudy all this time, there was not a blue in the sky as they approached Eire Island.
It had been four days of sailing on the ocean, and eventually they reached the shore of that island and you could see that the sky was very dark and cloudy, as if it were eternal night, which in fact it was when they approached the island, so much so that the girls moored the boat and went to sleep there to prepare for the next day.
When they woke up, they went outside and there was almost no difference, it looked like it was still night, but the sky was dark, while a fine drizzle was falling from the sky.
"It looks like it's going to be like this for a long time, come on, let's see whose island Eire is" said Akko.
"It's strange that everything is still dark, I don't know, there's a feeling of fear in the air, even more so with everything dark, it seems like the darkness is going to consume us" said Marianne.
"What's worse is that it's always raining here, getting everything wet, someone will have to stay to look after the boat, I'm afraid it'll sink" said Diana.
"You and Hellene take care of it, you've already been to the other dungeon, we're going to the island, this time we'll explore everything, since there wasn't this fear in the other dungeons of our ship sinking, we really have to be careful" said Atsuko.
"So take care of yourselves, come back well from this island Akko, even from afar we'll be watching from here" said Cavendish, who then went to hug his wife.
Then, after hugging, the couple kiss, and the other two married women do the same. Then they all get the resources to set up camp in the area, so they can have somewhere to stay without the danger of the sea catching them and also so they can be sheltered from the rain. Soon they are sailing until they reach the beach, seeing that there are some boulders around and also the drizzle was continuing, as well as there being a lot of fog, making it a little cold with an icy air passing through.
"It looks like we've arrived, this place shouldn't have anyone living here, we'd better start making our home" said Kagari.
"Wow, this really reminds me of the foggy mountains on the island of Edo when it got to autumn, it would start to get cold and rain a lot, it was full of fog everywhere, you could barely see the dungeon," said Marianne.
"If the place is really scary, I'd love to see what it's like" said Sucy curiously.
"I should have stayed to watch the boat, even this place is giving me the creeps" said Amanda.
"Even you're scared to death of a bully Gerudo" said the crimson-eyed one.
"It's not because I'm a Gerudo that I'm not afraid" said O'Neill
"Let's get this tent sorted out straight away" said the brownish woman.
Soon the girls began to set up camp, their hair and clothes already damp from the drizzle and all the time they'd spent outside talking, they found a perfect spot to set up, they began to assemble the floor of the tents with several of the wooden boards they'd taken with them, they were also making the roof to prevent them from getting wet with tarpaulins and the tent frame.
Everything was getting pretty firm, since they were in a place where there was a bit more land, so they could hammer in the stakes that would hold the girls' temporary home without the wind blowing it away, with the floor having some wooden planks, which guaranteed them a drier floor, so much so that they dug a lot of the wet sand out of the tent and left the dry part with the planks for a good part of the day.
With the whole structure ready, the last step was to lay out the mattresses for the girls to lie on and resources so they could stay safe, which they also thought of as a way of dealing with the cold.
"Well, we've got almost everything to get through here, all that's left is a fire, but how are we going to do that outside? There's a lot of light rain, not to mention the wet clothes here" said the warrior from Luna Nova.
"This place is a terror when it comes to rain, for the Triforce, we're going to freeze to death here" said Leclerc.
"We can make a fire by peeling some tree trunks. Amanda, you find the trunks and open them up to the dry part, we can cover it with the rest of the roof of the tent, it may end up full of soot, but it will work for situations like this" Constanze said through a machine that spoke for her.
So the girls went about organising themselves, with Gerudo going out into the drizzle to collect a lot of firewood. When she got inside, she peeled back the wood until she reached the innermost part, which was dry, and she also gathered a few splinters that could be used to light the initially weak fire, while Constanze built a roof with the rest of the things she needed to set up the tent.
The dark-haired inventor soon began to think more and set up a chimney with some scraps of machinery, even having a bit of a roof to escape through. She then made a hole inside the tent through which the chimney would pass, leaving some things around it so that it wouldn't get into the girls' shelter, and then she began to improvise a furnace, so that the smoke would rise outside the tent and the heat would stay inside. It took a while, but everything was much more constructed than a simple campfire, thanks to Constanze's genius. By lighting the furnace, the heat began to rise inside, so the girls changed into dry clothes and their normal clothes dried out, so they could rest up for the plans that lay ahead in their exploration of the island.
