Previously: Riley appeared in the Dyed Lands - a place where color magic ran wild and created a death zone full of altered plants, animals, and terrain. Inside she encountered Pinky - a Fraerling looking for 'something' and Dev - a human from Earth who was exploring. The three traveled together into the Red zone where they found what Pinky was looking for, had an encounter with a corpse-like woman, and survived Riley's Mets going insane. The Mets killed all of the Jungleclad - a group of green gorillas who were camped out in the Red Lands so they could build a tower. Dev decided to stay in the Dyed Lands. Riley and Pinky have set off to find Niers Astoragon - a famous Fraerling [Strategist] know as the 'Titan'.
Riley guided Badgy as he made a path through the underbrush. She, Pinky, the three monkeys, and the swarm of spiders she had made all sat on the Bloodrage Badger/Giant Crab hybrid she'd made.
"Yes, mom." Pinky contritely spoke into her small rock. "Yes. Uh-huh. No. Yes." She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'll be sure to stay safe." She then whispered. "Yes, I love you too. Now stop calling!"
"Your mother again?" Riley asked her.
"It's nothing." Pinky pocketed the stone. "But we're going the right way."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, mo- I mean, my contact says that the Titan is on the move. It's some big deal and the Tallfolk are sending message spells about it."
"So magical communication can be intercepted?"
Pinky's eyes lit up. "Yep! You see a [Message] spell gets sent towards its target, right? But it has to pass through the intervening space to do that! There are skills and spells that can block it, but there are some that can actually listen to it instead! Even stuff like a speaking stone or a scrying mirror can be intercepted!"
"Okay."
"But! There's this trick that Fraerlings use that the Tall Folk haven't figured out! It's called 'fakesseges'! Basically, you take a message and you distort it in a certain way to make a fakessage. To anyone who doesn't know how you distorted it, it's a bunch of nonsense. But! The other party can take the fakessage and turn it into the original message!"
"That's called encryption."
"No, no, no." Pinky shook her head. "I just told you. It's called fakessaging. It's like 'fake' plus 'message' combined together in one word because it's a 'fake message'! Don't you see?"
"On my world, we call in encryption."
"You can't just make up a word and pretend it's what something is called, Bit." Pinky sadly shook her head. "You can try to impress people like that, but it only makes you look foolish in the end."
"You don't say." Riley replied flatly.
"I DO say!" The [Rouge Fool] replied. "I'm saying it right now!" She peered up. "Are you feeling okay, Bit? You don't have any side effects from touching that creler corpse, do you?"
Riley closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm fine, Pinky. There's nothing-" One of the spiders fell off of Badgy. She patted her Badger-crab on the neck. "Stop for a second, Badgy."
Badgy's crab eyes twisted around to look at her. They sparkled in the sun, but she still got the impression that Badgy was angry with the delay. To be fair, Badgy was angry with pretty much everything: Having things ride on him. Needing to tear up trees to make a path. Having a crab head instead of his old badger head.
Actually, Riley was pretty sure Badgy enjoyed tearing up the trees. He was more disappointed that the trees weren't fighting back. Outside of the Red Zone, trees were just trees.
Riley hopped off of his back and picked up her fallen spider.
She hummed to herself before taking out the Met Factory. Two small, yellow helmets appeared next to her. The Mets raised up their shells and looked at her with their large eyes.
"Hold it still."
The Mets turned towards the spider and extended long, spindly arms from within. Their legs pinned down the creler-spider while Riley took out a scalpel.
She cut into the spider's underbelly. Like a creler, the spider's abdomen wasn't armored. Unlike a creler, its vital organs weren't exposed. Thick Red skin from the Dyed Lands provided a barrier.
She took mental notes during her exploratory surgery.
No new viruses, parasites, or corrosive substances had emerged from the creler parts. She was pretty sure she'd gotten all of that nasty stuff handled. It was an interesting little biological-booby-trap that whomever had designed crelers had included.
Predictable.
Bonesaw had done similar things in the past. Failsafes. Delayed attacks. Evil little games she'd once thought of as 'fun' and 'artistic'.
Nope. There were some troubling issues, but no sign of a biological source. The brain of the quillcat she'd inserted into the spider had grown a tumor.
