StarChaser: Another (18+)

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Ram Ranch, the village in the Arcane Pasture at Autumnhollow:

“Attention. Ram Ranch, Autumnhollow will be moving to Selfir in two hours. I repeat, Autumnhollow will be moving to Selfir in two hours. Do not leave the Arcane Pasture unless you are sure you can complete your business in one hour. Repeat. Do not leave the Arcane Pasture unless you are sure you can complete your business in one hour. This message will be repeated in thirty minutes.” Neith’s voice came over the loudspeakers in Farlan’s house. 

“Did anyone head outside?” Farlan called over his bullhorn as he walked around the town. The responses were all negative, prompting Farlan to pull the HT (handheld transceiver) off of his chest and radio to Neith that nobody had stepped out.

 

___

Autumnhollow Patio:

The sound of Neith’s voice echoed past the portal and into the big front patio of Autumnhollow as Ingrid set down the coop for messenger pigeons at the newly-constructed gazebo on the portal.

“They’re called lofts, Ingrid.” Philia said as Ingrid put it down on the gazebo floor, a pigeon clung to her back, busily preening her ponytail. It was the size of a blue hyacinth macaw, maybe slightly bigger, though it lacked the long tails of one. 

“And no, we cannot use special fancy super fast falcons. You’re going to attract attention when people see a million dollar birb come over to give you mail.”

“We can use one for correspondence with the guild and with father.” Kvaris said as she stepped out of the wagon, with pigeons roosting on her arms.

“But why though?” Ingrid asked “Aren’t Philia’s acquaintances in Elion-Nosco supposed to get their mail with style?”

As they spoke, each girl had a pigeon roosting on their heads, preening their hair affectionately.

“Not in this situation, no.” Kvaris said, lightly flexing her arms. The pigeons on her arms then flew to their lofts, though one busied itself with preening Kvaris’ hair, causing her to giggle. “Not in matters of utmost confidence like Philia’s contacts back in Elion-Nosco.” 

“Trust me, even if I wasn’t my dad’s Tyrion Lannister I would still have many reasons to get my mail passed onto me in a way that doesn’t attract attention.” Philia said, reaching up and scratching the back of the pigeon that roosted on her head and preened her hair. 

“Besides, do you think these guys just come knocking on your window like it’s Hogwarts or something? No, they go to lofts, that’s what they’re trained to do. I don’t have time to sit at the palace loft unless I want everyone to know I’m expecting a letter. What you do is you let the servant come over and get the mail from the loft for you. It takes time, Ingrid.”

“Oh, you’ve gotten messenger pigeons!” Sammy said as she and Viel stepped out into the patio. Predictably the birds landed on their shoulders as well.

“These are pretty expensive birds.” Viel remarked, noting their beautiful plumage.

“We spent five platinum coins for the whole bunch.” Ingrid replied. “They seemed to like me so the proprietor recommended we take them all.”

“Two hundred gold? No kidding!” Sammy said, going nose-to-beak with the friendly pigeon on her shoulder. “You know what these are, Ingrid?”

“The proprietor said they were called Larkirk Pigeons.” Ingrid said. “The girls highly recommended them to me.” 

“For one, they were eyeing Ingrid ever since she entered the shop.” Philia said,using her fingers to gently imitate the motions of preening over her bird’s back. “I told her they were the land-dwelling versions of seagulls from our world, that they eat anything, they scavenge, hunt, and forage whenever or wherever it’s convenient,, and they have the intelligence of Earth’s ravens. Those convinced her to buy them.”

Sammy nodded. She didn’t know that exactly those birds were but it seemed to match her image of what Larkirks were capable of. 

“Why can’t you train the Larkirks to just come through the window?” Ingrid pressed on, as two larkirks now preened on her ponytail as they clung to her back..

“This world doesn’t know what anthrax spores are, but everyone already knows it’s a dumb idea to open up a fancy-looking letter from a bird you don’t know.” Philia said. 

“It’s the easiest way to get cursed.” Kvaris added, giggling as another pigeon roosted on her shoulder and started preening her ears as well.

“Awww…” Ingrid slumped. “Well at least these birds are friendly.”