On the boat, the Cavendish sisters could see through binoculars that everything was fine, they saw the smoke coming out of the chimney of the shelter they were setting up, they also noticed that everything was safe in the surroundings, just the rain that was passing through, falling on the air, but soon Diana's bracelet began to beep.
"Hey girls, how are you? Have you reached Eire Island yet? Yesterday you said you were getting a closer look at it, have you found any shelter yet?" Croix asks.
"We're just the two of us on the boat, the rest of the girls have gone to the island, we can see from afar the shelter they've made with the tents, they've improvised everything, heat, roof and I think they'll be leaving soon, they must be talking about a plan" said the one with the platinum blonde hair.
"What do you mean they've decided to stay? Are you going to be cowed from afar? It's much better that they all go, it's more helpful, and I'm worried about how they're all doing" said Meridies.
"It was our decision to protect the boat, it rains a lot here Croix, we have to stay to help remove the water in case the situation isn't more friendly, we decided to stay so we wouldn't be compromised, which so far is quite calm, there has been a very calm girl, but you never know, Eire Island is only cloudy, even during the day, here it seems like night, not to mention that it's a thick fog that passes through here, I can only imagine the difficulty for them up there to get to the dungeon" Said the blue-eyed girl.
"So it's a situation I can understand, take care then, when you can give me news, don't forget to watch the girls from afar, or any of the dangers that come, I'm going now, it was nice talking to you, I wish you the best for the adventure you're going to have" said the one with the lilac hair, ending the conversation.
As the conversation drew to a close, the two girls shrugged and went back inside the boat, as they were a little too damp. They chatted amongst themselves in a relaxed way, which even involved talking about their relationship with their wives, talking about everyday things and even more private matters, as Hellene had asked her older sister, who is experienced in this kind of thing, for help.
Back at the camp, the seven girls were already discussing a plan, since they had a map of the island of Eire in their hands. It was a rather old map, but it could be used to guide the girls to where the dungeon is, which is in a tower, but the fog is too thick to be seen, so they were already determining the trio that would go out to the dungeon.
"Well, the dungeon is in the village of this place, which has now been abandoned, the village of the Banshees, screams can be heard from desperate people, ghosts and spirits, this place is really haunted, the tower is in the centre, we'll have to check there, separate into groups, before leaving for the dungeon" Akko said.
"Tell you what, let's determine the trio as soon as possible who's going into the dungeon, I don't think I'm the best at dealing with that, although I can use the fog to my advantage, and I've already been in the first dungeon" said Marianne.
"I'm good at magic involving spirits, this place is perfect for me, I might even have a bit of necromancy to help" said Lotte.
"I'm even better as a necromancer, I think we'll have to form the trio that was in Akko's first dungeon, the Luna Nova trio" said Sucy.
"Oh, you're perfect, so here's what we'll do, we'll leave the camp, we'll explore what's around the village and then we'll come back here, collect information, see if there are any creatures, then we'll explore the place, then we'll think about going to the dungeon, we have to see if it's all safe" said Atsuko.
"It's a bit dull around here, there's only rain and darkness and fog, what are you going to explore?" asks Manbavaran.
"I don't know, this island is little explored, so I think it's interesting that we take a good look at it," said Kagari.
"So this is the group that's going to explore the island? Akko, Lotte and Sucy, well I'd like my chance to go into a dungeon, but I realise it's going to be difficult," said Amanda.
"I promise that on Edo Island you'll go with us, we don't know the risks yet, but we'll do our best to go with us Amanda, we're only missing you and Constanze who haven't been yet, but it's not the most interesting thing in the world, you're going to a place where your life could end at any moment, where everything wants to kill you, it's a real and intense danger - said the crimson-eyed woman.
With all this talk, the girls of the Luna Nova trio decided to go outside, but this time they had umbrellas made with Constanze's technology that showed them the item that could help them walk without getting rained on, so much so that it even cheered up the other girls of the trio who weren't brown and had just changed into dry clothes.
Together they walked where the map indicated, a path that even had a little road made of blocks that led from the village beach to the village itself. It was a rather long walk, and they even needed lamps since on the way they were simply in a place where it was so wooded that the trees simply made a tunnel that darkened the whole place around them.
"Wow, it's really scary here, the place has really been abandoned, there's not a living soul here" said the warrior from Luna Nova.
"Boo, look at the tree branches, the fallen leaves because it's the middle of autumn Akko" said the pink-haired girl sarcastically.