Small. Benign in that it didn't look like it would metastasize, but it was still pressing against the coordination center.
"Everything okay?" Pinky asked from her shoulder.
"More or less." Riley replied as she removed the growth and repaired the damage. "The Red flesh might be reacting strangely to being outside of the Dyed Lands. Or there could be a magical source interfering with it. I'm not sure."
Worse, Surgery wasn't sure either. Her Passenger wasn't providing any insight beyond how to physically correct the mutation. It had to either be something with the galas muscles in the red flesh, or their equivalent in the creler's parts.
"So, anyways, the Titan is going to some Tallfolk port."
"Okay."
"It's closer to us, so that's good."
"Do the other Fraerlings usually keep track of where the Titan goes?"
"Yep!" Pinky nodded. "He's the hero of our species, but he's also a pariah. All the stuffy leaders want to stay hidden and they say that the Titan draws too much attention. That's why they all stay away, but we all still listen to his adventures! Like, he invented this game that's become popular world-wide!"
"What's that?"
"It's... it's... uhm... there are small figures, and you take turns moving them." Pinky furrowed her brow. "Catkill? Cake? Choir? No..." Her eyes lit up. "Ah! I remember! It's called 'Crowd', because there's a lot of pieces that crowd the board!"
"That's interesting." Riley listened to the description as she sewed her spider back together.
"Yeah! You have a row of... peons. Behind them, there's a king, queen, horses, castles... and possibly something else. They all have different rules on how they can move and it's really complicated." She let out a groan. "[Strategists] love it 'cause it lets them level."
"Did you ever play?" The spider righted itself and crawled back onto Badgy.
"Nah." Pinky kept an eye on the Mets as they vanished. "It was pretty much the exact opposite of what a [Fool] should do." She hummed. "I mean, I COULD have played and either done really bad or really well... that would work out..." She tilted her head. "In fact... WHY didn't I?" She groaned. "That's the problem with allowing a [Skill] to help you made decisions. The Titan even had a lecture on why [Dangersense] can make people complacent."
Pinky continued to mutter to herself as Riley climbed back on top of Badgy.
"It's still this way right?" Riley pointed in front of them.
"Huh?" The Fraerling looked up, then pulled a small, clear orb from her backpack. "Yeah. That's the way. There are a lot of Tallfolk scrying spells coming from there too. Something must be happening."
"Yep." And Riley could guess what it was. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the leader of a warband moving meant - especially when that leader was a powerful cape. "I've seen this sort of thing before."
She urged Badgy forward, and also had him go around trees instead of through them. The jungle wasn't as dense as the Red Lands, but there was still undergrowth that her minion needed to clear. With no map, they could only move in a straight-ish line.
It was possible that they could stumble upon a road. Less likely that it would be a road heading in the direction they were going. That, however, wasn't a bad thing. Other people used roads, and stealth might be the best bet right now.
...Or, at least, as much stealth as a large badger/crab hybrid that nearly weighed a ton could manage. Which, honestly speaking, was a surprising amount.
...
They did, eventually, come across a road heading in the same direction. Riley hopped off of Badgy and patted him on the side. "Wait here, big guy."
"We're walking now?" Pinky asked from her shoulder. "By that I mean: You're walking now?"
"Traveling with Brute minions like Badgy is how you get on the wrong foot with the police."
"Who are the police?"
"Some band." Riley smirked to herself. She could give nonsensical answers too. "Besides, my monkeys should be enough to figure out what's going on."
"What's going on?"
"You said yourself that the Titan doesn't usually go places. Plus," She gestured at the road. "There are no other travelers. Something is clearly happening."
"Ohhhh..." Pinky nodded. "That makes sense."
"Yep."
The road they were on twisted and turned as it followed the geography of the land. It was wide enough and traversed often enough so that it wasn't just a path through the jungle, but they also couldn't see far ahead of themselves.
Until they came to the clearing, that was.
The jungle ended, and a circular plains surrounded a decently large city. The ground sloped downward towards the bay the city was built around.
"That must be Daquin." Pinky whispered. "Tallfolk build their cities wide, don't they?"
"I suppose." Riley squinted. "Someone's attacked. The guards on the wall have all been decapitated. We... should..."
