The Misfits had only a day to rest before they were on the move once again. Solren, knowing that they had to have their thoughts organized, didn't bring them along with a ship but started a long trek on foot so they could air out their troubling thoughts. It would take them a week to arrive, but none complained, even when they were marching for hours without stopping. It was close to nighttime when they stopped, and they were setting up their tents at the roadside, deciding to camp in the wilderness, when a message arrived from a carrier raven.
"Mother concluded her investigation." Solren told them after reading it privately first, "The city is going to be put under heavy supervision for the next century. Three of our awakened ancestors had been dispatched to keep vigil and brand everyone who lives or visits the city so we can keep track of them at all times."
"It will kill Akrelia… Nobody will come and visit, and they were dependent exactly on that." Koa said, her voice sad and concerned. "The city will fall into ruins and poverty very quickly."
"The city will be reimbursed," Lia answered before Solren could, finishing setting up her tent and now making the campfire with Keily's help.
"Exactly." Her brother nodded. "The city will be taken care of by our family. We are Amarins, and this is our territory, our responsibility."
"Were there… others?" Sion asked the question the rest were also thinking about.
"A few hundred were suspicious, so they have been removed," Solren concluded, not going into details. Suspicion was enough to know; it meant they were put to death. It was hard to believe how Erias and the rest of the denizens of Meriath lived in those years. What it was to never knew true peace, always suspecting others. No wonder it was hard for many to settle back into a peaceful life after Victory Day.
Everyone just continued putting up their tents while Raufon took control of cooking their dinner in a huge cauldron hanging above the open fire. Soon the delicate aroma of the stew being stirred and getting ready drew the Misfits out of their thoughts, gathering around it with their bowls.
"Told you!" Raufon grinned, looking at Ceiline, who was helping him with the seasoning, "This one is a recipe from my village! You are going to love it and get back into the mood for adventures!"
"It does smell nice!" Keily said while his nose was drawing in the tasty smells, suddenly feeling how hungry he was.
"It will taste even better, believe me! Ah, yes!" Raufon brought out a wooden box, placing it down before them. "This one has some powerful spice in it! Only add a pinch of it to your bowl if you like it hot! I am warning you!" He looked at Lia, who was already stretching to grab it, "It will burn twice!"
"Twice?" Lia and Keily asked, making Koa shush at Sion and Aurora, preventing them from answering.
"You will see!" Raufon grinned as he put the first portion into their bowls. Of course, Lia was as she was; she took a pretty big pinch of the dark, red powder Raufon presented before them and threw it into her stew.
Seeing how everyone was now watching her, Keily decided to be cautious and only pick up half of the amount compared to his Boss. When Lia's spoon made contact with her tongue, she clamped down on it, squirming and squealing before starting to wolf her portion down, asking for seconds immediately.
"This is the best!" She moaned, grabbing at the spice, throwing a handful into it, turning the whole stew dark red.
"Oh…" Seeing how she was already at her second bowl, surprising everyone, Keily also took a spoonful of his own. His eyes swelled up the moment it touched his tongue, tears flowing from them as she could barely breathe.
"Come here!" Koa laughed, summoning cold water and pushing it into Keily's mouth, washing out magically. It looked as if she was trying to find something in his throat, painting a bizarre image for everyone watching.
"T-thanks!" Keily gasped as he looked at her with teary eyes. "This burns!" He moaned, pushing her bowl to Lia, who poured it into her own and continued eating like a starving dog, using spoons in both hands.
"I told ya!" Raufon laughed, making the others finally burst out laughing as everyone tried a little of his spice, and only Lia did not mind the burning sensation in her throat. "This thing is no joke… but… neither our Boss, eh?"
"Hm?" Lia looked up, licking the end of her spoons, enjoying the burning sensation in her mouth. "I like spicy food! And it was yummy; thanks, Raufon! You are a good cook!"
"You're welcome! I like doing stews, it is easy, and you can put a lot of things into them!"
"You could put some extra meat into mine next~!" Koa joked, winking at him.
"You do need more energy with how slow you are when we march," Simbad interjected calmly, slurping up the last drops from his bowl.
"Says the third wheel!" Koa shrugged, rolling her eyes.
