"There should be one of those Fae portals not too far from here. That should save us walking across half the continent if we're lucky." Kanato said as the four of them walked along a wooded path. They'd been dragged along by the Faries, who insisted that the Hero and Miz'ri co with them to the Whistlewoods. It was apparently related to so important plan, though what said plan was and who it involved was sothing the three flying rats with wings couldn't or wouldn't explain.
"Ugh... I never liked the Whistlewoods. This palce always gave the creeps. Its like the whole place is alive and watching you." Katlyn shuddered as she recalled one of their trips deep into the forest for a job. "No offense to you, Mizzy, but I don't know why in the Hells Elves like that place."
"Wood Elves are much different to the rest of us. "Miz'ri chuckled. "They worship Nature Spirits and take a much more holistic view of the world. It's not easy for even other Elves to interact with them, and I'm not entirely comfortable with their customs myself." She was also not exactly welcod by them due to her Dark Elven blood and thus tried to avoid contact with them.
"Not to ntion they're very hostile to everyone." Nier comnted as he rolled his eyes. "I'd rather deal with those high and mighty Human-hating Sun Elves if I'm being honest. At least they have the decency to tell they hate to my face."
"Sun Elves don't hate Humans, Nier. They simply believe it's Humanities' place to serve them. Its truly an honor to serve such aweso beings!" Miz'ri corrected him, which made Katlyn laugh before she joined in.
"Oh yeah, my bad. I guess that makes them nowhere near as bad as I thought." Nier shook his head as Miz'ri and Katlyn laughed.
"Are Elves really that bad in this world?" Kanato asked the three of them as they rounded a bend in the road, revealing a large clearing in the distance and a small town with wooden palisades around it. "Every ti I've t them, they never really gave a problem, but others have always said they were... Ummm..."
"Assholes." (Miz'ri x Katlyn x Nier)
"I didn't want to sound racist." Kanato said with a wry smile.
{Elves in fiction tend to have so... personality issues. I don't want to take fictional prejudices into the real world though.} (Kanato)
"While not all of my Kin are that bad, there is a reason why Elves are stereotyped as arrogant, domineering, and generally unpleasant people to deal with." Miz'ri said, casually throwing her own people under the proverbial bus. "High Elves are notorious for acting genial and amicable to your face, but then talking about you behind your back and plotting against you. Wood Elves are just generally xenophobic and isolationist, which is funny since their main city only exists due to external trade. And Sun Elves are well... Yeah... Sea Elves are... Not really bad, but they have such confusing customs that it often results in them getting offended and starting stupid fights when people don't understand the twelve step ritual to eat sea snails.” She sighed. “Even Dark Elves had issues with arrogance, largely because they thought that their singular Dark God was the only one that mattered." She shook her head. "So yeah, Elvenkind hasn't done itself any favors. There are many good reasons why people don't like us."
"And at the sa ti we've got good friends that are Elves, so it really goes to show it's the stupid culture that's the problem, not the people themselves." Nier chid in as they closed in on the town.
"Yeah! Just look at Mizzy here!" Katlyn snickered as she pat the Half-Elf on the head. "She might be a knife ear, but she's one of the good ones!"
*ZAP*
"Yeow!" Katlyn yelped in pain as Miz'ri grabbed her hand and shocked her with magic. “Why?!Mizzy! Why?!?
"You're lucky I only did that." Miz'ri sighed as Katlyn blew on her hand that was now limp and numb. "Anyone else calling a knife ear would get far worse."
"Aww! See! I knew I was special to you!" Katlyn laughed between winces in pain. "You're such a cutie, Mizzy! You don't need to act all coy with ! I'll accept your love!"
"Can you zap her a few more tis?" Nier shook his head. "Maybe then she'll finally beco normal?"
"There's not enough magic in the world to make her normal, Nier." Miz'ri shook her head, understanding just how pointless such a thing would be.
"Pfff..." Kanato barely held back a laugh as he watched the three of them bicker. "Man, this reminds of my travels with the others. Muichiro and Shiroe..." He paused, suddenly finding himself flooded with sadness as he zoned out.
{We all used to laugh like that... But that was all...} (Kanato)
"You good?" Nier tapped the Hero on the shoulder, noticing that he seed off, which broke him out of his stupor.
"Uh, yeah. I'm alright." Kanato laughed off his concern. "Just a lot on my mind."
"I'm with you there, brother. I'm with you right there." Nier sighed as they approached the wooden gates of the town, which slowly opened after the four of them verified their identities.
