PKMNB0Y

Chronicles of a Lost War

Byron Cauna

After a few more minutes of conversation with the receptionist, Byron thanked the woman and left, leaving the scant few adventurers who had been paying attention to him out of curiosity somewhat disappointed that nothing had actually occurred. They were, at heart, a raucous sort, and soon enough their attention turned back towards their own friends and personal matters, regardless of what might have been.

Once he had left the establishment, the beastman took a deep breath and took to leaning against the outer wall of the building. While he had never smoked a day in his life (his father certainly had on more than one occasion), if there was any news that would make him want to start, it would be this.

"Damn... Three hundred years, huh? Not thirty? So much for my siblings, huh? I'm not even sure if I want to look into how they fared after I left at this point. At least the nations are intact, if not significantly less powerful given what bits and pieces I picked up in there..."

Drowning himself in the process of organizing information was probably the simplest way for Byron to try and quell the chaos in his head; the problem of grieving and panicking would do him no good, and anything particularly suspicious in that regard might get him marked. If it had been three centuries since he had been sealed, then information beyond these tidbits was by and large the most important thing to obtain. The state of each country, of the Empire in the years following the war...

The sight of a small crowd forming in front of the bar that Malachi had entered earlier brought Byron's attention away from his own thoughts, though, and given the situation the beastman had no reason not to walk over and check it out. Slipping through the crowd to get a better look, the young man found in the center a Malachi that was far less committed to keeping up a strong front. Given how much he had worried en route to the town, Byron could only assume that the half-elf found out what he had minutes ago.

Brushing away the rubbernecking bystanders, Byron knelt down besides Malachi and patted him on the back.

"At this rate, we're going to cause a scene," he whispered, trying his hardest to maintain composure. "I'm not going to say everything's going to be all right or anything stupid like that, but if you're going to grieve, it can't be in the middle of the street here."

Ideally, Malachi wouldn't lash out at him in return; there was only so much that could be done while trying to keep profiles as low as possible.

@Lugubrious

---

---

The children were wholly entranced by Izel's performance, and for good reason; none of them had even seen such a spell before—at least, not one so fine yet so impractical. Snow in the middle of the summer months was just as exciting, though, and the children were soon off in a huddle trying to come up with a new game in response to their new situation.

The nun, on the other hand, simply turned to Izel in wide-eyed amazement, glancing between the children running about and Izel herself, before finally realizing her actions and bowing her head slightly.

"I apologize, but there is no library in Lefine. The most that we have are scriptures here in the church and official documents in government buildings," she said, bowing her head in apology once more before turning towards Sylphie to address her question. There was a brief pause as the nun considered the way that Sylphie spoke before glancing around nervously.

"The... The raids usually originate from the mountainside, but though many adventurers have explored the area, they often come back empty handed. The bodies of dead monsters and the occasional rewards from clearing dungeons, yes, but beyond that..."

In other words, the nun knew little of their base of operations; given that she was not involved in matters of public safety, that much, it seemed, could not be helped.

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

The Nameless City — Invite Only!

Zeke von Genbu

Between his own punching, Hibiki's punches, and Magilou's aerial assault, the unruly mob was routed comparatively quickly. Without the need to use any Blade Arts, Zeke simply drew back once those who were in the immediate vicinity were rendered unconscious and took a deep breath. He didn't have anywhere near as much firepower as those who he was accompanying, but in this situation that might have actually been the best that he could have asked for.

"Well, they're people of some sort, yes, but I was more asking if you thought we could get them to help in any way. There's a fine difference between panic and madness, and—"

As soon as his eyes drifted towards one of the villagers that had stayed conscious after their earlier assault, they seemed to be dragged off elsewhere. The look that Ursula had on her face immediately caused him to switch back to Pandoria in the interim, sparing the white-haired Blade the gory sight of what had resulted.

"Now, that was considerably less friendly. What sort of madness are we expected to deal with here?" he asked, glancing at the man aiming at him with a rifle before dashing over and landing a kick squarely in his abdomen. "And that? That was just rude. One of your buddies gets mauled, and you're firing potshots at a guy. Listen well, you unruly lot! My name is Zeke von Genbu, known to some as Thunderbolt Zeke!"

With a flourish of his sword, the Driver pointed his weapon at the sky before shooting a bolt of lightning in the same direction.

"Hm. Not sure how that one felt. Well, whatever. We've no time to waste, Pandy; if that was one of the 'beasts' these guys keep ranting about, then we may as well go hunting tonight!"