The headless bodies shifted.
It was a natural movement. The redistribution of weight that anyone who stood still habitually did. Another headless man in armor walked back and forth on the parapet.
No... that wasn't quite right. He had a head. It just wasn't attached to his neck. The suit of armor held its helmet in its arms and even lifted it up as if it was scanning the horizon.
In fact, now that she looked closer. There were other helmets set at various locations. They were high enough to see over the wall. It was almost like they were security cameras in the way they had been placed.
"Hey!" Pinky poked her. "Hey! Listen! You just trailed off! What about decapitated guards?"
"Pinky..." Riley frowned. "Is there, perhaps, a race of people... who can detach their heads?" She watched one of the guards pick up a head and place it on their shoulders.
"Oh! You mean Dullahans!" They live to the south. Pinky paused, tilted her head, and then spoke again. "I mean, they live to the north. Mostly. One of the Tall Folk's Great Companies is made of up Dullahans, so most of them live in the headless legions territory!" She paused again. "Huh? What? Are you sure? Okay. So the Dullahans' Great Company is named the Iron Vanguard... but it should be called the Headless Legions. I mean, lots of people can wear iron. Only Dullahans can be headless... generally speaking."
"Are we in the north? Is this their area?"
Pinky hummed for a while before replying. "Nope! This is outside of the areas they control!"
"Not any more it seems." Riley mumbled to herself. "Would you say the Iron Vanguard is the foe of the Titan?"
"Ehhh... Yes? I mean, the Great Companies fight all the time, but they don't FIGHT-fight. It's... what do you call it? A balance of power. I'm sure that they would want to control more land, that's what Tallfolk do, but they also don't want to weaken themselves and become vulnerable to another Great Company."
"Right..." Riley could see the shape of what had happened. "I need eyes on the inside. NoEvils, scout for me."
The three white monkeys obediently turned invisible and began racing towards the town. They weren't... the perfect spies. They'd be able to get in and see what was happening, but relaying the details to her would be difficult. As advanced as simian brains were, they still didn't have the necessary pathways created to understand English.
Still, they should be able-
As they crested the wall, her three minions became visible. Riley blinked in surprise as the magic around them ceased to work. The Dullahans, on the other hand, were quick to react. They moved together - almost as one - and decapitated her minions with brutal efficiency.
"Hmph!" Riley crossed her arms. "They didn't even get a chance to use their new venom glands!" She let out a sigh. "Not that they would've done much good against an armored target."
The troops kicked the monkey corpses over the wall, and they fell outside in a pile of white limbs.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Pinky asked.
"I think so." Riley felt at the Met Factory in her pocket. "But I shouldn't escalate without knowing what's going on. Malleable."
Her suit flowed over her head.
Riley ► Spiders, disengage from Badgy.
Riley ► Badgy, turn invisible and come here.
Her strongest minion huffed as he walked down the deserted road and became visible next to her just inside of the tree-line.
Riley ► Badgy, go retrieve the monkeys.
Riley ► Encompass them in your claws to keep them hidden.
Badgy grunted and vanished. The smell of cookies grew stronger then weaker as his Stranger power activated then lessened in intensity as he moved away from her.
"So, they clearly have some sort of magical anti-Stranger capability. That's good to know." Riley turned her head. "Pinky, do you know..." The Fraerling wasn't on her shoulder. "Pinky? Where are you?" She turned around and looked for her friend. "Now... if I were a fool... where would I..." Her eyes widened and she looked back towards the wall. Sure enough, there was a small humanoid that was barely visible floating along the ground as she held onto one of Badgy's invisible legs.
Riley slapped her forehead.
This was a great idea!
Pinky hopped off of her ride and began the monumental task of scaling the wall. Well... 'monumental' might be pushing it. Sure, it was taller than her tree on the outside, but her village had longer vertical drops than this. Fraerlings were too small to take any damage from falling, so Pinky didn't even need any of her [Adrenaline Junkie] skills to aid her.
She got to the top and peeked over. The Dullahans looked alert and ready for something to follow the monkeys. Their bodies moved back and forth as they held their heads.
"[High Alert]." One of them said. "I sense another [Rogue]..." She could hear the frown in his voice. "No... wait... huh?"
