Travels of the Weasel and the Dragon
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Armory of the Forgotten Hero! First off, sorry for the extra wait. This chapter wound up a little longer than expected but I don't think that'll put a damper on anyone's mood. More importantly, though, I have an announcement: I have recently started a new story by the name of 'Spiral Flames in Lugnica', a crossover story of My Hero Academia and Re:zero, so check it out if that sounds like it's up your alley. And speaking of stories, don't forget to check out my book, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! Now then I think that covers everything and with no review questions this week, let's dive on in!
Four Days Earlier: Forest Outside of Unknown Town
'Ow,' Rifana thought as she slowly opened her eyes, blinking several times to clear the spots from them. The sound of birds reached her ears as she looked around and took in her surroundings, quickly recognizing it as a forest of sorts. "Looks like we made it," the weasel girl mused aloud before standing up, noting that the trees surrounding her seemed awful tall.
"Oh where are we," came the voice of Johann who Rifana now saw was lying a short distance from her.
"A better question is where are Darius and the others," she said as much to herself as Johann before reaching down to help the dragon boy up. When she did, though, she noticed something was a bit off. Her gloves felt big on her hands and her sleeves were all bunched up. Stranger still, when she pulled Johann to his feet she noticed he was standing practically as tall as she was. "Hang on, when did you get taller?"
"Uh, I didn't," Johann replied, "I'm the same size I've always been since getting a human form."
"Wait, but then why are we standing at the same height," Rifana questioned as she tried comparing their heights with her hand.
"What I want to know is why you look like a kid," Johann commented as he pointed to her, "you're like Keel's age now." The weasel girl knew that couldn't be right and decided to look down her shirt, quickly noting a distinct lack of developed mammaries. She then went to check her stats and found that her initial fears had been confirmed.
"Oh no," Rifana gulped, "my level's gone down. I'm back to level one now and so is my body."
"That doesn't make sense," Johann said skeptically, "if you're level one right now then I should be level one too, so why do I still have my human form?"
"Why don't you see what happens if you transform," the blond girl suggested, "if you're the same size as a human you might be the same as a dragon."
"And then we could look for the Boss and everyone else from the air!" Johann finished, proud of himself as he produced his customary cloud of smoke for his transformation. When the smoke cleared, however, it wasn't a large flying dragon that stood before her. "What the?! How'd I get all the way down here?!"
"I think the problem's worse than that," Rifana commented as she reached down and picked up the mount, "not only are you a baby dragon again, I've got no idea what kind of dragon you even are." And she meant it too. Johann's body had gone from lizard-like to snake-like with shorter arms and legs while his head and horns were more elongated than before.
"Oh this is so weird," Johann said as he moved around, noting the extra flexibility of his new body, "I'm all skinny now and my butt feels way too far away."
"And it doesn't look like you can fly in this form either," Rifana noted with a sigh, "I guess that means scouting the area from the air is out too."
"Actually, he should be able to fly perfectly well," came the voice of Therese as Rifana whirled around to see the gem wielder heading towards them. 'Shit, I forgot to listen to my surroundings,' the weasel girl scolded herself. "If I'm not mistaken, he appears to be a baby storm dragon."
"Storm Dragon?" Johann repeated, "like I can make it rain and stuff?"
"Depending on how you wield your magic you possibly could," Therese affirmed, "but what may be of more interest to you right now is that you shouldn't require wings to fly. All you need to do is use a little bit of mana and you should float right up, or so I've heard." Johann and Rifana exchanged a look before shrugging, figuring it was worth a try.
"Here goes," Johann said as he gathered mana like he usually would before casting magic. His body lifted up into the air then as he twisted and floated around. "Hey it's working! I can fly! I can still fly!"
"That is a relief," Rifana admitted as she watched her party member for another moment. 'It looks like his animal instincts are going to work for him here, too. He seems to be getting comfortable with this method of flying already.' Now that just left another matter. "So, Therese, is it just you here?"
"I'm afraid so," She sadly affirmed, "I tried looking around the area where I woke up but couldn't find L'arc or Glass. I didn't see any of your friends, either."
"Wonderful," Rifana stated sarcastically, "are you also down to level one?"