“These pigeons are social creatures Ingrid, they’ve figured you out as the top of the pecking order and are ingratiating themselves.” Philia said, scratching her bird’s chest. “That’s why the lofts aren’t like cages, these birds are going nowhere since we’re their source of food and protection.”

“Also.” Sammy added, her ears twitching as the larkirks nibbled on them. “These birds weren’t bred from captivity. The only way you can get these in your shop is for them to come to you. They’re that smart.”

Viel probably had a lot to say about them but she was busy giggling as the birds nibbled on her ears playfully.

“Expect them to be out hunting when they’re not in their lofts.” Kinu said, stepping out of the wagon after gathering the bird feed. She was predictably swarmed by the birds preening her as they smelled her carrying food.

“Also, if you want to be fancy, Ingrid. These birds are. From everything that’s been told to you about them, and their price alone.“ she continued as she opened up a pack of bird feed. 

“You know the rings they got around one leg? That’s a charm to disguise them and also part of the reason they’re that expensive. It works like Gwen’s obfuscation charm, it lets them take on the plumage of common birds in the area.” Kvaris said, her bird was now nestled in one arm, cooing as she stroked its back.

“From a distance, these birds can drastically appear to be falcons or any bird no other predator would want to tangle with.” Viel said, rubbing her cheek with a bird’s beak. “Closer up, their brilliant plumage makes them pass off as that of any bird in the local area, making them look nondescript, that means when they come resting in someone else’s loft, they’ll be mistaken for any other pigeon used for sending messages.”

“And they're fast.” Philia added. “Not falcon fast no, but still enough to be legally allowed in the birb autobahn.”

“What’s an autobahn?” Sammy asked.

“It’s a network of roads in our world where vehicles have no limit in how fast they can travel.” Ingrid replied. “Philia is basically saying that larkirks are one of the fastest flyers.”

“They are.” Viel said.

“Anyway…” Philia continued. “It’s going to take time to get a bird into someone’s window and even then…someone seeing a pigeon, much less a million dollar falcon go through someone’s window is asking for a lot of awkward questions.” Philia explained. “Don’t forget, my underworld contacts don’t use them either, it’s like seeing a Rolls-Royce roll through the slums, sticks out like a sore thumb.” 

“Alright, alright.” Ingrid said “we can’t afford to be too ostentatious. What’s the plan with our pigeons, and how will they know where to head to next?”

Philia held out her arms, indicating the gazebo they’re on. “We lay out maps here. The birds can sort of read. This is their office.”

Ingrid looked at her questioningly, as if she was joking. “They can read?”

“Our mice can read!” Philia said

“They’re as intelligent as people!” Ingrid shot back.

“Yeah, well our pigeons maybe aren't as smart but they can read maps, not the words probably not, but they can look at a map and figure where they should go to.” Philia said. 

“If we can purchase a map of a city, they can also work out which particular place they should roost on.” Viel said as she and Sammy climbed up the gazebo. Sammy brought the tables laying on the edges of the gazebo and put it beside the roosts along with the maps while Philia placed the maps she bought from the cartography shop earlier that morning (after they bought the birds) into the cubbyholes of the desk.

 

As they spoke, the mice marched out of the house to conduct their inspection drills. Nobody had taught them that but somehow the mice had understood the value of gathering together and making sure their tools were in working order.

Ingrid sighed “those mice are more disciplined than us.”

“Right.” Sammy concurred, chuckling. “Father would judge them as worthy successors.”

“I, for one, would welcome our mouse-lords.” Philia joked. 

 

Cecil later came out of the house, yawning and as per Ingrid’s suggestion tried inviting one of the birds into his portal. Sadly, it didn’t work. 

“The most we can do, is have one or two perch on the caddy.” Cecil said. “That assumes they won’t be spooked by the gunfire and battle. That said, the idea of having a bird fly around as a bomber drone is going to cramp up my portals.”

Ingrid nodded. 

“However, I do have some good news, we got caddies built for the sub-portals now, so with a few minutes of set-up, the sub-portals now have mounted cameras and lights. Granted these portals only have a good twenty feet maximum distance from me, but that’s still nifty.”

