Though they certainly spent a fair amount of time deliberating, in the end, the party of five remained at the Keystone Plaza, uncertain still as to whether they were better off splitting up or sticking together, whether in the present or in the future. Horogi in general was the one nation that encouraged an all-in perspective, after all. Perhaps a different nation would have been more conductive to the differing playstyles and habits between the five of them. Perhaps it was simply the nature of being part of an online friend group, where there’s no real reason for them to stick together if they didn’t want to do the same thing. Raime wanted to fix his arm and would sell himself to the Ryoku-Jo for it. Magpie didn’t give a shit and just wanted to get herself a forge. Klein wanted to beat the shit out of his friends by outtanking them. Only Amulak and Ames wanted to stick together for the time being, and even then, neither of them offered any solution or response to the individual desires of their party mates. It was a stalemate then, really.

A stalemate broken not by any of the party members, but by the voice of a young woman, calling out their names in the Plaza. Not their names in-game, but rather, their usernames from the Discord channel they all organized their meet-ups in. Dressed in a fantasy-approximate of a Japanese shrine maiden’s outfit, with silvery ribbons woven into the white robes and her curly platinum hair done up in a ponytail, the dark-skinned woman looked a mixture of embarrassed but also desperate as she called out names such as “bear-amelia-flower” and “rayman”, and before any of the party could look away in shame and pretend they didn’t know who those names could belong to, she caught a glimpse of the mountain of a man that was Klein and marched right on over.

[b]“Oh, thank the Goddess,”[/b] she breathed as she neared, leaning forward to catch her breath. [b]“You are all allies of the honorable Lugh Dysphoria, yes? I’m Karan, an adherent of the Shin-Yu faith, and, oh, it’s just too terrible! Your friend is in grave danger, or dead, or both!”[/b]
[sub][@Shovel][@Searat][@Psyker Landshark][@OwO][@Yankee][/sub][hr]
Calace looked at Ari, the light of recognition in her eyes…and then she disappeared. Logged off. Just like that. Her form turned to a prismatic weave of pixels and snaked skywards into the aether above.

Bortz blinked slowly, then drawled, [b]“Well shit, there goes the healer.”[/b]

Healer or not, however, Man Joji Zleto was a merchant with a schedule, and after some urging, the party simply had to keep going. The wagon proved to be an uncomfortable place to sit on if you sat anywhere except for the front, and it was determined that Droko, being their only ‘real’ magical support, would be the one to sit there. She passed her time beside the merchant, her eyes either scanning the horizon or scanning a chat window only visible to herself. Vatorious, miserable that the cuter of the newcomers had just up and left, was sent into the front of the group as their forward scout. His scorched footprints made it easy, during this time of day, to follow, and the mule that pulled the wagon along trudged at a comfortable, if off-putting, pace. Animals such as that didn’t actually go at such a breakneck pace in real life, after all, but Ari supposed that it was just normal. Other caravans passed them swiftly, pulled by much sleeker steeds: wingless drakes, glossy-coated horses, and even some disproportionately large chickens. Clearly, Man Joji had once again chose to invest in himself rather than his craft.

Thankfully, the relatively slower speed of the mule combined with Ari’s still-insane commitment to boosting the ever-loving shit out of her AGI meant that she could keep up with both the caravan and the marching speed that Bortz imposed. The heavily-armored warrior was definitely in a chipper mood, whistling a cheery tune as he stomped through the well-travelled roads leading out of Nyu-Taro. The sun was bright, the wind was brisk, and though the road wasn’t congested, it was common enough to encounter friendly (or at least neutral) faces. Immortals killing time while getting paid, Rien glad to start or end their journeys, the mood was certainly calming, a different adventure compared to the constantly-lethal risks that Ari had taken in the last few days. And even monsters were smart enough not to attack caravans when so many Immortals were nearby together. Safety with numbers and all.

After some time of just walking, however, Bortz broke the silence.

[b]“So, Ari, ranger was what you were, yeah? Where’s the bow?”[/b]
[sub][@GreenGoat][/sub]