"You needn't worry," Therese assured as she conjured a blue flame in her hand, "since I'm a member of a vassal hero's party my level doesn't revert back to one when I enter another world. But since you came here without that protection you and your friends have all likely reverted back to level one. We went through a similar experience when we brought Kizuna with us to your world with special permission, it's part of the reason we were at Cal Mira to level up."
"Guess that's good for you," Rifana said with a nod of her head, "but that means Johann and I have our work cut out for us." The weasel girl reached down for her mace and tried to lift it. But even when she strained with all her might she could barely lift the head off the ground. "Okay, we really got our work cut out for us."
"Not as much as you might think," Therese said, "I can help you both level up while we look for our friends. I just need to take down a few strong monsters and your levels should shoot right up."
"Not that we don't appreciate the help," Johann said as he reverted back to his human form and dropped down next to Rifana, "but I thought we were supposed to be fighting each other."
"Kyo Ethnina is a far bigger concern than yours or the Shield Hero's party right now," The Gem Wielder stated, "he threatens both of our worlds so it will be more productive if we work together for the time being."
"Hate to say it but it's not like we have a lot of options, Johann," Rifana pointed out while looking at her child-sized hands, "neither one of us are heavy hitters right now and I definitely don't want Darius to see me like this. Lolis are a complete turn off for him."
"Kizuna's said that word before," Therese noted, "for some reason she doesn't seem to like it very much."
"Darius explained to me that it meant 'little girl' or something along those lines," Rifana recalled, "but he never went into full detail on all the apparent weirdness behind it."
"Who cares about any of that," Johann said with his hands on his hips, "we need to get moving and find Boss along with everyone else. We're wastin' time here!"
"You're right," The blue-haired gem admitted, "we'll stop in at the nearby town over there first. I imagine you'd like some clothes that fit for the time being." Rifana looked down at her current outfit, noting how baggy it looked on her and how awkward her boots felt now that they reached up way past her knees.
"I think I could stand a wardrobe change," she agreed, "but no cute dresses. I need something functional right now."
"That's the plan," Therese assured them with a smile, "so let us be off."
A Couple Hours Later: Just Outside of Town
"Well, how are the new clothes working for out for you," Therese asked as she adjusted the obi on her new light blue kimono.
"It all feels kinda soft and flowy," Rifana answered as she moved her arms around a bit to get a feel for the material while they walked, "I'm so used to wearing armor made out of leather and varying types of metal. In comparison I almost feel vulnerable wearing something this light." And it certainly was a departure from her usual attire. They wound up going with a blue and white kimono top with a short skirt that stopped above her knees along with a blue haori that was characterized with pictures of mountains.
She also had Japanese-style armored greaves that went up to her knees and armored gauntlets that went around her wrists, leaving her fingers exposed. She was also carrying the lightest weapon they could find that fit her fighting style: a studded piece of metal with a wrapping on the handle known as an Ararebo club. Rifana thought of just shortening the name and calling it an 'Ara' club but for some reason felt that might not be the best idea. Johann would've gotten a new outfit too, except it would've required an expensive custom order for something that wouldn't tear or fall off when he transformed.
So Therese wound up just buying him some mystically enhanced greaves and gauntlets to use if the situation called for it, given that his and Rifana's current equipment wasn't working so well in this world or with them being so low level. "I'm just glad we could find some weapons and armor in your size," Therese said in relief, "custom orders take time to make and we can't afford to delay for too long." A sudden rustling caught their attention then as some type of three-eyed bear monster came lumbering out of the brush.
"Guess they weren't kidding about monsters acting up recently," Johann noted as the three of them got into fighting stances.
"This'll be a good start for leveling," Therese stated as she held up a jewel, her hair turning red as she summoned its magic. The bear monster reared up on its hind legs and roared at them before the gem woman fired her attack. "Bejeweled Thunderstorm Burst!" A bolt of lightning came down from the sky then and electrocuted the bear monster, causing it to roar in pain for a few moments before collapsing over, dead.
"Wow," Johann said, "can I do something like that as a storm dragon?"
"Storm dragons are said to be gifted at using lightning, water, and wind magic," Therese replied, "given your aptitude for such magic back in your world, I doubt you'll have an issue mastering it here."
"Heh, this world better look out," Johann laughed as he put his fists on his hips, "because they're about to see the most awesome storm dragon ever!"
"You'll be more awesome when you've grown up a little more," Rifana pointed out, causing Johann to deflate a bit, "come to think of it, where are we going to be headed while we work on leveling up?"