“Alright, good work Cecil.” Ingrid said, patting him lovingly.

“Good to see you back, Ingrid.” said the bravest familiar in the world.

 

___

“Attention. Ram Ranch, Autumnhollow will now move to Selfir. I repeat, Autumnhollow will now be moving to Selfir. Do not leave the Arcane Pasture unless you want to be left behind. Repeat. Do not leave the Arcane Pasture unless you want to be left behind.” Neith’s voice said over the loudspeakers at Farlan’s house. 

 

Inside the ATV Sleipnir, Zefir raised his fist and concentrated his energy, causing Autumnhollow to be dismissed into its usual unknown parallel dimension. Philia eased the vehicle out of the forest just as they did two days ago and took the familiar route back to Selfir. 

Ingrid and Cecil were atop the ATV, keeping an eye out. 

While Ingrid and the party had been busy with their affairs, Cecil and the mice had been busying themselves with the ATV. Taking Philia’s blowtorch, welding machines and some big pots Cecil found while scouting out Irons yesterday. With these they welded atop the roof six little pill boxes for the 189 to station themselves in. With some D-rings, they tried a trio of ropes to serve as a kind of hand-rail, allowing the mice to get out of the pillboxes and fight even if the ATV was running along uneven ground.

That said, there was no trouble encountered along the road, not even the site where they witnessed the attack on Kirtus. There were no Guileheads or any other brigands to be seen and as a matter of fact, they passed by a few caravans passing through. 

 

The town of Selfir was quiet as usual, and they found more than a few of the travellers on that fateful day still milling about the town, with some having found gainful employment.

 

___

“How are you feeling now?” Ingrid asked Kirtus and Selphie. Selphie was already up and about, and Kirtus while mobile was still hurting from his injuries. The clergy of the temple had already been paid off with two big bags of decontaminated spices as a generous thanks for helping them out as well as to help with the town especially with the new inhabitants now living amongst them.

 

“We’re doing fine.” Kirtus said in a friendly rumbling voice. “Selphie especially.”

“Th-thank you for helping me out of my curse.” Selphie said timidly.

Siria, Philia, and Kinu sat behind Ingrid, nodding encouragingly.

 

“My travelling days are over for the moment, that’s for sure.” Kirtus said with a nervous chuckle. “It’ll be a while until I can muster the courage to travel again.”

“I have a suggestion if you’re open to it.” Ingrid said, squeezing Kirtus’s big beefy hand.

 

Selphie and Kirtus quietly considered the offer given to them. Ingrid had no illusions that living in Ram Ranch has its downsides. Kirtus, being a journeying man looking for employment, might have little than the clothes on his back, but his places of employment would provide him all the necessary tools and fixtures to carry out the job he was hired for. That said, many people go out and seek employment to seek more than just secure a means to feed themselves every day.

“What are you thinking?” Ingrid asked.

“I can see how we can get ourselves fed everyday.” Kirtus said. “My plans were to take employment in Teth-Odin as a craftsman and build houses and furniture for high-paying customers, especially adventurers that want to settle there.”

“And what are your plans for that kind of big money?” Kinu asked, settling back on her chair.

“Start a family, sell my craft to people with good taste. My father and father before him were artisans.”

“I see,” Philia said contemplatively. “If you’d like we could bring you to Teth-Odin. From there you can grow your craft, a demon city will have no shortage of people looking to settle down after a life of seeking fortune in the depths below.”

“No it’s alright, I can stay in Ram Ranch for a while.” Kirtus said, “but I just want to set expectations that I may want to leave when I find myself a suitable place, is that alright?”

“That’s perfectly fine.” Ingrid replied, holding out her hand. 

As the two shook hands, Ingrid then regarded Selphie curiously.

 

“I’m…” Selphie began. “I was sold as a slave at Elion-Nosco. Kirtus bought and then set me free.”

Philia’s face darkened with displeasure.

“Soldiers came and razed our village when our elders could no longer pay the ever-increasing tributes. The lord of land Arestoxes wanted to claim our sacred forest for his farms. We’ve been paying him more and more of our harvest and forages but it seemed that he was more interested in claiming our lands than the actual value of what we were giving him…”

Ingrid had her back on Philia but she held up a hand in the form of the terran letter ”C”, designating the lord’s lands as a candidate for a chemical strike.