Watching the little back and forth playing out the fact soon everyone was taking part in it made Solren's mind relax. He was afraid of how the previous day's events affected the little group, but it looked like they were getting back to their feet gradually. They even had a night to relax and sleep for real while he kept vigil.
…
….
……
A few days later, the group finally arrived at their destination and joined up with Razael. They were going up in the mountains, reaching a height where the air was cool, even though it was the middle of summer. After trekking for half a day up a narrow slope, the road finally opened to a surprisingly flat field. It was as if someone built a large terrace right into the side of the mountain range, and the first thought of the Misfits was not wrong. When the entrance to the Sub-Realm was discovered by Razael and his group, following clues of ancient codexes and word-of-mouth, they found a cave that looked innocuous at first. From the outside, it looked like nothing but a natural formation on the side of the mountain range, but after entering, they could feel the difference.
The inside was magically reinforced and clearly a door to a sub-realm. If someone untrained or weak entered, they would simply feel a bit weird. They could explore it, going deep until reaching its end and finding nothing but stalactites and beautiful formations created by nature through thousands of years. But at Razael's power level, it was not the same. He could immediately tell there was a hidden gate in there; they just had to find it and open up the sub-realm. A task like that had to be made carefully, so in preparation, multiple Amarins came and erected this huge terrace, formed from nothing but earth-based spells. By now, multiple tents were erected, small wooden warehouses had been built, and docks were being put together right at that moment so flying ships could anchor down next to the entrance.
"Solren! Lia!" Razael laughed, walking towards them and hugging the lot, going along and taking every Misfit into his arms, clearly a treat he inherited from Kawu. "Finally, you lot had come! I was waiting for you!"
"Really?" Solren asked, surprised.
"You waited for us? That is why you are the best Eldest Brother!" Lia laughed happily, "You did not want to open the present before everyone was here!"
"Not really!" Razael grinned, making Lia's smile falter. "I would have already opened and marched in with my men, but we failed!"
"You did?" Solren asked back, honestly surprised.
"Well, we could force our way in, for sure, but I don't want to damage it! Who knows how ancient this sub-realm is! Think of it as a shabby, wooden house that was rotting away at the edge of a cliff! I can kick the door in, but it could result in the whole building collapsing into itself!"
“Aaaaand… sorry to ask…” Koa leaned forward, "Are we supposed to go into… something like that?"
"Of course!" Lia and Razael answered in the same excited voice, "This is what it is to be an adventurer!" They continued to speak in sync.
"Well… she is right," Sion whispered, and to the others' surprise, Aurora also nodded, agreeing with him.
"I was waiting for you," Razael turned to his sister, "Because you are familiar with No-Space! I bet you can find a way to open it without being violent!"
"Now that…" Sion said again, "I am not so sure he is right about."
"Hey!" Lia spun around, her hands on her hips, her eyes looking at him accusingly, "I can be… elegant!"
"Subtle." Aurora signed, "The word you are looking for is subtle."
"I have no stubble. Nowhere. I am smooth everywhere!" She replied seriously as if Aurora just insulted her in the most profound way possible.
"B-boss…" Keily elbowed her, "I think you misread her… And you did it on purpose…"
"No, I misread her because it was funny, don't ruin it!" She whispered back, stepping on Keily's foot, who tried not to scream.
"They recovered, I see," Razael said to Solren, slowly walking away, letting the Misfits fool around and explore the campsite.
"Yes. Well… she is our sister; I expected nothing less."
"Mhm. I heard what happened. It had to be tough."
"I can deal with it." Solren shrugged, "I was prepared for it long ago! But let's switch subjects before they hear it! What do we know about this hidden realm?"
"Not much. We followed legends and tales about people disappearing in the mountains and reappearing centuries later, seemingly without issues. To them, they were gone for only a month at most! They all said they were in a magical place and lost track of time."
"Magical?"
"The notes and recounts we found all described the same. A misty valley, surrounded by pillar-like mountains and a river flowing between them. They said buildings were erected above the pillars, connected by hundreds of bridges, going on endlessly. Anyone who visited it said they felt no hunger while inside, and when they got tired, a brief nap was enough to refill them with energy."