"According to the bulletins I saw in the town," Therese said, "we're in the country of Label. So our best bet is probably heading for Central City."
"What's in Central City?" Asked Johann, "do you think that's where our friends might be?"
"Optimistically, yes," the gem woman affirmed, "like your world our world also has dragon hourglasses. What your world may not have, however, is the skill 'return dragon vein'."
"That sounds like some type of teleport skill," Rifana observed, "is that something you can learn from the hourglass?"
"Only if you hold a holy or vassal weapon," Therese replied, "how it works is by using the connections between dragon hourglasses to transport a weapon wielder to any hourglass they've previously visited. In our case, Glass or L'arc would use their vassal weapon to transport themselves and any nearby members of their party to our home country of Sikul."
"So we just go where the dragon hourglass is and we should find at least one of our friends," Johann surmised, "well that'll be easy enough."
"I wish it was all that easy," Therese said somewhat sadly, "but you see, this country is an enemy of our country, and also the home country of the vassal book hero. In other words."
"We're on Kyo's home turf," Rifana finished with a sigh, "guess it's not really surprising. If he was going anywhere it'd be his home country, and where better to drop his enemies." It was then she noticed more monsters approaching, likely drawn by the scent of charred flesh. Strangely, they looked like living boxes with teeth, but fortunately weren't very big.
Rifana set her eyes with determination as she and Johann charged forward, slamming their weapons into the odd creatures and rending them to pieces. "But we're not gonna let that stop us from finding our friends. So let's get moving!"
Nighttime: Forest Road a Couple Days Later
"You two are quite adept at this," Therese complimented as they sat around a fire eating the meat of their latest monster kill, "and you say you haven't been doing this for even a year back in your world?"
"I've had some good teachers and I was lucky to party up with a hero," Rifana said, "about the same for Johann, though a lot of his stuff seems to be instinctive."
"I'm just generally awesome," the dragon boy bragged with his mouth full, "and when I get back to full size I'll be awesome again!"
"I'll admit I was a little skeptical when you told me about accelerated growth and growth adjustment," the gem woman said honestly, "but you're both really growing fast."
"That's how it works," Rifana affirmed as she held up a crystal, "though what's really lucky is that we found out about these earth crystals. As far as I know we don't have anything back in our world that just gives us experience upon use." The weasel girl crunched the crystal in her hand, causing it to activate and give her another three thousand experience points.
"We technically don't, either," Therese pointed out, "those crystals are just supposed to restore magic but it seems you both being from another world has altered the effect."
"Heck I'll still take it," Johann proclaimed as he transformed, revealing that he was much larger now, albeit still too small to carry more than one person, "the sooner I can be a mighty storm dragon the better."
"All the better to carry your friends into and out of battle," the blue-haired woman encouraged, "and that sense of smell will come in handy once we reach Central City."
"That is where we're gonna run into trouble," Rifana admitted as she pulled out a wanted poster they'd picked up in another town. On it were the poorly drawn faces of Glass, L'arc and Raphtalia. Apparently they'd been dropped into a prison but had escaped within a day. Not really surprising given it was two vassal heroes and a girl who can cast illusions. "If we can find them before the authorities that'd be ideal but we probably won't be able to avoid a fight once we get to the dragon's hourglass."
"It won't be anything we can't handle as long as we work together," Therese assured.
"We'll still need a backup plan," the demi-human girl pointed out, "in case the dragon's hourglass is too difficult to get too." Therese was about to say something but was quickly interrupted. "I know you've thought about it too: what if we get there too late? The Return Dragon Vein will only work if we meet Glass or L'arc. Even if we run into Darius or Naofumi we probably wouldn't be able to use it ourselves."
"You're right," Therese acknowledged, "I've been working on that and the options aren't looking good. If we're not able to rely on using the dragon's hourglass it'll take a lot longer to get back to Sikul."
"You just leave that to me," Johann declared as he pointed a thumb to himself, "once I get to size I'll be more than capable of flying us all out of here!"
"That's certainly a good second option," the gem woman agreed, "so why don't we draw up a route and take a few other precautions then. That way even if we all wind up separated we'll have a direction we can go." This was met with agreement by the other two as they discussed plans into the night. When the group finally went to sleep Therese and Rifana traded watch throughout the night.