“Depends on the size of his land.” Philia remarked in a low voice. “Landlords have a lot of serfs we need to evacuate.” 

Ingrid turned her head and gave Philia a sideways glance. “We get them during a party and flood the area.” she said coldly.

“Rog.” came Philia’s quiet reply. 

“Should be easy to isolate servants that way.” Siria muttered quietly.

“That won’t be until we go to Elion-Nosco.” Kinu said, “That country’s far away from here.”

 

“I’m guessing you were let free.” Philia said. “I’m from Elion-Nosco too.” 

Selphie and Kirtus looked at Philia with shock as she dispelled the magic on her hair clips, revealing herself to be a human.

“I’m princess Philia Elion-Nosco. I faked my death to escape that palace, I know my father’s ways, and it’s likely you Selphie were placed a curse on so you could wreak havoc in the country of Veles.”

Selphie meekly nodded, putting her hands to her chest.

“We’ve taken out the baatezu that had been plaguing you.” Ingrid said. “We can't, however, bring back your fallen tribe or reinstate them. You mentioned you wanted to join us, are you fine with being with us as adventurers, Selphie? We’re going dungeoneering as adventurers and your life will be in trouble.”

Selphie nodded glumly. “I was planning to go there anyway to find a way to expel the Baatezu.” she said. “I was hunter and herder back in my homeland, I hunted with the bow and I’ve also been working towards my floramancy-”

“Magic to control plants.” Kinu said, already seeing the pattern.

“I… have something you might be interested with…” Philia said slowly, a smile forming on her lips.

“What is it?” Ingrid asked.

“If you’re asking for a FOXDIE-like Anthrax, that’s not happening. Yet.” Philia told her.

“FOXDIE?” Siria asked.

“A disease that affects only certain kinds of people.” Ingrid said. “Meaning several people can harbor this disease without problems and spread it to others, and it will without fail, kill only those who are designated as targets. Anyway, what magic are you suggesting, Philia?”

“Whipcrawlers, are you familiar with those, Selphie?” Philia asked.

Selphie nodded. “They’re short-lived tamable plants, but I lack the seeds from their natural habitat-” Philia then waggled a finger at her.

“Whipcrawlers can be converted from any plant, Selphie.” she corrected her.

“What are you thinking?” Kinu asked.

“A Whipcrawler is a parasitic vine that takes over its host and views all nearby organisms as hostile. What you end up with is a parasitized host that not only attacks everything around it but also grows defensive vines that lash around. At the first sign of trouble, Selphie can shoot whipcrawler seeds into the enemy lines to block their movements and start in-fighting.” Philia said.

“That would require quite a bit of preparation…” Selphie said but Ingrid put a hand on her shoulder. 

“We’ll take care of it.” Ingrid said. “Would you like to adventure with us? You’ll be on the front lines with me, although once the fighting starts, I’ll have you retreat to the center.”

Selphie hesitated then nodded.

 

___

It was evening when the team arrived at Teth-Odin. Seeing the growing line of wagons, Philia drove the ATV into the forest with the lights off and her nightvision spell on to minimize exposure, while Siria used her muffling spell to further hide the presence of their vehicle as it trundled along the uneven terrain of the forest. Philia picked a glade to for Zephir summon Autumhollow on, before they parked the ATV back into the Arcane Pasture and then take out the wagon. 

 

Philia’s aurochs’ moo’ed in annoyance as they navigated the forest, with Cecil lighting the way using his caddy mounted portals. Once again, Ingrid stood atop the wagon, with the “mice on foot” taking stations near the back and front of the portal, guns drawn for protection. 

“Let’s hear it, you know any good places we can put Hotel Bravo on?” Ingrid asked. Her Aegis aura keeping her firm suction cupped to the wagon’s canvas roof.

“I know one acquaintance there that could help.” Kinu said “but that’s not guaranteed, our last correspondence was ten years ago.”

“What sort of property are we looking at?” Ingrid asked.

“It’s got a storefront facade.” Kvaris said. “Behind it should still be an empty lot from where we could set up Autumnhollow.”

