RP: 5th Fleet [Chapter Seven] We're Not In Yamatai Anymore...

Dimitri took a rotation for driving the carriage through the night, partly because he wanted to check the horse's condition, but the other part cause it was hard to sleep in the the back with all those women curled up and close together.

When it was morning and they could see the smoke in the distance he sighed, it wasn't from a village burning this time, but it actually was chimneys burning. "Good to know not everywhere out here is under attack..but I hope Kuroneko didn't go into that forest.." The forest disturbed him, large, dark and definitely somewhere that would be hard to search. In fantasy settings there were usually all sorts of monsters in a forest as well, it would be a trial and a half if they had to go inside.

Hurtling through space Three-Hei kept her eyes ahead, on the alien warships that had killed so many of her sisters in this wasteful approach. Still she was only moments away from her goal only moments away from making all of their deaths mean something.

A blinding white illuminated her world from behind, why now?


She awoke with a face full of something soft and warm. All things considered Yuzuki was rather pleased. It wasn't often that she awoke in such circumstances. Wiggling her arms free of her captive pillow she set about pushing herself up and stifled a titter as she noted the unfortunate victim of her pillowed conscription was none other than the Lady Weiss. Grinning and twitching her ears, Yuzuki looked around her surroundings, a small token wave spared for Dimitri's back as she fixed her eyes on the wisps of smoke and the forest beyond. Sniffing at the air she mused over the faint scent of wood smoke and wondered if it would be another case of a village burning rather than just wood burning.

With a soft sigh she fished her spear from the bottom of the wagon and once again settled in the rearmost corner of the wagon to scan the horizon huddling in on herself against the slight chill that came of not having another to cuddle against. Hopefully this new day would prove a little more forgiving than the last. Perhaps once everyone was alert she'd get an idea of what they intended to do in this new corner of the world, after all they were looking for a single individual on an entire planet... A single individual nowhere near their original goal.

The first thought that came to Adelaide's mind when she finally began to stir was not a happy one.

Her chest was sore, and last time it sore, well, she now feared the back pains that plagued her mother would now visit her as well. The very last thing she wanted, ever, was more of that useless flesh! By the time the princess finally did rouse however, the others were already up and about. She could see that they were reasonably rested - Yuzuki in particular for some reason - with no additional events bothering them. Coco sat by the driver, humming to herself a tuneless little song, while the horse looked like it had seen better days. Or, perhaps wanted to trample its owners. It was hard to tell. More importantly? There was the town. Just from a glance, she could tell that it was one erected in haste. A town devoted to logging and production of charcoal, hence the smoke. It was even well guarded and walled with wooden logs packed tight with clay. But the one strangest thing?

"How queer. We were...'advised' not to log from Wyrd's Wald by the Elves," she offhandedly remarked to no-one in particular. "Why would father permit this?" Adelaide asked herself, adjusting her glasses. Meanwhile, Sif was already devising what they had to do.

"You know our luck Dimitri," she answered from her seat on his shoulder. It was true. They were soldiers, and were fated to see conflict. If they didn't chase it, it would chase them. Turning her gaze to Adelaide, Sif nodded. "A good question Fräulein, but one for another time, assuming nobody else has any answers," the smallest woman replied, looking the group over. Sif knew of war, and had her guesses as to why, but did any of her kōhai - her juniors - have any thoughts? It didn't matter, really. It was none of their business. They weren't part of this world. "First, we need to replace our horse with a new one since it's exhausted. Second, since we have changed our objective to finding Kuroneko, we need to inquire if the locals have caught sight of her," she pointed out. "Now, which of you could tell me the areas requiring our immediate investigation from what you know and can see here?" the Mini-Neko asked. Given her tone of voice, she might as well have been a school teacher.

At the gates themselves, they could see a collection of guards manning their stations and the towers. Some were fresh and alert, while others very, very clearly looked hung over or even still smashed from the night before. Meanwhile, through the open gates where wagons full of charcoal or food would pass in and out, they could already see a tavern in the distance. As people stirred in the early morning, the first crowds began to emerge from the tavern. Like some of the guards, many of them looked absolutely debilitated. In the streets however, the bulk of the workers were already hard at work, having risen before the sun. Hacking, hewing or slowly turning the valuable wood into charcoal, the Kobolds toiled under their watchful masters' eyes. The boot, the whip, the fist was never far off if they slacked. As the adventurers neared, their open topped carriage - finer than the mere wagons that lacked suspension - joined the line to enter. It wouldn't be long before they had to make up their minds.

Sif snorted.

"W-well? Any ideas?" her lips quivered. It looked like she was fighting her hardest not to fall over laughing. It was obvious; she knew something they might not.