Soon they arrived at a more open area, it really was an abandoned village, where there were ghosts flying around holding lanterns, some larger ones with the faces of Hyllians who were circling the place without noticing the presence of any of the girls.
The buildings were largely destroyed, some completely, others partially, with the huge dungeon tower in the middle, a building that really stood out from everything else in the area.
"I'm going to check everything here, I'm going to use my spirits, before we can walk around the village, maybe there's something important before we enter the dungeon" Said Lotte who began to use the spirits she had summoned to circulate in the abandoned village.
"It really is an abandoned ghost town, it even looks a bit like Luna Nova when we got there, I wonder what must have happened for everything to be like this?" Sucy said.
"I'm curious too, just as it's suspicious that the woman of the nine witches has the same surname as the former queen, there must be something here" said Akko.
It took Yanson a long time to absorb more information about the place, as she was in a state of concentration, while the other two girls remained more focused in case some creature was going to attack them, but soon the blonde's analysis was complete and the spirits returned to her.
"Well, it seems that this island was abandoned two hundred years ago due to the accumulated power that Victoria's seal was getting, it spread creatures around the tower where the seal was and this expelled all the people from the island, including one called Madeleine McLaren who left there at that time and must be the ancestor of the former queen Laura, It's interesting, it seems that the ghosts and Banshees are neutral, they won't attack us unless we enter the dungeon, then they'll try to stop our journey to protect Victoria at all costs, so we can explore safely, nothing will attack us unless we attack them" said the witch who knows how to work with spirits.
"I remember the queen talking about Madeleine, she told me that it comes from her origins being an Eire, the Dublin ranch doesn't exist there by chance, it was where her family settled for a while, until they left due to a
feud between the two families that lived there, the Williams and the McLarens, which ended with the defeat of the redheads, who retreated south to Luna Nova, and stayed there for a long time until Queen Laura came to power, The Williams, on the other hand, sort of abandoned the Dublin hills and settled in the centre of Hyrule, where they founded the city of Belfast, which is still there today and is now taken over byAppleton, having to pay taxes. It was the sad end of many of the cities in the Wedinburgh kingdom, after Andrew took over, he demanded heavy taxes from these places, something that didn't happen during Queen Laura's time..." said Atsuko.
"No more sad stories and winding up, let's see what's in this town" said Manbaravaran, cutting off the momentary story between the two girls and heading into the abandoned village.
Soon they entered the place, it was quite abandoned, the houses with nothing, just completely abandoned, the vegetation took over everything, even in autumn the rain was constant, which left the leaves still quite green, although the temperatures say otherwise, the creatures around did nothing and just followed their path in the middle of that abandoned place.
They soon arrive at a house where there are some chests, which Kagari soon opens and there are Rupees in them, which she makes a point of taking some of since she was out of them after leaving Hyllia Island, and which could be used for something else, as well as finding another jar, which she makes a point of keeping in her bag, leaving her with the maximum she can carry of five glass jars, one more for fairies.
"There's really nothing here apart from the tower and abandoned things" said the crimson-eyed woman.
"There's nothing, but you've just ransacked the town" said the pink-haired woman.
"Found is not stolen, apart from the fact that this place has been abandoned for two hundred years, the real owner of these Rupees is already dead today, let's follow the path, there's a corridor here, there's certainly something here" Said the brownish woman pointing to a road on the way out of town, even seeing a puff of smoke coming from it.
The trio continued along that little road, where there wasn't much, but soon they came across a little house and when they knocked on the door a woman with a monocle answered them and even went to adjust the lenses, noticing that there were three girls.
"Akko, why are you still knocking on strange people's doors?" said Sucy.
"Oh hello, I'm sorry to bother you, it's just that you're the only one here" said Akko, scratching the back of his head.
"You're not from around here, are you? You must have come a long way, you can come in girls" said the lady and soon they were doing it.
As they entered, they realised that she was a lady who worked with potions and spells, and that she was a witch. They also came across another girl, younger and with an elegant appearance, with a dot on her chin; she was staring at the three of them, who were even tense at the presence of such an intimate girl.
"I know it's not the most comfortable place in the world, but it's very rare to see other Hyllians around here, where did you girls come from?" The lady asks.
"I'm Atsuko Kagari, but you can call me Akko, my friends and I have come from Hyllia Island and we're on a great journey, we've come here to enter the dungeon in this village" said Atsuko.