“So a sub-let.” Philia said.

“I doubt it. The storefronts are probably already taken, but the lot probably won’t be. There is a chance that our villagers could find employment there if they have vacancies.” Kinu said “We could take as tribute a fraction of the usual costs of food and lodging in Teth-Odin.”

“That only works if we’ll be staying at Teth-Odin for that long.” Siria reminded them.

“Assuming we’ll need to go elsewhere after a week…” Ingrid said “What’s the feasibility of having people work in those stores?”

There was some silence as everyone put their thinking caps on.

“Wages are doled out daily, Starchaser.” Philia replied. “The question is if we can do something about the amount they earn.”

“They don’t pay that way in your world, King Fish?” Iohann asked.

“Every two weeks.” Ingrid replied. “You get an Honored Note that you take to the bank.”

“Y’all interested in some Prime Directive violations?” Arek suggested over the radio.

“We can’t sell no smartphones.” Cecil laughingly scoffed.

“Canned food.” Arek said, his crustacean mandible clicking rapidly in excitement. “In a world without refrigeration, having ready-to-eat delicious rations that last for years goes a long way. Especially for hired muscles like you guys.”

“That could work.” Siria said “but you did mention the dangers of providing such techniques here.”

“Not this one, my dear elf.” Arek said “Elion-Nosco, Veles, or the Frozen North, everyone will benefit from learning how to store food sealed in metal containers and have it last for years without needing to freeze them.”

“That sounds too good to be true.” Kinu said increduosly.

“Overlord and I have lived off of them for a year.” Ingrid assured everyone. “A lot of people in my world subsist on them several times a week.”

“Agreed.” Philia said. “Soldiers in my world have used them as rations. As a matter of fact, it matters little if Elion-Nosco learns the canning process.”

“Fish.” Cecil said. “Give us the sardines in mason jars. This world could also do with some mass-produced glasswork.”

“Alright. That’s no shell off of my mandibles.” Arek said. “One thing, that’s a three day wait though since I’m getting them all the way from Nu Joizy.” Arek said that in fake New Jersey accent.

“New Jersey?” Viel asked.

“The distance from New Jersey to Kansas is three months on foot,” Neith replied over the radio. “With our vehicles we cut that travel time to three days.”

“Anubis, Amarok, secure a shop for us if you can.” Ingrid said. “Arek, hold off on the merchandise until we can secure a place.”

“Yes’m” Arek replied.

“Let’s hope we get one.” Ingrid said, more to herself than anyone.

 

___

 

The wagon emerged from the forest and cut in line to the grumbles of the caravan of travelers, but the sight of team's insignia "The Whales" and the team leader herself standing atop the wagon; a menacing looking human girl dressed as a Nemesis-Stalker with her crimson scarf billowing behind her, silenced the complaints.

"Sorry about this folks!" Ingrid said, the sight of a human talking fluently instead of acting like an overtly aggressive war-beast had the line of demihumans pause. The orcs, elves, and dwarfs in the queue exchanged puzzled glances. A human that wasn't just a working animal? That was almost unheard of. The line of travelers grudgingly let her wagon through, at the very least it was a tale they could tell at the tavern once they got in.

Even stranger was what was floating atop the caravan. A flying portal that led to some palace patrolled around the wagon, its inhabitant being of all things, a talking slime who was accompanied by an armored and armed entourage of dog-sized mice. The slime waved at the crowd and said apologies for cutting through.

"Sorry folks! We got lost on the way to Teth-Odin!" The slime said, his voice magically amplified through the strange trumpet that was hooked over the portal.

The wagon rolled through the road. The forest eventually gave way to farmland, hinting that the town of Teth-Odin was close. The caravans grew more frequent, and the air was filled with the aroma of cooking fires and livestock.

"Ugh." Ingrid complained but her tone tinted with amusement. "A traffic jam in a fantasy world, can you imagine that, Cecil?" Ingrid told her slime familiar.

The slime replied. "I guess even in worlds of magic and monsters, some things remain unchanged!"

"Eyes open everyone." Philia said from inside the wagon. "If there's farm houses for rent, we could use that to set up shop later if we can't find lodging inside the city."