Ha! That was because she wasn't a [Rogue]! That was why her class was so great. Most of the benefits. None of the common counters. Only a few mentally crippling blood skills!
Of course, now that she'd started this 'foolish' activity... She would probably be better off ignoring other [Foolish Thoughts] for a while. Things like saying something to the Dullahans as they held their heads over the wall to look... and then getting them to let go... somehow...
Yeah. Better to stay undetected.
So, she did the least foolish thing she could think of, and walked around the edge of the wall. There were Dullahans all across it, but there were more of them at the gate. She craned her neck as she peeked over the side for a moment. Yep. Still Dullahans, but they were patrolling instead of watching out for someone on the road.
'Wait here, runt. I'll tell you when to go.'
She nodded at Lars as her spectral friend half climbed/half floated up and over onto the walkway.
He couldn't get too far away from her. Well... he COULD, but she could only see and hear him from so far away. Plus, even though he was a ghost, he was still a Fraerling. Navigating a Tall Folk city apparently was tricky because of all the other ghosts that lived there.
'Go, go, go!'
Pinky scampered up and over the side of the wall and started to sprint across the width of it.
"[Intruder Alert]!" The Dullahan guard who'd just walked past turned around. He held his head in one hand and moved it back and forth.
As good as he was, and regardless of how easily Dullahans could adjust their perspectives... he still didn't look down.
Pinky dodged his feet, but didn't stop running. While this one might not see what was under his nose, anyone from further away would notice her bright red clothes. She couldn't help but smile at how foolish her outfit was!
'You really should change, you know.' Lars crossed his arms as the two of them hid under the ledge on the inside of the wall. 'Tallguards wear armor that blends in.'
Pinky glared at him, but didn't argue. She wanted to tell him that being foolish only when it was easy was no way to level her class, nor was abandoning the color red. She could explain that doing a foolish thing WITH red was doubly important and that he had no idea what he was talking about!
...But unlike Lars, the Dullahans would be able to hear her. So, she did her best to ignore his 'advice'.
'If you were a proper Tallguard, then you'd have some good rappelling gear. It would make things much easier for you, you know? I carried mine even inside of the city... Not openly, 'cause that was against regulations, but-'
Pinky jumped.
"Just like Kevin..." Riley grumbled to herself. "Going off on her own like that!" She didn't have time to fully reanimate and repair her monkeys. For now, she'd have to settle for making sure they didn't deteriorate. "That just proves that my big brother is a fool! Baka!"
She stopped and blushed. It was good that no one had heard that. Being that blatantly, cringingly, cute...
She shuddered.
She still felt the urge to over-act in that way when she got stressed.
"Stupid brother. Stupid anime." She definitely didn't pout as she finished attaching the monkeys to the Milkbox. The modifications she'd continued to make on her immobile minion were paying off. The strands of hair would stimulate the monkey's nerves, while the cardiovascular tubes would provide them with oxygen.
She wiped her brow and flopped down. She needed to think.
"Badgy probably couldn't take them all. I need to treat everyone in this world like a Parahuman, but some are clearly stronger than others." She frowned. "Going up against an unknown cape is bad. I need to gather information first." She prodded her decapitated monkeys. "My scouting minions didn't work out so well though. I COULD repair them, but without their invisibility they're pretty weak."
She left a dozen spiders behind to guard her backpack and the Milkbox while she started walking with Badgy by her side.
"So... Dullahans... headless horsemen..." She shook her head. She could examine some later. "They were wearing armor. All of them on the walls are." That gave her an idea. There were more than one way to be stealthy.
"No plagues or epidemics." Even her benign ones could react strangely to monster capes, and until she understood the biology of her targets better, it was best to treat everyone like that. "Especially with Pinky in there. I have no idea what a safe dosage is for a Fraerling. Should I go by size, or how much food they can eat? There's clearly something magical about their bodies."
"No." She frowned. "I'll have to rely on good old Brute strength." She patted Badgy's shoulder. "I'll just need to keep a tight leash on you. There are probably hostages in there that we can't have you rampage over."
Badgy let out a whining sound, which was impressive given his crab-head.