And with that, he ran off in the direction of the gory mess, being careful not to slip and fall on all of the blood and guts on the ground as he went.

Hopefully, he wouldn't end up getting a bullet to the back as he went.

@RolePlayerRoxas@Raineh Daze

---

---

The Cove

The decision to split up into pairs was made promptly, and with all due haste both groups had made their way off towards their given destinations. While Link and Suzuka had chosen to explore the ruins on the path up to the mountain, Youmu and Nanoha had, given their ability to fly, soared off to the bottom of the cliffside to explore the cove.

The caves themselves stank of rotting flesh and sea salt, with odd, unearthly carvings and coral lighting up the way further inside ever so slightly. Though faint, the sounds of things moving around further in the darkness could be made out over the waves crashing just outside.

A short push further inward would reveal the source of such noises; the bloated corpses of the drowned, wandering about aimlessly as they await the unfortunate few who might soon join them in undeath, and a creatures that seemed more fish than man, patrolling the caverns for intruders that might seek to remove them from their home in the depths.

@KoL@VitaVitaAR

The Ruins

The ruins, in comparison, were dank and musty, with the only accompaniment to the sound of the footsteps of those who dared to enter being the sounds of something else in the distance. The ruins themselves were more crypt than not, though, with the tirelessly long hallways that stretched into the distance without light winding in a seemingly endless array of twists and turns. The occasional remnant of a bygone era—a chest here, a cabinet there—though ruined, show glimpses of what was once a far less ruined estate.

With that said, the sounds of things lurking in the darkness erratically cease, only to begin anew once again moments later.

@Rune_Alchemist@Crusader Lord

Chronicles of a Lost War

"Above... Protection? Tandem? Difference? The hounds?"

There was a mildly confused expression on the nun's face as she listened to Izel speak, only giving a vague nod in response as if what cryptic words she had been given made any sense to her at all. A few of the older children who were listening in were just as confused, but the rest seemed to crowd around the magician in response to her question. A few seemed to clamor over one another, but after a short (but stern) glance from the nun, the children quieted down and formed a group centered around Izel. They were, of course, gathered by the church now instead of scattered on the street, so as to not interrupt the non-existent traffic in the area.

Once the oddity had moved to entertain the children, though, the nun was able to focus her attention back towards Sylphie, who seemed comparatively more reasonable to speak to instead. When the topic of the orphans came up, though, there was a brief pause as the nun's gaze turned towards the ground. It took but a moment for her to right herself and begin to speak in turn.

"Forgive me for the assumption, but you and your companion are from out of town, correct? I do not know if it is any place for a servant of Aphei to share her worries with others, but... Recently, a string of incidents have occurred on the outskirts of town. The children you see here... More than a few of them have had their guardians disappear, and as it is difficult for a single parent to care for a child on their own, you see, and so..."

There was a brief pause as the nun turned back to look at the children, making sure that none of them were focused on her conversation, before continuing.

"But even beyond that, there have been scant raids on the town on occasion. Often times, the guards and adventurers repel those responsible, but on occasion... There have been unfortunate accidents. I would not doubt that the two problems would be related, but... As of late, it is becoming difficult to care for those who come here for solace, so I have no time to worry about that any further."

Maybe it was the presence that the demigod gave off, but the nun so openly speaking of her troubles was not something that she was consciously aware of. It was here, though, that she stopped, her hands clasped together in front of her.

"I apologize for burdening you with such worries, ma'am..." she finally apologized, a distinct blush on her face as she spoke. "It is not the place of one in a position such as mine to confess such things to a weary traveler who must have their own share of worries..."

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

---

---

The barkeep failed to keep himself from laughing at Malachi's explanation, though that itself drew no attention from the customers who were engrossed in their own conversations.

"Ah, you've been unlucky, then? Damn shame, then!" he said, a smile on his face despite Malachi's own expression. "Well, everyone's got their own share of things to hide, so I won't pry any further than that. But, hm... Information? Well, let's see... This is Lefine, a city in the Kingdom of Pyden... The year... I think it's 937? Oh, right! It's the twelfth day of the seventh moon, so we're nearing the Festival of Crows! If you're the type to cut loose, you should drop by next week! Free drink if you buy a meal from us, among other things; not too shabby a deal, eh?"