Ingrid nodded, her eyes scanning the landscape as they approached the city walls. "Good idea, we'll keep an eye out."

The demon city of Teth-Odin was nestled in the middle of a fertile valley, surrounded by a thick forest of quickly-growing trees that needed to be regularly cut back to prevent the city from being reclaimed by nature. The farmlands that surrounded the city had cut a deep moat to prevent invasions from the forest, but nature always found a way. For even inside the perimeter of the farmlands a tree here or two had pushed through the soil to claim its place in all that wide open ground.

"Setting up in the forest doesn't seem feasible" Ingrid told her team over the radio. "some of the trees have breached the farmland's perimeter already."

"We rent inside the city's borders then. Or at the very least one over here at the farmlands." Siria suggested, peeking out from out of the wagon. Her elfen ears twitching as the sounds of the bustling town grew closer. The line of travelers grew denser, and the air grew thick with excitement and tension as they approached the city gates.

"We could hide Autumnhollow by erecting a fence..." Zefir said as he peeked out as well, his cat tail swishing in thought.

"Feasible..." Ingrid said. "It's not difficult for me to super dash into the forest and grab some trees we can whittle down for a makeshift fence."

"Yeah but seeing a random fence forming a perimeter is just asking for scrutiny," Philia pointed out, her voice carrying out from the wagon. "Kvaris, you think that empty lot in the city is still available?"

"It should be..." Kvaris replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, it's right behind that building with all the storefronts, so it's pretty much hidden from the main street. And let's face it, real estate isn't exactly prime when you can't see the shop from anywhere."

"That checks..." Ingrid said as she surveyed the line of wagons in front of her. "How much gold do you think your friend will be willing to accept for rent?"

"It shouldn't be much," Philia replied, her eyes sparkling with hope. "But let's hold off on that plan for now. We need to get through this gate first."

 

___

Twenty minutes later, the Whale's wagon now stood before the guards at the city's gates. The gates themselves were massive, constructed from an ancient black stone, with intricate carvings of battles depicting various warriors driving back the monsters of the dungeons below. The guards, a pair of stern-looking orcs with gleaming steel armor, glanced at the insignia on their wagon with a mix of curiosity and resignation.

The leader of the guards, a gruff-looking orc with boar's head took the proffered letter written by Guildmaster Tibbles and his eyes quickly scanned it over. His face remained stoic, but he sighed.

"Iron Rankers..." he sighed, seeing the party as yet another of the beginner rabble that would be swarming the city with their naive hopefulness and end up wrapped in funeral shrouds before the week was out... assuming there was anything left of them to bury.

"Alright, go through, keep your heads between those shoulders now, you hear?" the boar-headed orc said, dismissively handing back the letter to Philia.

With a nod, Philia whistled and her two aurochs snorted in annoyance, as if waiting in line had also tried their patience. The wagon lurched forward as they entered Teth-Odin. The city was alive in a way that the already bustling town of New Gorpisal couldn't compare.

For one there was a long line of wagons, most of them full of adventurers who couldn't wait to try their luck in the dungeons below and make a name for themselves. Several stalls were set up along the road, and Ingrid was sure that it was only because of the Red Moon and population explosion of monsters in the dungeons below that these entrepreneurial individuals had set up shop along this stretch of road.

"Alright Anubis." Ingrid said "Which way is your friend's place?"

"Alright, let me take over." Kvaris said, hopping out and taking the reins from Philia. "We'll take a right five blocks down." The traffic was beginning to ease up as the wagons in front of them began making turns to their intended destinations.

Teth-Odin, like New Gorpisal, was just as reasonably clean as any other modern city that Ingrid saw back in her previous life on Earth, albeit with more fantasy flair. The cobblestone streets were a lot cleaner than she had anticipated, The buildings were brightly colored, either from the paint on the walls or the colorful banners that hang from them. People from all walks of life, be they adventurers in-between exploits into the dungeon or the regular citizens going about their daily lives, went about their business animatedly.