"None of that now!" She swatted his shoulder. "I've let you have your fun, but now isn't the time, understand? You need to be stealthy, like you're tracking a target."
Badgy clicked and nodded its head.
"Ah! Here we are!" They'd come to where the jungle met the beach. From this vantage point, she could see the masts of all the ships in Daquin's harbor. "I'm betting that a bunch of armored people who need to hold onto their heads aren't the best swimmers." She began to lead Badgy away from the city. "Once we're out of any line of sight, we can mount an amphibious assault."
What was the point of having a half giant badger/half crab if you didn't use them for sea-side attacks?
The spiders, however, would stay behind. They could swim fast and hold their breath for a long time, but they could also scurry over the wall if she needed them. Plus, Badgy's Stranger power didn't make them invisible or less likely to be noticed.
Instead, it caused them to fall off of him as they kinda forgot what they were holding onto.
...And there was a strange visual distortion where the spider claws met the invisible flesh. A negative power interaction that Surgery hadn't granted her any insights into. But her Passenger wasn't an expert on magic, so that was hardly unexpected.
She held onto Badgy as her minion walked into the waves. His negative-buoyancy was and advantage right now. Badgy was strong enough to swim, but not very fast as most of his effort was devoted to staying afloat.
Riley's hair and dress billowed around her as she sunk under the waves. She felt a strange sensation that she couldn't pinpoint... that vanished as soon as she took a breath with her gills. The saltwater didn't sting her eyes, but it did feel strange.
Badgy lumbered into the depths before turning towards the city. Riley craned her neck to look up at the surface from a different angle.
Okay, so those were the hulls of boats. Or ships. Or something.
There were a lot of them. She could make out the wooden logs of the piers in the distance and there didn't seem to be any space that wasn't occupied by a ship. That... probably meant something. People tried to run away from fights, and wouldn't fleeing by ship make the most sense?
Then again, there were six gigantic ships that were floating just outside of the harbor. A blockade? That looked like a blockade to her.
So... did that mean the Dullahans had sailed in, kept anyone from running away via ship, and then taken the town?
It was possible. Then again, with everyone having powers a lot of things were technically possible.
They started to pick up speed as Badgy learned how to use his two crab claws to help propel himself along the ocean floor. Soon, they were at the docks and Badgy started climbing up one of the wooden logs of the pier.
Riley turned her head and then brushed her hair that floated beside her out of the way. There was a small ship, or boat, or whatever approaching from the outside. It was hard to see as the angle between her and the surface got smaller. As Badgy climbed higher, her view was obscured by one of the really big boats.
As they breached the water, Riley saw that the small... canoe was providing them with a distraction. Nobody noticed the little girl clamoring onto the dock, and while Badgy wasn't invisible - his mental Stranger effect seemed to be working just fine.
She shooed Badgy towards the town. He couldn't move fast while maintaining his power, so she could easily catch up later. Riley tilted her head and watched the dark-skinned man paddle his canoe with surprising speed. He was doing that not-facing-the-front thing so he could pull back on his oars to move forward.
It seemed to be working as he zipped past the large boats and dodged their nets and magic.
Impressive.
Except...
He was heading right at her!
Luan crashed into the dock and the front of his scull splintered. He was thrown off of it and plunged into the water. One hand kept a death-grip on his bag of holding while the other one propelled him up through the depths. He burst to the surface with a splash and heaved himself onto the dock.
A hand grabbed his and he looked up in surprise. Had the Dullahans come to grab him?
No. The hand wasn't armored. His eyes followed it up its arm and to the little girl that was helping haul him out of the water with a surprising amount of strength.
"Do you think those two Humans know each other?"
"I bet they're both students. Good luck, Humans!"
Some Lizardfolk cheered from a ship as Luan paused to take stock of the situation. The girl had long, black hair with red ribbons in it. She also had a frilly dress with lace along the edges. The odd thing was that her face, arms, and legs were soaking wet - but her hair and dress looked bone dry.
She had to be a [Lady] or something. Some skill to keep her presentable.
"Thanks." He nodded to her before glancing over this shoulder. The Dullahans looked pissed. "The Starlight Requiem. The Starlight Requiem." He muttered under his breath as he took off running into the city.