??????

A forest. Nani? Wasn't I......in the middle of a field?


He was in a forest, and he was running-no, sprinting through the undergrowth, frantically tearing though the brush as he weaved his way through a seemingly endless number of trees, branches, and vines. From who or what? And why?


Then he heard the voices. They were unintelligible, simultaneously nearby and far, far away......yet he somehow knew the gist of their message.

?????? said:

RUN!

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He stopped, eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he looked around him - only to see nothing but forest, forest, and more forest, partially obscured for some reason by a dark, ominous fog.


"Run?" What's...what's going on here? "Hello? Who's there?"


Then he heard the screams as the ground heaved and buckled, sending him face-first into the hard, unforgiving surface of the forest floor. Dazed, he got back up to his feet, groaning in pain - and, as the forest around him darkened even further, made the mistake of looking upwards at the heavens above.


Directly into the eyes of his friend.


His foe.


His death......


Matokai Masato screamed in mind-numbing terror as his life came crashing down around him......



Somewhere Besides Yamatai

......and awoke with a gasp, lungs hyperventilating for a moment - until the Hei realized just where he was. Bwah......

CadetNewb said:

"-need to replace our horse with a new one since it's exhausted. Second, since we have changed our objective to finding Kuroneko, we need to inquire if the locals have caught sight of her," she pointed out. "Now, which of you could tell me the areas requiring our immediate investigation from what you know and can see here?" the Mini-Neko asked. Given her tone of voice, she might as well have been a school teacher.

At the gates themselves, they could see a collection of guards manning their stations and the towers. Some were fresh and alert, while others very, very clearly looked hung over or even still smashed from the night before. Meanwhile, through the open gates where wagons full of charcoal or food would pass in and out, they could already see a tavern in the distance. As people stirred in the early morning, the first crowds began to emerge from the tavern. Like some of the guards, many of them looked absolutely debilitated. In the streets however, the bulk of the workers were already hard at work, having risen before the sun. Hacking, hewing or slowly turning the valuable wood into charcoal, the Kobolds toiled under their watchful masters' eyes. The boot, the whip, the fist was never far off if they slacked. As the adventurers neared, their open topped carriage - finer than the mere wagons that lacked suspension - joined the line to enter. It wouldn't be long before they had to make up their minds.

Sif snorted.

"W-well? Any ideas?" her lips quivered. It looked like she was fighting her hardest not to fall over laughing. It was obvious; she knew something they might not.

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The Minkan blinked (then blushed), equally confused and embarrased at Siv's amusement. Ara iyada(Oh no)...is my hair standing up again? As for ideas......hmmmmmm...... After thinking back to the tabletop RPGs he used to play back in his earlier years, Masato replied "Uhm......the t-tavern?"

There was a brief moment sent purposefully ignoring Sif's latest endeavour to turn their expedition into some sort of twisted quiz show or classroom, the purpose as of yet unknown. Even so after Matokai-Hei's response Yuzuki found herself speaking with enough cheer that she surprised herself, "It would be better to check in with the guard. If they're doing their jobs they'll have seen anyone coming into town. If they haven't seen anyone of note, then they're most likely to have information on the surroundings such as any other places that our wayward companion may have wandered. After all it is their job to know these things."

As she fell silent Yuzuki gave Sif a wink and blew her a kiss before huddling into her corner once again looking out over the surrounding landscape as well as those who shared the queue with their open carriage. As she let her eyes wander Yuzuki couldn't help but begin to hum a tune that sounded suspiciously like elevator music.

Aya had slept relatively soundly; it was a skill she had long ago picked up. She forced herself awake with a yawn and a stretch, then watched the approaching city with eager eyes. Admittedly, it wasn't a very good first impression: the guards wouldn't have been able to get away with their... laxness in the Star Army, and that was leaving aside the enslaved kobolds. She tried to tell herself that since this world seemed to be at a more primitive stage of their development they likely didn't know any better.

Sif's question prompted a bout of looking around frantically. Come on... what does she know that I don't? she wondered. It was at roughly that moment that Masato made his own tentative response. Oh, of course it'd probably be there! Raising her index finger triumphantly, she said, "Yeah, I bet that there's plenty of people in the tavern that'd know about that stuff!"

Dimitri looked around what he could see of the town and nodded softly, Sif's latest question was one that that was simple, and he had an answer for it, but Sif's expression took away some of his confidence in the situation. "I Agree with checking the guard. We don't know Kuro's pace or when she could've arrived, so we'll have to check the ones who've only recently gotten on duty as well as the old. If she's in the town we're gonna want to look for a hospital, she's as bloodied as it look from the battle, she can't just walk into a tavern like nothing is wrong."