Rifana, though, took a little longer on her shifts. For those who knew her it was no mystery as to why: she couldn't sleep. The reason was simple enough: she was worried about Darius, Raphtalia and the others. 'I hope you're all okay,' she thought to herself while examining her weapon and glancing up occasionally, 'Darius, please be careful out there.'
She'd kept it pretty well hidden so far, knowing that stressing herself out wouldn't be helpful in a situation like this. But bringing up those backup plans had brought more than a few bad scenarios to mind that she was doing her best not to think about. 'They'll be fine, this isn't the first time we've been on the wanted list in a country before.' The weasel girl finally slapped her cheeks and steeled her nerves after going through this thought process for multiple hours.
"No, I'm not a child anymore and neither is Raphtalia," Rifana declared to herself, "we didn't survive a battle with a giant lightning blasting tortoise to wind up dead to authorities in another world. We've found each other before and we can do it again even if the circumstances are a bit different." Whether she believed this line of thought or not, when it was finally time for her to get some sleep, she was actually able to do it this time.
Another Two Days Later: Near Central City
"Bejeweled Ruby Blaze! Burning Earth! Azure Blaze!" The trio declared as the entire area in front of them was set ablaze. The large pack of two-tailed cats who'd been trying to attack them were incinerated almost instantly by the blue and orange flames, leaving almost nothing behind but drops and a charred mark on the ground.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Johann cheered, his dragon form rearing up as it now towered over Rifana and Therese.
"I'll say," Rifana affirmed as she planted a large, studded metallic club in the ground, "and this kanabo club is weighted surprisingly well. Though maybe that's because I can finally lift things like this again." And it wasn't the only new piece of gear she had. Naturally the quick growth of her body had required first adjusting of the new clothes she'd gotten and then outright replacement of them when they couldn't fit any more.
Now her outfit was of a bluish white kimono top with shortened sleeves and a skirt that, again, stopped at her knees. Green tree designs also decorated the outfit, giving it a forest aesthetic. She'd gotten better fitting armor to go along with it, though her favorite new addition was the Kanabo club. Her first weapon had become too small for her and she'd shifted to using her fists, feet and magic for a short time before getting it.
"It is good to see that you're both back to fighting strength," Therese agreed, "though are you sure selling your mace and old clothes was really what you wanted to do?"
"You had to do a good bit of the fighting for us the first couple of days," Rifana pointed out, "you wouldn't have been able to do that as well if you'd been tired from carrying my mace around all day. And besides, ever since Glass broke my mace and Raphtalia's sword we've made sure to have extras. Darius has mine and a spare set of clothes in his inventory right now. And you had to sell those red crystals you really liked so I figured I should at least cover some of the cost."
"I'll admit those crystals are more for emergencies," Therese said, "but I've got a few more and we're doing better on money now that we've sold some monster material."
"I'll bet you got plenty hidin' in a rack like that," Johann commented before getting a quick smack on the head, "Ow, what, it ain't my fault that's her hiding place for those."
"You could still use a little more tact," Rifana chided, "what would everyone else think if you go blurting something like that out in public?"
"I figured they'd think I had good tastes," Johann quipped, "but I guess I see what you're sayin'. By the way, you and Raphtalia gonna try doing that with some of our money when we get back?"
"Don't know," Rifana replied before holding up her club, "you gonna start carrying my club while still in human form for a mile or two?"
"Oh that's right we really need to get going and the city's just right over there, so what are we waitin' for," Johann quickly changed his tune and began walking down the road.
"He's almost like L'arc was when he was a child," Therese noted before laughing a little, "but with worse table manners."
"Guess we'll see how close the comparison is when we actually find him," Rifana said, "but first, let's head to that city." A trek that turned out to not be a mile away and, to his relief, one Johann didn't have to walk while carrying a club. When they arrived, the trio found the city lived up to its name of 'Central City'. It was massive and filled with people coming and going which made blending into the crowd easy enough.
Not that they needed to worry too much about that. They'd checked the boards of the other towns they'd passed through on the way and hadn't noticed their faces on any wanted posters. It didn't necessarily mean enemies weren't looking for them, but at least they wouldn't have to worry about the local authorities. For the time being, anyway.