"Does anyone know the na of this place?" Katlyn asked as they walked up the dirt road toward the local Guild Hall. The streets were very quiet with few people walking around. Most seed to be holed up in their hos, with a few tending to small gardens or animals. It was odd to see things so quiet, even in a small rural settlent, and the tension in the air was palpable. "Or is this another case of a remote village that doesn't have one?"
"If mory serves , the na of the village is Tean." Kanato answered as the residents seed to hide from them. "I saw its na on a map years ago when we were prepping to hunt a local Dragon that was causing trouble. Emperor Hadrus asked to take so Paladins and put them down so that they could focus on the war effort. We never actually ca to the town, and it's quite a small out-of-the-way place, so it wasn't a concern."
"How in the Hells do you rember sothing like that?" Katlyn asked.
"I rember just about everything since I was summoned here." Kanato replied with a shrug. "The Gods apparently completely remade our bodies when we were summoned, so all our physical and ntal stats were given a significant boost. The best way I can describe it would be inhaling almost pure oxygen. Everything suddenly got clear as if a fog was lifted from my mind."
{Shiroe was already abnormally strong on Earth, too, and she ntioned that the boost she got from coming here was incredible. I believe it, too, since none of us ever managed to co close to overpowering her in raw strength.} (Kanato)
"So God bullshit, noted." Katlyn nodded as she decided to file it away as more supernatural nonsense. "Us re mortals don't stand a chance against such cheats."
"Hey... Um... I know this might be a bit late and awkward... But I'm sorry about..." Kanato stamred as they approached the door to the Guild.
"It's fine." Katlyn shook her head. "You were just as much a victim in this whole ss as everyone else, and from everything I know about you, you actually took the role of Hero seriously." She continued. "Besides, you're not the Hero I want to throw down with anyway; it's that Muichiro guy I'd love to punch."
"I'd just like to know what happened to him." Kanato said as they entered the seemingly empty Guild. "He vanished after we returned from Earth, and I haven't been able to find him."
"Well, if you do, please go ahead and avoid doing too much damage to his face so that I can have the pleasure." Katlyn said with a scary smile before reverting to her normal chill self.
"It's a ghost town in here." Nier comnted as he looked around the Hall. The inside of most Guilds usually had a few adventurers at any given ti, even more remote branches, but Tean's was empty save for the staff.
"It was unusually deserted on the street, too. These places are pretty active during the day with travelers, and this village is on a main road that leads to Grimdal at the edge of the Whistlewoods." Nier comnted as he approached the guild receptionist.
{And the people here seed afraid.} (Nier)
"Good afternoon, and I'm sorry, but there are no quests or jobs available right now." The young man replied with an apologetic smile.
"N-None?" Katlyn sputtered in shock, taken aback by his statent. Even in lean tis, there was always sothing that needed doing, so to hear that the Guild was completely out of jobs was stunning.
"That can't be right. Having no available jobs is impossible." Miz'ri agreed with her friend's shock.
"It was already slowing down for a while, but once that Foxkin adventurer ca through town, people got really spooked." The receptionist explained that after that individual arrived the Guild basically collapsed.
"Foxkin?" Nier replied with a raised eyebrow.
"Have you not heard?" The receptionist's eyes went wide in suprise. "I suppose you might've been busy on a job at the ti. But recently, there was a massive battle at the Simoea Plains. Several adventurer parties were sent to back up the Demon Kingdom in battle against a big Demon monster... And the entire army was wiped out!"
{Ah...} (Kanato)
"I see..." Nier said as he side-eyed his companions.
"The Foxkin woman was apparently the sole survivor of her adventurer party. She ca through town and was telling all kinds of horrible stories about the battle." The receptionist continued as the four of them understood where this was going. "She said the Demon Lord, or whatever it is, claims that the Gods are responsible for the war and that anyone who doesn't submit to her will be destroyed! Once the details were confird by a passing rchant, most of the adventurers in the surrounding region hightailed it to the coast. I think they intend to flee to the Eastern Continent to try and save themselves!"
{I bet I know who said Foxkin was working for...} (Nier)
"Fat lot of good that will do." Katlyn comnted. "Said Demon Lord wants to take over the whole world, so running won't do anything."
"Right! That's what I tried to tell them, but they just said they'd rather take their chances and run. Bah! Damd idiots!" The receptionist grumbled. "Word is spreading like wildfire, and I'm getting ssages from every Guild Hall between the Imperial Capital and Northwind that parties are flooding Balton's dockyards! It's a nightmare!"
{Considering the carnage we saw, they're making the right call. If we weren't already in this deep, that's exactly what we'd be doing, but it's too late to look back. Right now, I get the feeling our purpose is to guide the Empire's Hero so that he can play whatever part he needs to in this farce.} (Nier)
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