During their journey to the town, Rin had managed to re-equip her leather armor and other gear. Her quiver, strapped over one shoulder and peeking out from under her cloak, was starting to get low on arrows. Rin remained vigilant for most of the night as they travelled; she had expected the displacer beast to return and try to munch on them again, but thankfully it did not.

Rin agreed with both Yuzuki and Dimitiri.

"I agree. We should inspect the nearest hospital as well as ask the town guard if they have seen anyone matching Kuroneko's description."

Despite their answers, Sif remained quiet and merely nodded while keeping a straight face. She didn't rebuke them. Didn't get angry over one shortcoming or another of theirs. Didn't even bother to explain what was on her mind. It was like Sif had become a plate of Durandium. However, another chink in her armor appeared when Yuzuki gave a playful wink and blew a kiss to her; the edge of the Mini-Neko's lips quivered upwards in a barely concealed smile. It was certain now.

She knew something they didn't.

"Oh, son-of-a! You too?!" they could hear a young man yell in frustration. Up ahead, the changing of the guard was particularly disorderly, with the relieving men arriving in dribs and drabs, searching for each other and their assignment through the muddled, sleepy 'chaos' that ensued from their sloppiness.

"Yep. Me too," an older guard replied to his junior. Both looked tired and worn out, but the smug smile the elder had was one of satisfaction. "And Benjamin too."

"Uh huh," the well armored third guard nodded, lifting the visor of his sallet to reveal the dark, sleepless bags under his eyes. The youngest of the three looked like he was on the verge of tears, but before the dam welling up behind his eyes finally broke, the grizzled veteran caught sight of the squad's carriage. "Don't worry kid, I'm sure things will be looking up soon," their sharp ears heard him say. With the Star Army soldiers networking, each and every single one of them could listen in as the audio was passed in between them all. Of course, the bespectacled young woman accompanying them wasn't privy to any of this.

"It's one strange thing after another - maybe it's destiny that we all met," Adelaide observed the scene before them all, adjusting her glasses. "Something is certainly afoot. The guards shouldn't be this tired, especially since it's the new shift that's in such a sorry state. It is most literally their duty to be rested from a good night's sleep, and if they aren't, they'd be punished for - " The princess' voice stopped mid-sentence as one pair of eyes after another fell onto their humble open carriage. Though they were a few carts back, already, they could see the guards in question talking, whispering to one another as the old shift and new exchanged furtive looks and wolfish smiles with one another. Adelaide glanced at her handmaid, Coco, who smiled back, and scooted closer to the small wooden chest the Princess was The Keeper of. When it was finally their turn to be vetted, a whistle came from the well armored veteran of the three.

"Welcome. We call this gloomy, slapped together, soot covered excuse for a frontier town 'Charcoal', which isn't so gloomy now that I see you're all here!" he warmly smiled at them all. "State your business My Ladies. I hope you and your guards will be staying over at the tavern tonight; a miserable place like this is always made more bearable with friends."

"Hi Mister guard! I hope we get to be really good friends too!" Coco enthusiastically waved. He winced, but quickly recovered from the surprise. The man did not even see the little girl until she spoke, and judging by the sour look that Adelaide shot at him, as well as how he tried to conceal his embarrassment, it was likely that the guard would not have spoken to them like that if he did notice the bubbly ten year old. But, he didn't notice her.

After all, his eyes were entirely on the gorgeous women in front of him.

Dimitri noticed the hint of a smile from Sif and he knew it meant she was hiding something from them probably for amusement, but it also meant finding out what it was would be difficult unless Sif felt like telling them later. So he just kept quiet and watched as things unfold, taking note of how tired the guard looked but new and old shifts, he could tell that was unusual even if he wasn't a soldier. "Something is up here..." Before he could really figure out what though the guard, possibly the man in charge of the current shift began speaking to them, well not him, but rather the women in the carriage. It was painful to listen to the man go on in such a manner and it made him wonder if this was how all pick up lines sounded to women.

"Pull your pants back up man, I know you're sleepy so it's hard to tell, but child aside, you're probably out of your league." Normaly he wouldn't have said anything, but he felt like he could get away with being a little quippy right now.

Aya didn't like the silence from Sif. In some ways it was worse than being straight up told that they had got it wrong - at least then there wasn't the unpleasant waiting. Whilst she dwelt on this, she watched as a small group of soldiers began to change the guard. Albeit it was more accurate to say they were trying, considering they seemed utterly exhausted. An unwelcome distraction from the uncertainty came in the form of the fatigued guards' attempts to seduce them. Ugh, just what we needed. At this stage Aya was almost more annoyed than she was creeped out. She resisted the urge to say something pithy, and let the others take the lead.

