[i][h3]Barcea, Southwestern Region - Calypso[/h3][/i]

The woman that walked next to the Diviner was taller than her by well over a head. While Etsuko dressed in white and blue, Calypso chose black and grey in her choice of travelling attire that day. It was a leathery set of clothes that fit the woman snugly, made up of a grey sleeveless top, a tight black sort of jacket, and long black pants with boots. Besides these clothes, though, all over her were her knives. The two largest ones were at either hip, and then more down the sides of her legs that were smaller, all the way to her boots. Even more were on her arms, though not quite as many or as large as the ones on her legs. She also wore gloves, though they were cut in a way that the index and middle fingers of both hands were exposed. Her skin all over, from her face to where it briefly flashed at her midriff, was pale and had no signs of tanning. Perhaps the most eye-catching aspects of her, though, were her eyes and her hair. Her eyes at the moment were a bright, vibrant shade of purple that drew the eye. Meanwhile, her hair was a strange sort of silver, and seemed to shimmer slightly with her steps and with the light.

Her expression was one of a constant smile. It was just big enough for its presence to be noted, and it was equal parts curiosity, playfulness, and elusiveness. For Etsuko who knew her, this expression was practically a perpetual state for the strange woman. She had woken up with this smile, had followed Etsuko with this smile, and spent every day with this smile. She did not know why she smiled so much, as she would say when asked, she simply did. The fact that she had no knowledge of her previous life did nothing to make the smile fade.

It was with this smile that Calypso turned to look towards her friend and travelling companion as they continued to walk. [b]"Mmm, it's certainly much warmer...~"[/b] There was a certain lilt to Calypso's voice, one that didn't seem to belong to anything besides herself.

The two of them came from the mountains in the eastern region of Barcea, and were a long way from home.	Perhaps this was the farthest that they had gone, or rather at least the farthest Calypso herself had gone; she wasn't sure. She certainly seemed to enjoy the trips though, going around and meeting new people and seeing new things. Though the village that the two called home was nice enough, its people was just a little suspicious (so naturally she caught many stares), and it was just the same thing. Calypso liked new.

[b]"It's a very nice change, though~"[/b]

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[i][h3]Barcea, Southwestern Region - Cyril and Company[/h3][/i]
When the rumbling began, it was Ayano was the first to react. As the confused look came over her face and she reached out to fumble for and grip Cyril's sleeve, the ever-alert Alasa felt it next. As Alasa drew his bow and nocked an arrow against the string, the Prince finally became aware of the situation after a moment of looking to Ayano with his own confused expression, then back to Alasa quickly, and then finally towards their right, in the direction of the West.

[b]"Ayano, what is it- What in the name of the Divines...?"[/b]

For a dumbstruck moment, the Prince simply watched the scene unfold. It was quite unlike anything he had seen before; after all, some sort of rider on some sort of... massive centipede wasn't a usual sight in the land of Barcea. While the shocked Prince watched and the Princess trembled slightly from a mixture of fear and confusion, Alasa was the one whose eyes eventually focused on the... things that were tearing up the ground behind the man and his mount. Though he had no idea just what they were, he brought his bow about, but he never managed to get off the shot initially. Instead, as Cyril yelled out, which caused Ayano to scream as Alasa swore under his breath, the three managed to move out of the way just in time to avoid being trampled by the massive beast, even as the stranger swerved it to the side at the same time.

In the very brief calm that followed, those who could see were able to take in all the details of the stranger, from his features to his equipment. The full image all of this brought together was one that was undeniably Jasian. Though the nation of Barcea saw them very rarely, the stories and what was learned from schooling was more than enough for them to pin the stranger's nationality. After all it was hard to mistake a Jasian for anything else, and this man screamed it nonverbally even as he confirmed it for them himself on his introduction.

