Aera nodded to Narda and Zeke as they were led away, her eyes falling on the wolf mutation as they left it. "[i]What is it, your Grace?[/i]" One of her men approached, wrinkling his thin nose at the beast. 
"[i]I cannot answer that.[/i]" She replied. "[i]But I fear it is nothing good. They have asked that we burn the forest from which it came. The area we kept clear of when the men appeared.[/i]"
"[i]Will we?[/i]"
Aera debated the question for a moment before she decided. "[i]Burn this. See if it will burn. Take a few men, and go just beyond our border to do so. Do not burn it within our territory. Report back once its done.[/i]"
The nodded and swept away, dragging the abomination with them. Aera watched them leave, then turned to head back into the court. 

Zeke soaked for a long while in the pools beneath the mountain, hearing Narda within the chamber with him, though behind some dividers to offer them privacy. Neither spoke while they washed, scrubbed, and soaked. He heard her leave, and he remained for a time before he finally left. Despite the warmth of the bath and its effects on his muscles, he was in no mood to nap, so he left his given chamber to trace his way back to the strange council room with the decorative table. Save for the servant that tailed him, he was alone. He moved one of the chairs to the edge of the tier to sit and peer over the edge. 
The wolf was gone. Good. His skin crawled just at the sight of it, and he couldn't blame the elves here for wanting to be rid of it, as well. After a few minutes, Zeke turned and managed to request refreshments, and was deep in his thoughtful watch before the servant set cold tea and chilled fruit beside him.

It was a while before Aera joined him. She took a seat at the table in a silent request for him to move his chair. When they sat across from one another, they spoke more. Zeke mentioned Narda's theories that the rest of their party had been taken to Kire's homeworld. Aera's slow blink at this was the only tell she gave that this was hard for her to understand. 
"We don't wish to impose," Zeke said. "But we have no way of reaching our home once more, and if, er, I suppose [i]when[/i], they come back, they'll likely return to where they last were."
"And if we burn it, as you request?" Aera asked.
Zeke blinked. That would be horrible. 
"You're asking to reside here until they find their way back?" Aera continued. 
"Yes, and no." Zeke admitted. "Narda and I discussed camping in the woods, if you'd supply a tent or supplies for us to make a small camp. We'll provide for ourselves, and we wouldn't be a bother to you or your people."
"You are aware of how dangerous the woods are." She pointed out kindly. "The Kartaian den is not far, if they decide to do a raid, you'll be caught in the middle."
Zeke chewed his lip again. "Then we'll move southwest. Leave clues for the others, directing them in our direction. Narda."

 He raised his head as the giantess appeared, tailed by a slight male elf with a small tray. Zeke gestured to the table, upon which was the tea -a very strange blend of red berry and citrus in flavor- and the fruit he had yet to eat. The servant behind her set down the tray before the giantess, revealing a sort of oven-baked vegetable tart when he raised the lid and departed. 
"We were discussing the options in camping outside the borders, here." Zeke informed the Amrian. "I think we'd be safest near enough to the gate, and leave some sort of trail for our friends to follow."
"The land between us and directly north is not always safe." Aera added, watching the giantess curiously. "You're not from here? No ... mixed heritage?"
"No, she's not Kartaian." Zeke insisted, and Aera nodded, still watching Narda. "What about supplies? Do you even have tents?"
"We can manage to put something together." Aera admitted. "Now that you have joined us, I'll explain that I had the thing carried back out of our borders and burned to see if such an action would be effective. They returned not long ago, saying it burned like any other thing should, though the smell was terrible. Once night falls and my parents wake, we will discuss with the council what will be done. Hopefully, tomorrow or the next day, we will be able to gather supplies and volunteers enough to head to your gate. Do you believe the others will return before then?"

~

It was definitely not her prefer way to travel. Not as bad as the world gate that had sucked them through, and made her feel like she was being chewed up, broken apart, and shat out of some ethereal sphincter, but riding on an animal that had the speed and grace of a fish out of water was a close second. Ysaryn tried to match her movements to the man she clung to, deciding there had to be some secret to it if the voluntarily traveled like this, and managed to at least make it less nauseating. 