Immediately Yuzuki found herself wanting to stick something in the guard rather than the other way around, especially with the casual assumption that the Lady Weiss and by extension the other women present would want to partake of their turgid, filthy flesh. Slowly as she held her tongue and let her mind work Yuzuki found in her silence that something started to take shape as she pieced things together, the whistle, the immediate association, the innuendo... Sif's struggle to keep a straight face, almost broken by her flirting...

While Dimitri had already started to forge ahead with chastising the other men Yuzuki mused aloud with a voice that would have been better suited for song, "I suppose you can't really blame them, a woman has taken the whole guard to bed and now they struggle to understand that one woman is not all women. Perhaps I'll write a song about the tragedy."

"Maybe the lady who brought the whole town to its knees will help me fill in the details?" Yuzuki let her gaze wander sky ward as she paused to think for a moment before commenting, quietly, "I suppose the guard definitely saw someone... And asking at the tavern is sure to find them." Unable to keep her composure Yuzuki started to titter, the sound slowly rising into a cackle before she was clutching her sides as mirth overcame her and the warm, musical laughter spilled free. It was like they had walked into a doujinshi, though thankfully for her she wasn't the female lead.

Rin did not reply to the lead guard and his sickening demeanor. She simply stared coldly back. Maybe the guard wanted to get a rise out of them, to test them. But Rin would not take the bait.

Instead she watched and listened. She watched the guards as they groggily walked about their posts. She listened to the sounds of a settlement at work, hearing the braying of horses, the clang of smith's hammers, and the murmuring of people chatting. More importantly, she watched for someone resembling Kuroneko's description. As long as she wasn't wearing a cloak, a Nekovalkyrja should stick out like a sore thumb.

Matokai Masato was - judging by his expression - absolutely furious at the armored guard's comments, the former only barely able to suprress the urge to send the latter flying with a well-placed (and grav-assisted) kick. Gesu yarō!

Dimitri said:

"Pull your pants back up man, I know you're sleepy so it's hard to tell, but child aside, you're probably out of your league."

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Suzuki said:

"I suppose you can't really blame them, a woman has taken the whole guard to bed and now they struggle to understand that one woman is not all women. Perhaps I'll write a song about the tragedy. Maybe the lady who brought the whole town to its knees will help me fill in the details?"

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Frell it......I am not letting you violate them like you did Ami-chan, you...you kuso tta-wait......the whole town?


Fortunately for everyone, the technician's mental state went from murderous to confused. The first part he got (thus causing the Minkan to wince in agony at the accompanying mental image), but the last part.......


After a second or two had passed, Masato's eyes widened in shock as he turned to stare at the aforementioned squadmate. "T-The entire village? N-No......that's.........that's.......noooooooooooo......"


The Armorer had just discovered one of the few downsides of having a digital mind - it was quite literally impossible to unsee things.

The horror.

The absolute, utter, unseeable horror of dirty, sweaty flesh pounding against the flawlessly fair came crushing down. But, there simply wasn't much time to dwell on it. The sallet wearing guard merely tossed his head back in laughter.

"Oh, I once would have thought myself unfit to lick their boots," he joyfully answered Dimitri, "But, I've learned a valuable lesson that night - there's some worth left in this scarred soldier!" The wiry old guardsman beside him simply nodded like a wizened sage while the youth dipped his head in sorrow. He had, after all, literally missed what was an opportunity of a lifetime. The guard turned his gaze to Yuzuki and grinned. "Oh, you really can't blame us - she had to be the goddess of love in disguise!" The expression he held grew playfully sly however. "No need for you to write such a song my pretty; a bard has already beaten you to it, and it is most certainly his Magnum Opus." A sad sigh then escaped his lips as he shook his head back and forward, the weariness and exhaustion catching up all too soon. "You won't find her here. She sucked our leather pouches dry and used all she gained to buy several horses, leaving us in the morning twilight." As though in mourning, he dipped his head. But, upon looking at them all and seeing their expressions, he added with a wry grin, "I have no idea what foul thoughts addle your minds, " the man sarcastically remarked, "T'was a reference to our wallets and nothing more. She was not cheap."

"No. Not at all. My retirement shall not come, that is certain. But, if it is my fate, so be it," the old man nodded with a grandfatherly smile on his lips.