"Alright, our first stop should be the hourglass," Therese said, "we'll keep watch around the area and see if we can spot the others. They'll likely be wearing hoods or cloaks, it's what I would do."
"Did you and your party ever arrange some kind of signal for each other in case you got separated," Rifana asked, "Darius and Naofumi came up with a couple, though they only make sense to them."
"What exactly did they do?" Therese asked, genuinely curious. In truth her party had never arranged any kind of signal like that. Kizuna and Glass had their own way to locate each other and L'arc and Therese would have a hard time not knowing each other in most cases.
"Darius would go under the false name 'Duo Yamato' and Naofumi would go under the name 'Domon Itsuka'. They're references to some obscure stories about giant moving armors that fight on land, in the sea, in the stars. It's all really confusing."
"Oh yes, Kizuna mentioned something like that once before," the gem woman recalled, "I wasn't able to make much sense of it eith…where's Johann?" The two looked around them, noticing quite quickly the energetic dragon boy was indeed gone. It didn't take them long to spot him, however, as the sound of a surprised yelp drew their attention. Looking over, the duo found that he'd tackled someone to the ground.
"Johann!" Rifana yelled in annoyance as they hurried over, "what in the world do you think you're-?" Her question, and her anger, died instantly as she saw who he'd tackled. She was wearing a small, dark blue kimono with a short red skirt now, but her ears, tail and scent were unmistakable.
"Rifana, Johann, is that you?" Asked the raccoon girl on the ground as she looked up at Rifana.
"RAPHTALIA!" the weasel girl exclaimed as she practically jumped on her friend, hugging both her and Johann, "I'm so glad to see that you're safe!"
"Me, I was worried about both of you," Raphtalia said while hugging them back, "I'm so relieved to see that you're doing well!"
"So much for us finding Raphtally's friends," commented a voice that was familiar to Therese, "they tracked us down instead."
"L'arc, Glass!" Therese exclaimed as she uncharacteristically threw her arms around the both of them before backing up in slight embarrassment. "It's good to see you're both unharmed."
"Of course," the scythe wielder replied. He was now dressed in a dark blue kimono top with black armor and a light blue and white haori jacket over it. Glass had switched back to her usual appearance of a dark purple kimono with a white obi. "It takes more than a specialized prison to hold us."
"As the wanted posters noted," Rifana commented before getting to the issue at hand, "by the way, is this everyone?"
"It is," Raphtalia informed somewhat sadly, "though we have seen a recent wanted poster about the theft of a winged girl. I have it right here, in fact." She pulled out the bulletin and handed it to Rifana who quickly read over it. The demi-human girl noted almost immediately how the poorly drawn pictures resembled Darius, Naofumi, Rishia, and surprisingly, Kizuna.
"Good news is we know they haven't been caught," Rifana stated lightheartedly, "and this is listed as happening yesterday. Do you think?"
"It is more of a hope, really," Glass corrected, "if that really is Kizuna with them and they really are in this country then it stands to reason they'll be heading this way too as it's where the dragon's hourglass is located. Optimistically, they'll be here some time today."
"No problem," Johann said with a grin, "if the Boss or that Filolial are here then I'll sniff 'em out in no time."
"Guess it's settled then," Therese observed, "shall we had to the dragon's hourglass, then?"
"Agreed," Glass said, "even if we don't find anyone we'll still be able to get a lay of the land and some idea of the security presence." The now six-person group moved along then towards a large, if Rifana remembered the term correctly, Japanese-style temple. But something seemed a little unusual.
"Are there usually this many people here," asked Raphtalia as they arrived and saw the large crowd going up the steps.
"No," Glass answered, "it appears there is some sort of event going on, but I've no idea what."
"You haven't heard," a pair of brown-haired, and nosy, civilians asked, "they're holding a selection for the vassal katana. Word is a candidate for it has been found!"
"Finally, I can't wait to see who it is," the other civilian cheered joyfully as they headed on with the rest of the crowd.
"You have a vassal katana here," Rifana questioned, "actually the better question is how do you have vassal weapons that haven't been claimed yet? I thought all the weapons would have a wielder with the Waves going on."
"I'm afraid it's more complicated than that," Glass explained, "as Therese might have mentioned the nations of this world are not all united as one. Even with the presence of the Waves most countries seek to control as many vassal and holy weapons as possible because the presence of even one extra hero is capable of tilting the military balance between nations. In this instance, if a wielder for the vassal katana is chosen it will present a problem for L'arc."