"Akko! Don't reveal the whole plan to them, you hardly know them" said Lotte.
"Oh don't be scared, we never left the island, we're thinking of leaving, but we still have the memory and attachment of being the last Hyllians of Eire, after everyone fled in fear of the Banshees and ghosts appearing from the Banshee tower... The legend said that one day a hero would climb this tower and bring the sun back to this place, since it became like this two hundred years ago the city has been abandoned and abandoned until only we are left here, you really have come a long way, it seems that you must be what the legend has been saying, pleasure, my name is Ural and this is my daughter Marjoirane" Said the lady.
"Nice to meet you, so you know what's going on here, like really well?" Kagari asks.
"Basically, there's not much here, it was all abandoned when the Banshees escaped 200 years ago, but the light may come back if you really manage to get into the dungeon, no one has managed to get in or survive the terror of the Banshees, you're still young, it's a very risky thing to do" said Ural.
"I've faced worse than a bandit and a little ghost, trust me I'll go into this dungeon and wreak havoc there, I'll defeat the Banshee, it's not for nothing that I have this" said the crimson-eyed girl showing her master sword.
"Woah... That's right... You're the hero of the legend, you're the one who was chosen, the bearer of the master sword... The legend said that the one who carries the master sword will bring freedom to the Banshees from this cursed island... Now it makes sense, I'm surprised that the hero was a girl, I admire how brave she is" said the eldest.
"Please save the island, go to that tower, if you succeed we'll reward you very well, I can't stand it every day, it always rains or the sky is full of clouds, every day I hear screams and shouts from those Banshees and my mum doesn't want us to go to Hyllia" said Marjoirane.
"It's not as safe as here, Hyllia today is dominated by a tyrant, who always sends troops there to take tributes, you have no idea but many wars have taken place in Hyrule over these 30 years, between the kingdoms of Appleton and Wedinburgh, the first unfortunately won and is dominated by a tyrannical and authoritarian lord who wants to destroy all of Hyrule" said the brownish woman.
"If you want, you can stay here, it's a small house, but there's enough room for the three of you" said the lady.
"Thank you, but we can't, we have friends waiting for us at the camp we've set up and we only intend to stay here for a short time, I have an important mission, it doesn't just involve this island, I still have to explore other places, the future of Hyrule depends on me" said the warrior from Luna Nova.
"Well then, stay wherever you want, the house is open to you and your friends, I hope you can definitely bring life here and this most important mission of Hyrule, I've heard it's a huge land" said Ural.
"And how do you have a daughter? "I know this is a bit of an invasive question, but I just wanted to know" said Akko.
"Akko!" Her friends say.
"Oh my husband, he was still alive when we were here, he came from Hyllia Island many years ago but he died recently, he got too old and we said goodbye to him two years ago, I wonder if the same could happen to my girl, but from the looks of it it seems that only women have come" said the oldest.
"Let's go then, we'll talk later, we're going to meet up with our friends" said the girl, getting up from the table and leaving the house with her friends, seeing the two of them waving to them.
Together the trio walked all the way back and it was easy to bear, although the banshees' screams were really annoying. Soon they arrived at the campsite and there Amanda was cooking some sweet potatoes and also frying eggs for everyone, since the furnace was also great for cooking food.
"Oh, you're back, so how was everything?" Marianne asks.
"There are two people on the whole island, they are the last inhabitants of the island, we will go to the dungeon tomorrow, there is not much to do, it seems that here there is a whole history of having been abandoned because of Victoria's power, that's why it's always so dark and there are also constant hauntings, a sign that we may have enough power to defeat Andrew" said Atsuko.
"And can these people be trusted?" Ask O'Neill.
"We don't know yet, but it's quite possible that they are, they don't know anything about Appleton and as we can see the village is completely destroyed and abandoned, there are houses that are just completely on the ground with vegetation on top, it's quite something to have been without human contact for many years, in short, it seems that the creatures will only be hostile when we touch inside, then it can be complicated" Kagari said.
"Good to know, and was the house comfortable?" asks the curious Gerudo.
"Amanda! You're only thinking about your comfort, it was comfortable, but we're staying in the camp, there's plenty of room for us and not to mention that we'll only be staying for a maximum of one or two days after we leave for the island of Edo, which will be a long journey" said the crimson-eyed woman.