"Psst!" Coco loudly whispered to Aya and Rin. "Hey! Hey, listen! The Kobolds. Look!" As the guard spoke to the others, both Aya and Rin - the red and blue duo - noticed something in peculiar. Looking to one another at once, they both saw that the other saw as well. It was the slaves. Catching the eye of one, a curious stare wreathed in emotion quickly turned away in fear, only to glance back and turn away yet again. The two realized that the Kobolds of the logging town were all working, yet all speaking to each other in low, hushed tones as they furtively looked at the squad of Star Army Soldiers turned Adventurers. Just as Coco told them, there was something worth seeing, and it was obvious now. The slaves knew something. Something that the guards likely had no clue about themselves.

"Talking aside, let's get down to business for the moment," the lead town guard spoke in a more serious tone. "You may enter, but be warned; there will be no tolerance of violence or law breaking. Delightful debauchery however, is acceptable!" he added, the ominous illusion of professionalism he put up shattered for comedic effect. "Though - " the man continued, lancing back at the others who nodded, " - mayhaps she is your lost companion. It is none of my business, but her dress was in tatters, and her wounds clearly just healed. I do hope you find her." With that, he closed his helmet and stood rigidly at attention so that they could pass. "Unless you have any more questions, I would suggest the tavern."

"Um, don't take it too hard," Adelaide's soothing voice reached Masato's ears, her soft hand falling onto his shoulder. "Though I am of noble birth, I am not of high standing, so, uh, I became friends with some of my brothers' and father's consorts," she hesitantly explained to him. "Those that do not earnestly enjoy what they do simply do not last, and - I of course mean this without any offense - I believe your lost companion may have enjoyed herself as well." The young woman was positively blushing with embarrassment, but she still managed to speak at least that much.

"Took you all a little while to notice, but I'm glad you all have." For once, they saw Sif's lips curl upwards at the corners into a smile, her eyes on the very verge of tears of relief. "Yappari. I knew she'd survive," she said to nobody in particular. This moment however, did not last long. Her face hardening once more, she added, "Well? Any more questions to our gracious protectors? Or shall we be on our way?"

Despite her best efforts to keep her spirits high, Yuzuki frowned at the mention of a bard beating her to the tale, truly were there no joys to be found in this backwater world? Smoothing away her troubled expression Yuzuki listened to what the men gossiped about. The mention of the purchase of a train of horses, was to say the least troubling, it meant that where ever Kuroneko had gone, they would arrive days, if not weeks after her. They had not the money to buy a group of horses for each member of their group, and without such a set up there was no hope of them managing to catch up.

Before the group moved on likely to the tavern or to investigate the lizard folk as the child suggested, Yuzuki inquired pleasantly, "Pray tell which direction did your Goddess of Love depart for? Did any of you catch her departure?" Her tone was pleasant and warm, despite her teasing she held no animosity to the guards, with their tale told she had to admit that she could hardly blame them for acting as they had. With such unexpected affection it only made sense that they would hope for more.

Well, at least these guys aren't all bad... or at the very least they're wittier than they look, thought Aya wryly.

Aya leant in close as Coco pointed out the strange behaviour of the Kobold slaves. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they likely had some very important information for the group. Immediately, she sent out a psychic message to alert most of the squad. "Hey, try not to make it look too obvious but I think we might wanna investigate those kobolds..."

When he heard mention that someone had already slept with most the guard he sighed inwardly, he didn't want to say that sounded like Kuroneko but he couldn't say she wouldn't do that. He listened to everything the man said and there was a rather obvious question to ask, but Yuzuki had taken care of it. There were a few other things to ask though so he went ahead with it. "We're going to be heading north soon after we find our friend, is there anything we should be mindful of that way out?"

Not even Adelaide's comforting words were enough to break Masato's thousand-yard stare. Like any other person raised in Yamataian society, he'd known of the (in)famous Nekovalkyrja "drive" - but that was nothing compared to actually hearing about it.

The sensation of someone touching his shoulder did the job just fine, however. "-!"

Adelaide said:

"Though I am of noble birth, I am not of high standing, so, uh, I became friends with some of my brothers' and father's consorts...those that do not earnestly enjoy what they do simply do not last, and - I of course mean this without any offense - I believe your lost companion may have enjoyed herself as well."

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B-But still...ara? Enjoyed her-oh. Oh...

"Y-Yeah......probably. No, definitely-oh, frell..."

The Minkan's nose had began to bleed. Again.

Rin kept on watching. She noticed something about the way the Kobolds carried themselves. Not that Rin was an expert in Kobold body language, but it seemed like the slaves might have more information regarding the "Love Goddess" then the guards were letting on.

"I think we might be able to get some information out of those slave Kolbolds over there," said Rin telepathically. "Unseen eyes and ears. They probably see and hear everything that goes on here."