@Lugubrious

Fate/Eternum

@Raineh Daze: Prof M now has a Master then. Exception permitted, go ahead.

Fate/Eternum

Jason Liu

It took roughly half a minute after the Saber in front of him spoke that Jason responded. There was a slight nod of the young man's head as he slowly pushed himself off the ground, his eyes never actually meeting the eyes of the Servant who would be escorting him over. By this point, Hijikata had most definitely died, and despite everything that had transpired and the assurance that he would have no fault, the young man still found himself guilty of both leaving his friend behind and having thought that he could have done anything to change the situation in the first place.

"...Yeah. I'll go."

By this point, he neither was in a position nor did he have the mental strength to argue. Wherever the Saber took him, he would follow without a word.

@VitaVitaAR

Ruler — Sherlock Holmes

At Moriarty's response, Holmes simply glanced at the old man of around fifty with an inquisitive look. The possibility that the Archer in front of him was either withholding information or outright lying to them did very well exist, but at this point further interrogation would only serve to be a further waste of time.

"No, Miss Obberhausen, I do not believe that this information changes our plans much, if at all. The only problem I can see in our immediate future is a lack of seafaring vessels available for usage, though; given that we are not the only ones curious enough to look into this matter, I doubt that we will be able to procure one with a simple request. It is the first day of spring break, after all, and I am sure there are many teenagers looking for a quick thrill with their Servants in this pleasant weather."

@KoL@DocRock

At the Arena

The firm handshake exchanged between Chiron and Mordred seemed to draw a few more cheers from the already hyper crowd, and the subsequent scene between the Knight of Treachery and her Master only seemed to raise the tension in the room. Tristan's subsequent entry and comment simply drew a laugh from Chiron.

"I do not mind the loss; though I cannot speak for Bradamante and her opinion her her match, I can say with certainty that I am a teacher before I am a fighter. Many of my students have surpassed me in their own ways, so it is not as if I am not wholly unused to this sort of ordeal," he responded, a smile on his face as he turned to face Arturia, Laetitia, and Tristan. "I do believe, though, that I am not in any state to fight any further right now. I have received word from my Master, though, that there are a pair of Servants willing to spar with you tomorrow, if you have the time. Would you be willing to return then, or should I arrange these matches for a later date?"

@Raineh Daze

Chronicles of a Lost War

Byron Cauna

The beastman responded to Sylphie's quip with the same smile he had given the guards, making it fully known that he was not particularly enthused about even entertaining the though of having to act as a butler. Given that Malachi had headed straight to the bar and that both Sylphie and Izel were headed off to the church, Byron simply gave the pair a nod and slight two-finger salute before heading off on his own. The first destination in mind for him would have been the same as Malachi's, but given how much of an odd pair they would be together, the young man found it more prudent to head elsewhere instead.

Thus, the gathering point of the so-called 'adventurers' that the guards had mistaken him and the rest of his group for was his next destination. That, too, required a bit more inquiry, and so Byron quickly turned back around after the others had left and asked the guards for directions.

An 'adventurer's guild', they called it; located near the center of the town, next to the town square that he had suggested that the others regroup at later, it was apparently a hub of activity at all points of the day. Thanking the pair for the information, Byron promptly walked off to explore the building.

The first thought that popped into his mind when he entered the guild was that it was, more than anything else, filled with people who were far more rugged than he; in fact, his own entrance seemed to turn a few heads and draw a few snickers before the patrons therein (partaking in the food from the joint restaurant that served the adventurers and its staff) returned to their business. He was obviously an outsider, with his clothing standing out so prominently compared to the rough leather armor that many of the men and women present in front of him wore. When thinking about the state of the armaments of the guards and comparing them to these people, it seemed apparent that these 'adventurers' were really more along the lines of mercenaries; the term used instead simply had a better ring to it.

Without missing a beat, Byron walked up to the reception desk and, after a curious few glances around, noticed an open area next to a comparatively well-dressed young woman in uniform. There was a bit of curiosity in her eyes that he made note of as she sized him up, but the magician simply cleared his throat and spoke calmly instead.

"I'm sorry to bother you, ma'am, but are there any maps of the area for sale here?"

"A-ah... A map, was it?" the woman responded, clearly not expecting that line of inquiry. "I'm sorry, but if you want to purchase a map from the guild, you need to be registered as an adventurer. Do you have an ID with you?"

"Er... It's a bit complicated, but I do not. Would you mind if I simply looked at one instead?"