Still, Ysaryn sighed in audible relief when they slowed, regardless of the caution in their body language at the sound of the horn. Curious, she peered over Ed's broad shoulder, her eyes just visible over his trapezius muscle. A apologetic warning, and they were speeding off again, the elf grunting in response. She closed her eyes, tucked her head down, and tried to think of anything else but the weight of this animal crushing her head with its strange feet. 
When they slowed again, her head reappeared over his shoulder, the elf shifting to get a better look at the group that moved toward them, her eyes drawn to the banners. It looked life-like, the way it swam through the air.

Then she spotted Kire and grinned wickedly, eyeing her cloak with amusement. Ed dismounted and helped her out of the saddle, and Ysaryn brushed off her hands and legs as Kire hugged her cousin, then her. "Oof." She grunted, wiggling free of Kire's arm to stand upright again. "Is not so bad. But he smell worse than the animal." Ysaryn pointed out, then, as if realizing, sniffed her arm and wrinkled her nose. "I am not one to speak." She added with a chuckle. 

The mention that the others had also come through and were no where to be found wiped the grin clean off her face, and Ysaryn turned her head, as if she'd be able to spot some trail or sign of their companions. Frowning, she looked to Kire again, then turned to follow the gaze of the others as they waited the next approaching party. 
The moment Ysaryn saw the black flag with the mirrored, red-eyed faces, she bared her teeth and snarled. Emissaries. She barely knew this word from her time with the vain princess in Cordon, but didn't trust it or them, here. Fingers bent as if she would wrap them around the first enemy throat to close a distance between them, Ysaryn watched them move forward with a predator's focus. 

~

There was that word again. Myka. Ruli was now perhaps ninety percent sure this was the leader's name. Ruli kept listening as he walked, unable to discern any movement beyond their steady footsteps. Beside that single word uttered to the leader, nor could he sense any change in their atmosphere. 
His brow furrowed when he heard that they were also in the dark about Kire's location. From what he knew about the world gate spitting out Ed's men in his world, perhaps they'd just wound up in different areas and had wandered away from one another. He'd called her name, afterall, and had gotten no response.
Unless she immediately went back to his world to ensure the others were alright, unaware the'd unintentionally come through after her.

"I told you I'd answer. I answered." Ruli reminded Myka defensively. "Wait." He added shortly after, putting pieces together. "Do you mean Narda? Are you her pirates?" He asked, suddenly interested. His hand twitched, as if he meant to pull the cover from his eyes, but caught himself. 
The ground sloped downward and Ruli tilted his chin upward, trying to see beneath the fabric in order to know where to put his feet. He remembered this hill. They were heading back toward where he'd first been spotted. That would make it ... east? Maybe southeast. He wasn't entirely sure, as he'd weaved through trees a bit, but he knew they were heading back, at least. 

When Ruli heard a sword unsheath, he tensed, hesitating in his step for a moment until the hand that held his shirt pressed him firmly on. Myka's voice spoke once more, and he tried to relax. Which was incredibly hard to do once he heard her comment. Marriage? That couldn't at all be what Kire had given him the sword for, was it? They barely knew one another, spoke a small amount more than that, and ... no. "Actually, I'm the matron of honour." Ruli replied, his mouth going dry. "She's far more interested in the elf we travel with, but giving her a weapon is like loosing a bull in a pottery shop. I just get the hand-me-downs." He flicked his hand, gesturing to his worn clothing and second-hand boots. 
Gods Above, he hoped that wasn't true about the blade. 

The hand tugged on his shirt, and Ruli stopped, lifting and turning his head to try to get an idea of why or where. Something was spotted, something that sounded an awful lot like─
"Tss," Ruli hissed, blinking furiously when the blindfold was removed. He rubbed at his eyes, squinting at the short, dark-haired woman. "Its probably how I [i]got[/i] here." He said with emphasis. He crossed his arms, ignoring the discomfort he felt in doing so. "We were inspecting the one in my world when it went berserk and sucked Kire in. And me, apparently, because the next thing I know I'm stuck in some Gods-be-Damned hole." 
Zeke, Narda, Ysaryn, Ed, he wasn't sure if anyone else had come through. He only saw Kire screaming as it pulled her in. "There were four others in our party. Narda and Ed were among them. Have you come across anyone else in your hunting?"