"I understand how it would be a problem for Sikul," Raphtalia stated, "but why would it be a problem for L'arc specifically?"
"Hey, since we've got some time to kill why don't we go take a look," the scythe hero suggested almost too enthusiastically, "as fellow vassal heroes we should at least take a look at whoever the candidate is, right Glass?" The Fan Hero might've given an answer, but her red-haired friend was already making his way towards the stairs. She simply rolled her eyes and proceeded after him with the rest of the party following along.
The top of the hill was expectedly crowded but a line of guards in black, samurai-style armor with naginatas stood in a line that kept the gathered people at a distance from what appeared to be a shrine. It looked almost like an extra small Japanese building meant for only one person, but housed a sword instead, one with a yellow grip and a green jewel at the end of said grip. "We will now choose the wielder of the vassal katana!" The apparent guard captain proclaimed; his rank denoted by a long blue vest over his armor.
The crowd cheered in response to his statement, forcing him to wait a moment before continuing. "Many adventurers have tried to draw the vassal katana in order to be its new wielder, but none have succeeded thus far! But today, the vassal weapon shall heed the call of its rightful bearer!" Another cheer rose from the crowd, their excitement so palpable it could practically be felt in the air.
"It's almost like we're at a big party," Raphtalia observed with a smile.
"A big party is exactly what it is," L'arc affirmed, "it's been forever since a wielder for the vassal katana has been chosen."
"Yes, this country has possessed the vassal katana for ages," Glass continued, "it's not just an important military asset but also a symbol of this country's faith."
"It also means that whoever is chosen by the weapon shall be granted wealth, fame and even power," Therese added.
"Doesn't that mean this whole thing is just a shot in the dark," Rifana pointed out, "everyone's acting like it's a sure thing this candidate is gonna be chosen. What'll they do if it refuses them?" Instead of answering, L'arc indicated that they wait and see as the guard captain called the candidate forward. A blue haired man stepped into view then, dressed in a black uniform and a black furred cape.
"It's Kazuki!" Some of the crowd cheered, "can he actually do it? Will he be the one to wield it?" Both Rifana and Raphtalia's eyes narrowed upon seeing the man. Neither of them knew why but something about the smug look on his face told them this guy was anything but a pleasant person. 'No way is he gonna be chosen,' Johann thought with a look of annoyance, his animal instincts already telling him the same thing.
But they kept such thoughts to themselves as Kazuki walked up the short flight of steps and into the shrine of the vassal weapon. As he reached out to touch the weapon, a bright green light suddenly erupted from it, blinding him and the onlookers. When it faded, everyone looked back to see what had happened. "The heck was that all about," asked Johann as he rubbed his eyes before noticing something off, "hey Raphtalia, when did you get an extra sword?"
"But this isn't-guh!" the raccoon girl gripped her chest for a moment as a purple light shone where her slave crest was. It then seemed to shatter and disappear. "My slave crest, it just disappeared!"
"OOOOOOOOH shit," said Rifana as she looked back and forth between the shrine and her friend, "Raphtalia you need to get rid of that thing now!"
"That girl, she's got my katana, grab her!" Ordered Kazuki, his eyes finally clear enough for him to grasp the situation.
"I'm trying, but I can't!" Raphtalia exclaimed as she attempted again and again to throw the weapon away, only for it to stubbornly stick to her open hand as the guards closed in.
"Once you're chosen by a vassal weapon you can't get rid of it," L'arc informed, "but we'll talk about that later. Right now, we need to get out of here!"
"Allow us, Therese!" Glass said as she opened her fans and took a fighting stance while her gem wielding friend cast her Bejeweled Blizzard. "Combo Skill: Reverse Hail Seasons!" The guards were blown back or repelled by the attack as it coated much of the area in blizzard-like conditions, forcing the crowd to flee. It only lasted for a few seconds before dispersing but that was enough time for the entire group to slip away.
"Blast," Kazuki cursed, "lock down the city immediately! No one is allowed to enter or leave and get this section of the city cut off as soon as possible! That thief has made off with the vassal katana and cannot be allowed to escape!"