"Oh, certainly," she said, taking a roll of paper from behind her and rolling it out in front of Byron. There was a brief pause as the beastman scanned the area over, his eyes slowly narrowing the more locations he took note of. The map in front of him was by all means far cruder than the mass-produced copies available in the Alliance, but most notable was the shift in landscape. Nature had reclaimed territory from after the war, which was more than understandable, but the forests and mountain ranges that he took note of—the one they had just passed through included—were not things that could have arisen in the last three decades. The nations that had once made up the Alliance seemed to exist to an extent, if not vastly less powerful (he assumed), and the presence of the Empire in the northern half of the continent seemed markedly clear. Though as to what they were doing now...

Well, that remained to be seen.

After pulling out a piece of paper from his pouch and taking a few notes, Byron thanked the receptionist as she put away the map. Of course, the only thing left to ask now was the question that was bothering him the most.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, though, could I ask you for the date?"

"The date...? If I recall correctly, it's the twelfth day of the seventh moon. Oh, were you travelling somewhere for the Festival of Crows?"

"Er... Come again?"

"You know, the Festival of Crows! It's supposed to be the 300th anniversary of the Great War in a week or so, so every town's in a bit of a festive mood right now. If you're planning to stay in Lefine until then, I'm sure you won't be missing out."

"300th... Anniversary? Oh, this is far worse than I thought it was."

---

---

It took but a few scant moments for the bartender to pour the requested beer into a large wooden mug and hand it off to Malachi. There was a slight hand motion passed off from the old man towards a barmaid off to the side, who responded in turn with a nod as she disappeared past the door to the kitchen. Both sides seemed used to the crude half-praise that Malachi had given and took it in stride, and before long a pair of plates, each with a hefty sandwich sitting on top, were delivered to the half-elf.

"From out of town, I take it?" the bartender asked, a smirk on his face as he gave Malachi a once-over. "There ain't many people in this place even half your size, so I feel like I'm obligated to ask; what brings you out to our 'bonafide country tavern' here? A job or something?"

@Lugubrious

---

---

The church of Lefine was nothing all that distinct; the statue of Aphei, as was standard among churches, was erected near the entrance to the building itself, and though everything was quite well-kept there did seem to be a distinct lack of people present—bar the orphans playing around near the building and the nun watching over them, of course. It was to be expected of a day in the middle of the week, with people having jobs to do rather than offer their faith to the gods who looked over them.

There was a brief moment of pause as the nun, who had until this point been watching over the children as their ward, noticed the unusual pair of girls walking over to the church. Telling the children to not get themselves into trouble as she went to greet them (despite knowing full well that some might ignore her words entirely), said nun quickly walked over to greet the pair that had come to the church.

"May the Goddess smile upon you, dear travelers. Did you need something from our humble place of worship?" she asked, a smile on her face as a few of the children began to take notice of the unfamiliar people who she had begun to talk to.

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

Fate/Eternum

@Mystic Writer: Hm...

Well, you can parse a lot of the details from reading the IC, but if you don't want to... Well, there's a few off the top of my head.

-Class is out for a week or so right now in-RP; spring break. We're on the Saturday after it started (the RP kicked off on a Friday).
-I mentioned that fluency in one of English/Chinese/Japanese is mandatory in the city in the OP, I think?
-Gil's got money. The Clock Tower can't Sealing Designation his Master because of its existence. There's more secrets than you see at first glance.
-True Names aren't hidden by pretty much any given Servant because of how the city works. In fact, it's at the point where there have been interviews and stuff done. Historians are foaming at the mouth at this point.
-Fusang being a public thing can be partially blamed on the Animuspheres, too, since Chaldea exists in this timeline. That being said, while Olga is alive, Mashu... Notably isn't.

I don't remember if there's anything else that comes to mind immediately, but... Well, that's a rough overview for now.

The Nameless City — Invite Only!

Zeke von Genbu

"Oh, powered by music, huh? That's an interesting prospect, to be sure, but I'd imagine it'd be difficult to fight underwater. Never heard of this 'karaoke machine', though so—"

"Zeke, Hibiki's already gone on ahead."

There was a brief pause as Zeke stood there, and there was a momentary silence between the Driver and his blade before Zeke ran over to the edge of their elevated platform and looked down at Hibiki.

"Wow, she really wastes no time, huh? C'mon, Pandy; that crowd looks rowdy, and I'm not sure if we can settle out differences like civil folk," he remarked, quickly jumping down from the platform he was on and landing on the next.