"I can't even tell you, travelling by boat around the whole of Hyrule to Edo will take at least a month, I hope that at least on the island of Terre Sapphique there are at least enough resources for us to refuel our boat until we get there, because if not we'll be in the worst shape of our lives, plus we'll be arriving at the beginning of winter there, there may well be snow, have you thought about what it's going to be like to deal with everything? I can't even imagine," said Amanda.
"Ah, I'm going to love it anyway, I've been through a freezing winter in Cork, it's not as horrible as you think it is, apart from the fact that we're well protected, both Diana and I are warmed up for the cold, but anyway we're hungry here" said the brownish girl.
"The food is almost ready, there's only five minutes left and we'll be able to eat it all together, we'll rest here today and tomorrow you'll leave for the dungeon, so you can recover your energy and everything" said Gerudo.
"You only think about eating Akko, we've just had biscuits at the lady's house we just visited and you already want to eat here, you're a bottomless sack really, it's not for nothing that you're a queen, that's the only way to justify this stomach that never runs out, you have an appetite worthy of one, every day is a feast, I don't know how you've never put on weight even after all this" Sucy said as they all laughed.
And there they relaxed, chatting about the dungeon and all the dangers present there, also discussing moving on, especially as it had been a whole day just to build the shelter, while on the boat the worry remained between the sisters who could only wonder if the girls were all right after all this, listening to the rain hitting the wood of that floating thing.
Far away in Appleton, Louis Blackwell finally arrived after days of travelling to the mission in Edo. The spy was received with the highest honours and appreciation by Lord Hanbridge, and the boy walked down the corridor, already feeling the weight of what was to come, bowing to his boss.
"At last he has arrived, my great ally, my right hand, the one I value most, the most efficient of men, my great Louis Blackwell, tell me how your mission to Edo went? I see you came back empty-handed, so I'm already guessing that she didn't run away" said the lord.
"My lord, that's exactly what you think, she didn't run away to Edo, but I was able to gather valuable information about the island, the military forces are outdated and few in number, we can make an amphibious assault that they won't be able to handle when we set foot on land, but I was able to cause a bit of a stir, you can find out more things, apparently they worship the girl as a goddess, as a heroine, as the saviour of the whole earth, but that's temporary" Louis said.
"Damn, she really cheated well, I had an intuition that she fled somewhere else and I assume that could be the place, so I'll go with you and my troops, we'll invade Luna Nova, that place will pay, I remember that a brat managed to stop our troops and no one gets close, but I'm sure that with me there's no way I can take it, I'll go back to that place again to put morale back up, anyway and what else did you have in Edo?" Andrew said.
"There was nothing more than I mentioned, my lord, but I was able to cause it, I used metamorphosis to turn her into the target, so the island won't forgive her, she can't set foot on it and she won't have a choice, they'll deport her here and you won't have to do a thing" said Blackwell, but that soon made the dark-haired man's expression change.
"You imbecile! If you've caused a serious offence, they won't just arrest her and send her here, they'll even rip her head off depending on the situation, do you have any idea how serious it is? You caused all this... You can destroy the plan, now I'll have to change the plans, what do I do?" said the desperate green-eyed boy.
"Don't worry, sir, I haven't committed anything serious, just enough so that they can deport the girl here, like worshipping Appleton or something, you can rest assured, she'll be in your hands soon, let's focus on Luna Nova" said the blond.
(For the triforce Andrew, stop being stupid and obsessed with that useless girl, she's been holding back the advance of our kingdom because of this thing you feel for her, I had to lie a bit because otherwise he'll end up thinking something, I really want her head to be cut off, if that happens I'll be relieved, the bastard doesn't seem to think sometimes, stupid and imbecile, he has to focus on the real prize, the princesses).
"I'll take your word for it Blackwell, but if you lie I'll put you through the worst torture, to the point where you'll wish you were dead" said the lord, already intimidating the spy.
"I did it in the most meticulous way possible" said Louis, bowing to Andrew.
A plan comes to mind for the lord, an upcoming invasion of Luna Nova to cause terror, while Edo is left with the greatest tension, since Louis wants to get rid of the warrior of Luna Nova once and for all because he thinks she will delay the kingdom of Appleton from achieving glory, things are getting more and more tense in Appleton.
The girls have arrived on Eire Island, a virtually uninhabited place that has been abandoned by time and dominated by spirits, ghosts, banshees, haunting the surroundings to drive out anyone who might try to make an appearance, to the point that only two people live there, which could be a huge challenge to deal with in the dungeons of the nine witches.
See you, Banshee witches...