"What's the Starlight Requiem?" The girl asked him as she sprinted next to him.
"Huh?" He glanced over. She was keeping pace with him despite her short legs and attire. "It's an inn. I'm a City Runner, and I'm making a delivery."
"What's a City Runner?" Her question almost caused him to trip.
"A Street Runner, except we deliver things between cities."
"Oh."
As he ran, Luan didn't see anyone else on the streets except for him and the girl. However, there were plenty of signs of life as people stared down at him from every open window on the upper floors of the houses along the streets. He'd been expecting trouble. Crowds, a riot, something, but not whatever this was.
"Hurry up you two!"
"It's about to start!"
"You'd better find some place to hide!"
"What's going on?" He asked the girl.
"Crap." She replied.
"What?" What did that mean?
"I was going to ask you the same thing." She huffed as they hurried down the street.
Luan spared her a quick glance as he ran up to the inn's door. The people in the windows seemed excited. The girl seemed pensive. He just needed to get the bag of holding to Venaz, once he'd made his delivery and had gotten paid, he could try and figure out what nonsense the Minotaur had gotten him into.
He slammed the door to the Starlight Requiem open and wildly looked around. "Hello. I'm a City Runner, and I'm looking-"
"Out!" A headless body charged towards him like a scene from a horror movie. The Dullahan innkeeper's head shouted from the counter. "Get out!"
Luan held up his hands. "I have a delivery for a Minotaur, and-"
"I kicked him out too!" The headless body pushed him back through the door. "I don't want my place wrecked, I get enough of that from [Sailors]. No one's hiding here!" The door then slammed in Luan's face.
"Hmmm..." The girl hummed from his side. "You know, everyone seems awfully calm for an invasion. It's more like they're watching a sports game or something."
He turned to her. "You were in the streets. Did you see a Minotaur?"
"Nope!" She smiled up at him. "But now I want to!" She seemed to think for a moment before extending her hand. "I'm Bit. I'll help you look!"
"Huh?" He took her hand out of reflex. "I'm Luan, but that's not-"
He trailed off as the sound of boots marching echoed down the empty street. The crowd in the windows silenced their cat-calls as a squad of [Soldiers] turned the corner. There were eighteen Lizardfolk and three Centaurs.
One of the Lizardfolk stepped forward. "Wow. They suck at hiding. Is this really who'll be commanding us? Hope these two are washouts."
The Centaurs frowned. Two of them had long poles that split in two and curved into two blunted prongs. The third also had a pole, but it angled at the end like a hockey stick he could trip people with. All the Lizard folk had clubs, nets, and staves.
Luan started to back away, but the [Lady] girl didn't budge. So he instead moved to get between her and the hostile group. "Look, I'm a City Runner. I'm making a delivery." He nearly dropped his seal as he pulled it out of his pocket. "See? Here's my seal."
The Lizardman scratched at his frills.
"Okay, that's sort of smart. Do you think he's telling the truth, though? Anyone can get a seal if you pay enough. Is it a student?"
The Centaur looked vexed. He stomped a hoof.
"Take anyone on the street! That's what the Mithril said and we're part of this game. You want to turn down ten gold coins?"
"When you put it like that—get them!"
Luan grabbed Bit's hand and turned to run, but the girl didn't budge.
"Oh? So it IS a game!" Her delicate features twisted into a wicked smile. "That sounds like fun. Can I play too?"
The Centaur took a step back. "Uh, guys? My [Dangersense] just started going off like crazy..."
A nightmarish crab-chimera seemed to materialize behind the group.
Note: Some dialogue was taken directly from the Wandering Inn.
Bios:
Riley Grace Davis - Bonesaw. Happy to be back in civilization - or at least this world's version of it. Also happy that there's a game going on, and that it appears to be non-lethal.
Pinky - OC. Not her real name. A Fraerling who is demonstrating just how she got such a high level in [Fool].
Luan Khumalo - An Earther from South Africa. Trained to be a sculler for the Olympics before he was isekaied. Now a City Runner who was paid a lot of money to come to Daquin at this specific time and deliver a bag of holding to Venaz (the Minotaur). He has no idea what's going on, but he's the main gold-earner for his group of Earthers (the United Nations), and he still has his fee to collect.