He would have jumped down to ground level immediately after, had the one he jumped on not immediately given way under his feet and cause him to freefall twice the distance he had intended to. Tumbling headfirst onto the pavement, Zeke groaned as he pushed himself off the ground and dusted himself off. It was definitely not the worst fall that he had been through, but the injuries weren't something that he had to worry all too much about at this point.

"Ah... That could've gone better..." he complained, cracking his neck before turning to look at Hibiki (who, apparently, had failed in negotiations outright). There was a frown on the Driver's face as he looked at the people who made up the mob, but they looked human enough, and given that they could speak in a manner that he could understand, he wasn't particularly inclined to lethally injure them like he had the crow from earlier.

"Pandy, tag out!" he shouted to the Blade (who had avoided the worst of it by not jumping down with him) before throwing his sword into the air. "Ursula! I'm counting on you!"

There was a brief flash as Zeke's sword disappeared, only to be replaced by a pair of gauntlets; likewise, Pandoria seemed to disappear, only to be replaced by a small, white-haired girl riding on the shoulders of a polar bear.

"Sorry about the sudden call over, but this job needs a little less cutting force!" he apologized as he ran towards the nearest enemy and threw a straight punch into their abdomen. "So, on a scale of one to 'absolutely insane', how bad do you think these guys are? Because I'm pretty sure they're not going to help us find that girl on the screen from earlier—not at this rate!"

@RolePlayerRoxas@Raineh Daze

---

---

The journal itself provided scattered information on the Ancestor's deeds, but there were more than just simple diary entries laying about within the journal itself. A crude map, hastily scrawled on one of the pages, marked four different locations within the vicinity of the estate that the four people present found themselves on.

The first seemed to be the entrance to what seemed like an old, abandoned sewer system (or something of the sort) labeled 'Warrens'; the second, an overgrown forest labeled 'Weald'; the third, a picture of a ruined old stone tower labeled 'Ruins'; the fourth, a small cavern by the bottom of the cliff within the ocean labeled 'Cove'.

The top of the cliff in question was conspicuously missing, but a brief look around the Hamlet would provide the last piece of information to map. There, in the far-off distance, stood a once-grand manor, visible even from this distance, now reduced to no more than crumbling stone and rotting wood.

@VitaVitaAR@Crusader Lord@Rune_Alchemist@KoL

Chronicles of a Lost War

Byron Cauna

The beastman glanced at Malachi as the older man began to panic and simply let out a sigh. He was not wholly dismissive of the half-elf's panic; no, there was some part of him that was also gnawing away at the back of his mind, asking if this was really the right decision. But all the young man could do now was rationalize that decision—that, if he had stayed behind, he might have been made an example of, and his family might have followed suit.

But it was definitely too late for any regrets now, after the deed had been done.

Aerarius' own comments were a sound suggestion to Byron, and he nodded in agreement. Had the old sage been in his usual condition, it might have proven just as well to pose as an old hermit and his disciple, emerging from the mountains after years of ascetic training. Something to that degree might have been plausible, and it would mean that he wouldn't be wandering into town without direct support.

"That makes enough sense. I guess we should count it a blessing that there weren't any assassins to try and assassinate us the second we stepped out," he remarked, nodding his head in agreement. "While I'd be a bit more willing to scout ahead, the old man down there doesn't seem to want to wait. I'm going to follow and make sure they don't cause too much of a panic; I'll regroup with you in a bit."

Opting to slide down the mountainside to catch up with the others as they moved off towards the town, Byron quickly made his way to the front of the group before deciding to start walking again.

"I'll take point here; as Aerarius pointed out before I got here, everyone else stands out a bit too much for people who just popped out of nowhere," he said, making sure to not fall behind the half-elf in doing so. "I'm going to see if we need to con or bribe our way in first, though given how the place looked, I'm not sure how necessary that will be."

---

The town itself seemed to have the most basic of fortifications at first glance, which caused Byron to frown in mild concern as he pressed forward ahead of the group. There were a pair of guards at the gate closest to them, which itself seemed to lead to a worn dirt path into the forest. It was certainly not the most impressive display of military might, given that their equipment seemed vastly inferior to anything that he had seen even among the rank-and-file soldiers of the Alliance, but at the very least it meant that they might be easier to convince without further issue.