"Every ancient realm is dangerous!" Solren nodded. "But it is our job to investigate! That Undead had to come from somewhere! This is the closest sub-realm! Do you believe they are from here?"
"No." His eldest brother answered immediately. "I don't think they would establish their first stronghold close to one of the Six's bastions. We are the strongest here! Even if they want to bring us down… The moment we catch a whiff of their stench, all the other fives would be alerted, and they would be exterminated on the spot by our full force!"
"Mhm… gathering their forces in our main territory is suicide. I agree."
"I won't deny that they would send people in to try and spy on us, disturb our forces, and draw away our searching eyes, but it would be only that. Annoyances. We couldn't ignore even one of them, and they know that! That is what I think your case was… and by what Mother let slip… similar things happened with the others too."
"Really?" Solren asked, looking into his brother's eyes, trying to read his thoughts, but he just smiled.
"It isn't a secret… I think. Rinzen and her council had to put down a similar-sized town as ours. It was taken over by a group of Intelligent Variants, and they were sending out the people to try and map where our armies camped at."
"Worrisome," Solren murmured, biting his lower lip.
"I have hope deep inside, you know!" Razael sighed, looking at the cave's entrance, "I hope to find a safe, stable, and empty sub-realm. From where we can start raiding others!"
"..." Solren remained silent, waiting for his brother to continue.
"Since I was stuck in one and we managed to travel from sub-realm to sub-realm, I realized many of them are connected. Like an ant hive! If we could find our way in and build an outpost… we could strike directly at the Undead's fortresses! It would give us the advantage, and we would no longer be only a reactionary force! We could go on the offense!"
"Do you think this will be that?" Solren asked after thinking it through, remaining silent for minutes.
"I very much hope so! That is why I waited for Lia… I don't want to mess this up!"
Corty This chappy was a bit to relax from the heavy stuff I throw on you all... Um... Sorry~
And... here are some images, now about Razael!
Spoiler[collapse]
The Misfits had only a day to rest before they were on the move once again. Solren, knowing that they had to have their thoughts organized, didn't bring them along with a ship but started a long trek on foot so they could air out their troubling thoughts. It would take them a week to arrive, but none complained, even when they were marching for hours without stopping. It was close to nighttime when they stopped, and they were setting up their tents at the roadside, deciding to camp in the wilderness, when a message arrived from a carrier raven.
"Mother concluded her investigation." Solren told them after reading it privately first, "The city is going to be put under heavy supervision for the next century. Three of our awakened ancestors had been dispatched to keep vigil and brand everyone who lives or visits the city so we can keep track of them at all times."
"It will kill Akrelia… Nobody will come and visit, and they were dependent exactly on that." Koa said, her voice sad and concerned. "The city will fall into ruins and poverty very quickly."
"The city will be reimbursed," Lia answered before Solren could, finishing setting up her tent and now making the campfire with Keily's help.
"Exactly." Her brother nodded. "The city will be taken care of by our family. We are Amarins, and this is our territory, our responsibility."
"Were there… others?" Sion asked the question the rest were also thinking about.
"A few hundred were suspicious, so they have been removed," Solren concluded, not going into details. Suspicion was enough to know; it meant they were put to death. It was hard to believe how Erias and the rest of the denizens of Meriath lived in those years. What it was to never knew true peace, always suspecting others. No wonder it was hard for many to settle back into a peaceful life after Victory Day.
Everyone just continued putting up their tents while Raufon took control of cooking their dinner in a huge cauldron hanging above the open fire. Soon the delicate aroma of the stew being stirred and getting ready drew the Misfits out of their thoughts, gathering around it with their bowls.
"Told you!" Raufon grinned, looking at Ceiline, who was helping him with the seasoning, "This one is a recipe from my village! You are going to love it and get back into the mood for adventures!"
"It does smell nice!" Keily said while his nose was drawing in the tasty smells, suddenly feeling how hungry he was.
"It will taste even better, believe me! Ah, yes!" Raufon brought out a wooden box, placing it down before them. "This one has some powerful spice in it! Only add a pinch of it to your bowl if you like it hot! I am warning you!" He looked at Lia, who was already stretching to grab it, "It will burn twice!"
