[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/211207/773787a4921e74bbb158a1779471847a.png[/img]
[sup]Interaction: Anki [@Medili], Srikandi [@Izurich] and Zavim [@Sanity43217][/sup][/center]
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[color=ed1c24]"Correct! Surprising, isn't it?"[/color] Catherine said, almost as if Srikandi had answered some quiz, chuckling as shementioned the Gremarre's royal family. 

Truth be told, Catherine's 'connection' to Gremarre's royal family was something that would normally, be incredibly difficult to believe to people who weren't inside the academic society or were part of Gremarre, given her reputation and how... 'problematic', pretty much everything about her was. That said, neither the royal family nor Catherine herself made any real efforts to hide that fact. After all, Catherine was, regardless of all rumors, regardless of her problematic personality, undeniably, a genius, definitely someone like the royal family could make use of, while at the same time, keeping some kind of 'leash' on her, or at least feeding the beast in order to prevent it to cause any havoc.

[color=ed1c24]"I know a lot of people who would be very happy to see that happen."[/color] she said with a mocking smile as Srikandi mentioned that there would be consequences if she was lying.

[color=ed1c24]"Unfortunately, It is as real as it gets."[/color] she said, grabbing the bronze emblem from one of her pockets and showing it to Srikandi.

[color=ed1c24]"Quite the useful little piece of metal. Most authoritie will even refrain from bothering me with useless stuff like searcing for weapons, dangerous substances or trying to take those away from me, [i]when they inevitably find them on my posession[/i] when I show it to them. It's great."[/color] she said, laughing as she put it back into her pocket once again.

Just as she said that though, Catherine noticed how Srikandi called the half-orc a pirate, which made her turn towards him again, with a renewed interest in her eyes.

[color=ed1c24]"Oh, a pirate? Those are always fun. It's never boring when they're included."[/color] she said, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the half-orc.

[color=ed1c24]"Hm, wait a second... I think I've seen your face before... Mr. Fuentes, if I recall. There used to be a LOT of wanted posters about you on most ports. It seems both of us have quite the reputation, huh?"[/color] She asked with an amused chuckle.

[color=ed1c24]"Finally! I was starting to get bored."[/color] Catherine said, stretching herself as she got up from the chair, following Srikandi and the rest of the group as they gave the first steps of their 'journey', heading towards the ship that would take them through the Cijatung river.

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It was only after a few hours of travel that they had finally arrived on their destination. Thanks to how experienced the captain was, the trip was mostly uneventful, which also meant it was incredibly boring. Catherine spent most of the time either napping or double checking the calculations about where the meteor landed, both as a pastime and to ensure they wouldn't end up in the wrong place due to someone's incompetence.

[color=ed1c24]"From explosive and incendiary mixtures to toxins and healing elixirs, yup. Everything is here."[/color] Catherine said as she disembarked the ship, making sure she didn't leave any of the dangerous solutions she had prepared behind.

[color=ed1c24]"No need to tell that twice... Not only the terrain is horrible to traverse, but the creatures that live around these parts are really troublesome to deal with, according to the reports I've read about the area."[/color] Catherine said as Srikandi warned for everyone to be careful.

...

After hours of walking, the only big obstacle they managed to find so far was the horrible terrain. From the tales and reports she heard about that area, the place should be teeming with dangerous creatures. The fact that they found so few thus far meant that either the meteor scared them away, which was a reasonable theory for smaller creatures, but it was highly unlikely for the bigger predators or that there was something in the meteor that was in fact, [i]attracting[/i] the area's bigger predators...

Regardless of the theories she might have, it was true that the sun was already setting when they finally found, or better, were found by something. The alert came from Srikandi, whom raised her fist after she heard a rustling sound coming from the foliage around them. Nodding to Srikandi as she warned them, Catherine stood silent, paying close attention to the noises around them.