As soon as he stepped onto the path and began walking towards the gate, though, the two guards—one male, one female, upon closer inspection—seemed to straighten their backs and stood at attention.

"Welcome to the town of Lefine!" the man said, almost as if reciting from a script. "Are you and your... Er... Companions over there... Adventurers, by any chance?"

"Adventurers? What sort of asinine response—actually, no, this is something I can use."

"Mmm... I guess you could call us something like that? We're more freelancers, though, and we kind of... Got lost a while ago. Lefine, was it? Do you mind if we enter?"

"Well, the entry tax is five copper per person if you're adventurers or merchants, but since you don't have IDs, it should be forty copper for the four of you," the girl responded. There was a brief pause (and a bit of wide-eyed staring) as Byron pulled out a single silver coin from his pouch and handed it off to the female guard.

"I really don't feel like waiting any longer to explore this fine place, so you two can keep the change," he said, leaving the slack-jawed guards behind as he walked back to the group. Their reaction, of course, was not lost on him, but it was probably better that he had paid a silver coin rather than fishing for nonexistent copper pieces instead.

All things considered, it would probably come back to bite him later—doubly so given that neither of the guards were paying as much attention to the other people with him as they were the coin that they had been handed. Gauging their reactions as ones of confusion and mild worry, Byron took the chance to move ahead and push his luck a little bit.

"Well, I assume there are no problems here, correct? Or are my companions unwelcome here?"

"Oh, no, nothing of the sort, good sir!" the man said, the arm holding his spear visibly shaking as he spoke.

"Good sir? I don't like the sound of that."

"Most certainly not! P-please, by all means, explore our humble home to your heart's content!" the girl followed, with both soldiers now moving to the side to allow them to pass.

With a somewhat forced smile, Byron simply nodded and walked forward, the rest of the group following close behind.

"Okay, that worked, but I'm not sure if I like the outcome. You three should probably split up and try to gather some more information; let's meet at the town square over there once you're done."

@Rune_Alchemist@Raineh Daze@Lugubrious@Crimson Paladin@VitaVitaAR

Chronicles of a Lost War

Byron Cauna

With the preliminary scouting done, Byron turned towards the (considerably younger) sage and nodded before starting down the cavern. There was no desire on part of the young man to watch what was essentially an old geezer in a young girl's body (implications be damned) figure out a change of clothing, and he had as much a desire as the others to see how the world had changed in the time he had been gone.

"If you want a light, I'd be happy to provide," he remarked in response to the automaton's request, spinning his left hand in the air as he created a glowing orb of light right above it. "We'll be going on ahead, then; I just hope there isn't an ambush waiting for us outside."

Leading the way forward, Byron turned his head towards Malachi and nodded in assent. If the spell had been a failure, then there would at least be a few guards standing by, or possibly some other sign that people had been there in the few hours' time that he felt like he had been asleep. But his nose did not lie, and the scent of life was definitely nonexistent all the way down here.

"I am fairly certain that the spell itself worked, but that only brings up further questions. For example, what became of those that remained in the Alliance after we were sealed away here? For the leaders, death is a certainty, but the people..."

There was a tinge of worry in the young man's voice as he trailed off, but Byron soon shook his head, as if to brush away the worries in his mind.

"No, there's no way they simply killed everyone inside. There would be no point in a conquest without people to rule over, after all. But... Thirty years, they said? My siblings must be older than I am by now," he remarked, a halfhearted smile on his face as the group neared the stairwell out of the cavern. The light filtering in through the exit made his own unnecessary, and the spell was thus dispelled as he began to climb out.

Exiting that long passage would reward them with the sight of a land that had long since been free of war, with their vantage point providing a clear view of the plains and a forest closer to the base of the mountain. The blue sky and bright sun caused the beastman to pause for a moment as his eyes adjusted, but the landscape that he had returned to was tranquil, if not mostly unfamiliar to him. That went double, of course, for the small village that could he could barely make out by the edge of the river that flowed down from the mountain and through the aforementioned plain. As much of a breath of fresh air that the view in front of him was, though, they still had a job to do.

"You know, I don't recall a forest being here when we went in..." Byron said, a hint of unease in his voice as he glanced behind him to make sure that the others were close behind. "And you'd think that there would be someone waiting here to get us up to date on what had happened in the last few years. Should we assume the worst-case scenario?"

@Rune_Alchemist@Raineh Daze@Lugubrious@Crimson Paladin@VitaVitaAR