Ingrid saw the "demonic" inhabitants of the city, previously explained to her were people from all species who were simply affected by the radiation from the Rifts that brought in monsters from other dimensions to the world. Their skin took on purplish hues and their heads sported horns. The tenancy was made clear by the size of their horns, with the recent expatriates having smaller ones and the more established citizens having horns that were as large as an adult human's arm and richly decorated with dangling jewelry or tassels.

"I forgot, is horn removal... harmful?" Ingrid asked over the radio.

"No, except maybe for your ego." Kvaris said with a chuckle as she steered the wagon through the narrow streets of Teth-Odin. "They're a status symbol here, especially if  you're a member of aristocracy, it's pretty much a must if you want to show that you've had a long residency in the city, which is plus if you're running for office or something like that. "

Kvaris took her turn along the fifth intersection, and the shops were beginning to decrease in number, replaced by inns, taverns, and other commercial establishments that catered not to adventurers seeking to buy or repair their gear, but to those who sought entertainment and lodging.

"What's your friend's name by the way?" Ingrid asked, taking in the scenery as the wagon rolled through the quieter streets of the city.

"His name's Zarael Onixia," Philia called out from the wagon. "A satyr. A bit of a recluse, he started a barrel-making business then progressed to cheese production up in the valley. The place he's renting out used to be his old workshop before he expanded his operations."

"Cheeese" Cecil said dreamily, his entourage of mice squeaked excitedly at the mention of the word. "Kinda weird you didn't mention wine..."

"He doesn't need to, he makes the barrels, remember?" Kvaris said. "he gets a commission on all the wine that passes through his barrels. He's got his hands full with the cheese, anyway. And besides, wine's business for the rest of his family back in the vineyards."

"Sooo..." Sammy asked. "Where's Zarael at? From your description it looks like we should be looking out in the valley, not in the city."

Kinu made a small laugh, "Zarael's a recluse but he still prefers the hustle and bustle of city life. He's also a sentimental man, and prefers to live near the shop where he made his fortune."

Kvaris halted the wagon off to the side of the road. "There it is, that's the shopfronts we're talking about."

The team peeked out of the wagon to examine the building. it was a three-storey structure, no doubt the upper floors serving as residence for the shopkeepers, it was certainly more lively than they had expected. The shop fronts were bustling with customers, each one offering a different type of goods and services. That said, only four of the seven fronts were occupied. Ingrid was expecting shutters but in this fantasy world the unoccupied shops were covered up by wooden panels, painted in the same color as the wall. It was in no way camouflaging, but it did make the place look less abandoned. One shop extended its business area to the front of one unoccupied space, setting up tables and chairs for its thermopolium-styled restaurant, with steaming pots nested snug on the counter.

"Looks like we got space for our canned goods." Ingrid said with a smirk. "All right, take us to Zarael's house..."

Kvaris whistled lightly and the aurochs gently moo'ed before continuing on, pulling the wagon further along the street.

"Zarael lives just before the next alley," she informed them, "It was the home of his father, and his father before that. He was born there and he plans to die there. Quite the traditionalist."

The team disembarked in front of a corner house. For a satyr Zarael’s house had a wooden façade that was more of a norse style than grecian, with intricate carvings of various mythological creatures playing along the edges of the roof. Above the door hung a wooden plaque of sacred runes, likely protecting the residents from malevolent spirits. Kvaris rapped three times on the heavy wooden door and they waited.

 

A cute elf opened the door for them, her green eyes widening with delight. She looked at two garm girls Kinu and Kvaris and the three embraced tightly. "Oh my goodness, it's been ages!" she exclaimed. "You two have all grown up so quickly!"

There was a round of introductions with the two sisters taking the lead on behalf of the party, the elf, whose name was Amabell then gestured for the party to enter the house, despite it being an old house it was definitely kept in a good condition, absolutely free of dust and cobwebs which were the bane of any visitor.

The old satyr Zarael then greeted his guests, another round of introductions as well as a brief catch-up between him and the two garm sisters, who hadn't seen each other in quite some time, ensued.

"...which brings us to where we are now," Ingrid said, taking over the conversation. "We're looking for a place somewhere  close to the dungeons but well out of sight for everyone else. Don't worry..." Ingrid said, "We don't mind sleeping under the stars." There was no need for Zarael or his elf helper to know about Autumnhollow, and the letter furnished by Guildmaster Tibbles should provide all the credibility they needed to secure a place.