Even as the Prince opened his mouth to return the favor to this 'Drosil,' it clamped shut as Ayano once again shrieked, the ground seeming to simply explode next to her thanks to the magic of the Jasian. While the Prince's arm went to clamp down on the reins of the Princess' horse, keeping it from throwing her, the eyes of Alasa instantly went from the Jasian to the ground, bow at the ready. Though he didn't get the one that the Jasian struck down after he spoke once again and recommended they leave, the next one was his as he unleashed an arrow. The shot left his hand the moment before the ground burst open between himself and the two royals, going down the gullet of the automaton as it started to fully emerge from the earth. The shot was enough to knock it to the side and back down to the ground, where it struggled for a moment before disappearing back below the surface, leaving churned dirt in its wake.

[b]"He's right. We need to go."[/b]

[b]"Clearly!"[/b] With that, the Prince gave a slight whistle, letting go of the reins of Ayano's horse. With the whistle the horse moved, sticking close to the Prince's. The Prince grabbed his own reins, and with a brisk flick he gave out a slight shout. His horse surged forwards, breaking out into a gallop as Ayano's did the same, imitating Cyril's horse and following it as it was trained to do. Behind them, Alasa's horse charged forwards as well as the archer turned in the saddle slightly, bow still at the ready.

Like this the Sentinels (and assumedly the Jasian) shot along the road, trying to put distance between the automatons and wherever they came from at the same time. Towards the southeast the Prince led them, cutting away from the road briefly from the segment that ran north-south to head straight towards the part that ran more in an easterly-westerly direction. Not only was it the direction that they were heading originally, but it would also get them away from the automatons faster. While they rushed through the fields and the automatons tore through the ground behind them, Alasa's eyes kept back. Every so often he shot an arrow to dissuade an over-eager automaton, just trying to keep them away from the ground.

At first one by one, then two by two, and then more and more of the automatons began to fall away, disappearing from sight back into the earth. For a little while longer the Prince kept them at a full pace, before Alasa finally shouted:

[b]"They're gone!"[/b]

The Prince pulled back on his reins then, slowing the group down. He did not bring them to full stop, as they were just a little away from the road and still needed to get back onto it, but the pace was such that it was more than easy enough for the royal to turn to look to the Jasian and centipede. He did this after giving a sigh, eyebrow raising slightly as he looked back to talk.

[b]"Thanks for not running us over. It's greatly appreciated. Ayano, are you alright?"[/b] Cyril's gaze went to his other side to look at his sister, who sat with her hand to her chest as she tried to calm her breathing. She nodded in response, so the Prince looked briefly glanced back to Alasa (who nodded) before he looked to the Jasian once more.

[b]"I suppose I should welcome you to Barcea. I'm Cyril, this is Ayano, and that's Alasa. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting to have to run for my life today, so... Glad none of us got killed."[/b] Briefly, the Prince glanced back as if looking for their mechanical pursuers once again, before looking back to Drosil. [b]"What were those things? I've never seen anything like them."[/b]

[b]"Why'd you lead them to us?!"[/b] Finally Ayano spoke, clearly more than a little indignant now that the fear was gone and the danger had passed. Cyril's hand went out to gently pat her shoulder, her humphing slightly.

[b]"It's alright, Ayano, none of us were hurt and it made us make better time."[/b]

[b]"That's one way to look at it, I guess... Sorry..."[/b]

Alasa didn't speak, his gaze still travelling around even as he glanced to the Jasian once awhile. Though Drosil was a stranger, he was more worried about the immediate threat of the strange automatons, and whether or not they were really safe. He did not see any automatons, but in the distance he saw there were at least two figures upon the road approaching their direction.

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[i][h3]Barcea, Southwestern Region - Calypso[/h3][/i]
To the northwest of the Diviner and her travelling companion dirt began to rise into the sky in clouds. With a confused blink (but that smile that never wavered), Calypso looked off into the direction the commotion came from. Very faintly, she could see several figures moving very quickly, but exactly what they were doing she wasn't sure. They got closer and closer going at full speed for a while, but eventually they slowed down while still a fair distance away. To Calypso, it seemed as if there were three people on horses... And one on something that wasn't a horse.

Gently, her hand came up to pat Etsuko's shoulder with the tips of two of her fingers, before she gestured in the direction and dropped her hand. Her gaze went from those who were now slowly approaching to Etsuko, though her attention remained on the new group of travellers.

[b]"How strange~! Is that usual around here, Etsuko~?"[/b]