A Little While Later: City Back Alleys
Rifana peeked around the corner, careful to stay hidden in the shadows as a troop of city guards hurriedly marched by. "It looks like they've declared martial law," she reported after moving back into the alley, "the streets are being emptied and it probably won't be long before they start searching houses."
"I don't know if they identified us as vassal weapon wielders," L'arc said, "but if they have getting to the dragon's hourglass just got a lot harder."
"It's going to be more difficult anyway with them emptying the street," Glass pointed out, "we need a place to lay low for a while. Once they've searched all the houses near the dragon's hourglass, they should hopefully commit more guards to other sections of the city."
"Any ideas on where we can find a place," Rifana asked while peeking around the corner again.
"I did see some steps earlier that led up to another temple on our way to the hourglass," Therese chimed in, "perhaps we could hide there." Everyone was about to agree when the sound of growling drew their attention. It was a large white tiger looking down on them from the rooftops above.
"Oh that's a big kitty!" Johann exclaimed as it pounced, only to be met with the business end of Rifana's club and sent flying into a nearby wall.
"Now we really need to move!" the weasel girl exclaimed as they broke into a run through the deserted streets. It would turn out the temple they were looking for was at the edge of the district with a long flight of steps leading up to it. Thanks to a combination of gem bombs and luck the group was able to make it to the steps and climb them without any pursuers catching up to them.
The temple itself looked a bit older than some of the others they'd seen up to that point and it was only the size of a large one-story house, making it seem small in comparison to some of the other temples they'd seen. But it was more than big enough for all of them to hide in and best of all, no one seemed to be around. The group still moved forward cautiously with their hands on their weapons while their eyes swept the area. A measure that would turn out to be fruitless as one of the doors to the mansion suddenly opened to reveal a woman in a white kimono with a red bottom.
"Who's there?" The temple occupant asked, having seen the group freeze as she lifted up the lantern she was carrying.
"Uh, crap," Johann said as he and the others held incredibly still, waiting to see what the woman's reaction would be. It turned out to be something unexpected. The moment the apparent shrine maiden's eyes landed on the vassal weapon in Raphtalia's hands, they widened.
"The vassal katana," she exclaimed with wide eyes, "it's chosen a wielder at last." A whistle sounded in the distance then as one of the lead guards could be heard shouting orders from somewhere close by. "Quickly, all of you in here." No one argued with that as they filed into the temple and let out a sigh of relief as the door closed behind them.
"Thank you for letting us in," Raphtalia said with a bow, figuring she should be the one to do the talking at the moment, "we've had something of a misunderstanding that's led to trouble with the guards."
"There is no misunderstanding," the shrine maiden corrected, "tell me, did the katana come free of its own accord?"
"I mean one minute it was in the shrine thingy and the next it was in Raphtalia's hands," Johann answered with a shrug, "she's been trying to get rid of the thing ever since but its stuck to her like, what's the boss say sometimes, stink on a Filolial."
"That's not quite what he says but yes," Raphtalia affirmed as she demonstrated by holding up and trying to dislodge said katana.
"Then the vassal katana has chosen its wielder," the shrine maiden informed as she opened a nearby chest and started pulling out what appeared to be another shrine maiden outfit, "as of today, you are the Katana Hero. Now, could the red-haired man and the boy leave the room for a moment?" L'arc and Johann glanced at Therese, for some reason, who nodded and made a slight shooing motion with her hand. As soon as the two left the room the shrine maiden wasted no time in undoing the belt around Raphtalia's current outfit, causing it and the rest of her clothes to fall to the floor. Naturally the raccoon girl yelped in surprise as she instinctively moved to cover her now naked body with her hands.
"Okay, there a reason you're playing dress up with my friend," Rifana questioned while shifting her kanabo club.
"My clan has served the wielder of the vassal katana for generations," explained the shrine maiden as she picked up the white robe top and helped Raphtalia into it, "these garments are the ones typically worn by a female wielder of the vassal katana."
"They're actually very comfortable," the raccoon girl noted as the shrine maiden got to work on the red bottom section of the robes. "But I'm really not a hero or anything, I'm not even from this land."
"Where you are from doesn't matter," the shrine maiden replied, "and the fact that the vassal katana chose you of its own free will is proof that you are a hero. As such, it is my duty and the duty of my clan to aid you even if the entire kingdom is against you."