Zarael was a quick reader, he handed back the letter and leaned back on his chair. "Yes, the lot behind the storefronts are indeed available, but I must warn you, it's not exactly the most comfortable place to set up camp, especially if you're expecting to be there for more than a few days."

"We can take care of that Zarael." Ingrid said. "Now, what sort of rent are we looking at?"

The satyr looked thoughtfully at Ingrid and her party. "Considering your letter, and the friendship I have with Amaduscia's daughters..."

 

___

Back outside Philia then asked the obvious question.

"Why didn't you ask about renting the empty shop?"

"Let's not get too greedy and see how much we can actually earn from the dungeons before committing to something that could be costly," Ingrid said. "And smoothen out the kinks for our town that's got stuff to grow."

The wagon doubled back to Zarael's storefront, stopping at one of the two tall wooden gates that stood like sentinels on either side of the building. Ingrid hopped down and Philia tossed to her the keys that had been entrusted to them. Unlocking the gate, she pushed it open with a creak and stepped into a courtyard strewn with leaves and mossy flagstones. The air was cooler here, cut off from the sun by the towering structures around them.

The space was large enough to accommodate Autumnhollow with more than enough room to spare. The back of the shopfront building had no windows nor backdoors leading to the alley. The perfect place to keep their secret hidden. Tall wooden fences matching the gate stood firmly in all the three sides, with a smaller postern gate at the back leading to an alley which Ingrid found was locked.

Two other sides also possessed three or four-storey buildings but none had any openings that faced the courtyard. Tall trees at the postern side hemmed in any view of the alley from above.

Closing the gate, Ingrid turned and saw her party already disembarking.

"We can do the guild stuff later, but first, we start cleaning up this place." she said, eyeing the overgrowth.

A combination of Viel and Siria's magic as well as Ingrid's aura helped speed up the cleaning process significantly. The overgrowth was either burned away, or ground into mulch under Ingrid's boots as she extended her aura to cut through the weeds with an invisible blade of force. A blast of water from Siria's wand cleared away the dust and grime on the stones. Philia and Sammy had taken the broom and began to sweep the place clean. The two garm sisters had found a pump and were busy filling buckets for cleaning.

In fifteen minutes, the area where Autumnhollow could be summoned was clean enough. Zefir then focused his mana and got to work summoning their mobile domain. A few minutes later, Philia's outdoor faerie lights were installed, ensuring the courtyard remained lit 24/7. These were large glowing stones set on heavy metal stands, deliberately made to look simple to deter potential thieves. But the true magic lay in their weight; they were enchanted to be as heavy as boulders, making them all but impossible to move without a concerted effort.

As a precaution against anyone snooping, a set of tents were laid out against one wall, a sort of false camp to convince any accidental viewer; that those tents were where adventurers rested after a long day in the dungeons. 

Looking around in satisfaction, Ingrid nodded and looked at her team.

“Let’s go say to our Jormungandr counterparts.” she said.

 

___

“Attention. Ram Ranch, Autumnhollow is now in Teth-Odin. I repeat,  Autumnhollow is now in Teth-Odin. You may now exit Autumnhollow for your personal business. Repeat. You may now exit Autumnhollow for personal business.” Neith’s voice wafted from the loudspeakers in Farlan’s house to the front patio of the house. It and every sound, sight, and scent coming from Autumnhollow did not pass through its borders. 

As the party had left for the Jormungandr guildhouse, the Wolias Amalla and Kaolla were left with guarding the Autumnhollow house. Amalla, sitting under the well-lit balcony, wrote a letter as per Philia’s instruction, informing the Fenrir Guild that they had arrived at their destination safe and sound and found lodging. Meanwhile, Kaolla, going by Philia’s other written note, penned a letter to a certain aristocrat in Elion-Nosco. It was important, Philia had told her, to have the letter written in a hand that was not her own and thus left the matter to Kaolla. 

Watching the larkirks fly off into the night sky, the two girls resume sparring. 

___

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INDEX: The Whales Party Sheet