"We might not be far off in that regard," Rifana half-joked, "but if you're from around here then maybe you can give us some directions. Is there a path we can take to the dragon's hourglass that'll get us all the way there without being seen?"
"Such a path exists that will get you close," the shrine maiden replied as she finished tightening the bow on Raphtalia's waist, "there is an old side road that leads through the training grounds of the katana hero. It was constructed as a quick back way to not only this shrine but also for getting near the dragon's hourglass in an emergency. You'll still need to enter the streets, but your destination will be much closer."
"I see, thank you for your help," Raphtalia said with a smile as she slid the vassal katana into the belt section on her left hip, "and thank you for this new clothing. I wouldn't have been able to go much longer with what I had."
"Think nothing of it!" the shrine maiden said in gratitude as she bowed her head practically to the floor. Everyone smiled at that, until a slight banging came from the other room.
"Hey, has Raphtalia put her boobies up yet," Johann called, blunt as always, "L'arc and I are getting bored in here!" The group collectively sighed. It was gonna be a joy waiting things out, it seemed.
A Short Time Later: The Central City Streets
The group waited just a little while longer, making sure to memorize the instructions for the route. Then, after a pleasant goodbye, they departed and went along the trail, passing through a large area filled with training targets and a couple of sparring rings. After that the party continued down the trail and through the trees which wound around much of the outskirts of the city before emptying out into an alley. It became another game of hide and seek then as they moved through the alleys and across multiple streets, always stopping and checking to make sure the coast was at least relatively clear.
"I get the need for the guards but where did all of those tiger monsters come from," Rifana questioned quietly as they stopped and gazed at some further down the street.
"They're clones of a sacred beast from this world," L'arc replied, "the white tiger, Byakko. Obviously their power pales in comparison to the true Byakko but with numbers like these we'd be hard pressed not to get turned into a pile of bones."
"We may not have to worry about that," Glass spoke up, noticing that many of the tigers had suddenly started moving in a direction away from them, "it appears something else has attracted their attention."
"Maybe they just got hungry and left," Johann suggested. Everyone gave him a look that said they believed it was unlikely but they took the distraction anyway and kept proceeding towards the dragon's hourglass. One problem they noticed as they approached, however, was how close their route was taking them to where the Byakko clones had headed.
"We need to move carefully now," Therese said, "whatever's distracting the tigers might not last much longer. This street is the fastest way to the dragon's hourglass from here. If we stay on it for just a few minutes-RAFU!" The group was so focused on watching the Byakko they nearly didn't notice a small, brownish red form heading their way. Whatever it was it leapt right into Raphtalia's arms and started making several pointing motions while continuing to say 'Rafu'.
"W-What is this," Raphtalia asked, obviously confused, "and why does it have my eyes?!"
"I'm more curious why it smells exactly like you," Johann said before he caught something the mystery animal said. "Wait back up. Did you just say Naofumi?" The raccoon-like monster nodded its head several times before pointing towards where the Byakko's were while continuing to make its signature noise. "Wait the Boss and Naofumi are over there right now! Why didn't you just lead with that?!"
"They're here?!" Exclaimed Raphtalia and Rifana at the same time, getting another vigorous nod from the raccoon monster. The two girls looked at each other, already knowing what they were gonna do before bolting across the street.
"So much for sneaking to the hourglass," L'arc said with a shrug as they hurried after the demi-human girls. 'He's here, he's here, he's actually here,' Rifana couldn't help but think as she and Raphtalia rushed through a nearby alley before leaping up, jumping off walls and landing on some nearby roofs. The duo had a much better view now and could make out what was happening. The blue-haired man from before, Kazuki, appeared to have cornered both Darius and Naofumi with not only a contingent of guards but several Byakko clones as well.
Why in the world he thought those two had anything to do with the vassal katana was beyond her, but she didn't care. All that mattered right now was that they'd found the ones they loved again. And as they landed and took out several of the soldiers and tigers with a combination of earth magic and swordplay, they made a silent declaration. No one was going to separate them so easily ever again.
Whew, Rifana and Johann have definitely not been idle over the last four days in Glass's world and it's finally paid off! Now we'll get to see how their teamwork fares against the threats of this new world. But that's for next chapter, in the meantime feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. And be sure to check out my book, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. Finally, be sure to stop in next time as our heroes pull out some new stops against Kyo's business partner! 'Til then.