"Twice?" Lia and Keily asked, making Koa shush at Sion and Aurora, preventing them from answering.
"You will see!" Raufon grinned as he put the first portion into their bowls. Of course, Lia was as she was; she took a pretty big pinch of the dark, red powder Raufon presented before them and threw it into her stew.
Seeing how everyone was now watching her, Keily decided to be cautious and only pick up half of the amount compared to his Boss. When Lia's spoon made contact with her tongue, she clamped down on it, squirming and squealing before starting to wolf her portion down, asking for seconds immediately.
"This is the best!" She moaned, grabbing at the spice, throwing a handful into it, turning the whole stew dark red.
"Oh…" Seeing how she was already at her second bowl, surprising everyone, Keily also took a spoonful of his own. His eyes swelled up the moment it touched his tongue, tears flowing from them as she could barely breathe.
"Come here!" Koa laughed, summoning cold water and pushing it into Keily's mouth, washing out magically. It looked as if she was trying to find something in his throat, painting a bizarre image for everyone watching.
"T-thanks!" Keily gasped as he looked at her with teary eyes. "This burns!" He moaned, pushing her bowl to Lia, who poured it into her own and continued eating like a starving dog, using spoons in both hands.
"I told ya!" Raufon laughed, making the others finally burst out laughing as everyone tried a little of his spice, and only Lia did not mind the burning sensation in her throat. "This thing is no joke… but… neither our Boss, eh?"
"Hm?" Lia looked up, licking the end of her spoons, enjoying the burning sensation in her mouth. "I like spicy food! And it was yummy; thanks, Raufon! You are a good cook!"
"You're welcome! I like doing stews, it is easy, and you can put a lot of things into them!"
"You could put some extra meat into mine next~!" Koa joked, winking at him.
"You do need more energy with how slow you are when we march," Simbad interjected calmly, slurping up the last drops from his bowl.
"Says the third wheel!" Koa shrugged, rolling her eyes.
Watching the little back and forth playing out the fact soon everyone was taking part in it made Solren's mind relax. He was afraid of how the previous day's events affected the little group, but it looked like they were getting back to their feet gradually. They even had a night to relax and sleep for real while he kept vigil.
…
….
……
A few days later, the group finally arrived at their destination and joined up with Razael. They were going up in the mountains, reaching a height where the air was cool, even though it was the middle of summer. After trekking for half a day up a narrow slope, the road finally opened to a surprisingly flat field. It was as if someone built a large terrace right into the side of the mountain range, and the first thought of the Misfits was not wrong. When the entrance to the Sub-Realm was discovered by Razael and his group, following clues of ancient codexes and word-of-mouth, they found a cave that looked innocuous at first. From the outside, it looked like nothing but a natural formation on the side of the mountain range, but after entering, they could feel the difference.
The inside was magically reinforced and clearly a door to a sub-realm. If someone untrained or weak entered, they would simply feel a bit weird. They could explore it, going deep until reaching its end and finding nothing but stalactites and beautiful formations created by nature through thousands of years. But at Razael's power level, it was not the same. He could immediately tell there was a hidden gate in there; they just had to find it and open up the sub-realm. A task like that had to be made carefully, so in preparation, multiple Amarins came and erected this huge terrace, formed from nothing but earth-based spells. By now, multiple tents were erected, small wooden warehouses had been built, and docks were being put together right at that moment so flying ships could anchor down next to the entrance.
"Solren! Lia!" Razael laughed, walking towards them and hugging the lot, going along and taking every Misfit into his arms, clearly a treat he inherited from Kawu. "Finally, you lot had come! I was waiting for you!"
"Really?" Solren asked, surprised.
"You waited for us? That is why you are the best Eldest Brother!" Lia laughed happily, "You did not want to open the present before everyone was here!"
"Not really!" Razael grinned, making Lia's smile falter. "I would have already opened and marched in with my men, but we failed!"
"You did?" Solren asked back, honestly surprised.
"Well, we could force our way in, for sure, but I don't want to damage it! Who knows how ancient this sub-realm is! Think of it as a shabby, wooden house that was rotting away at the edge of a cliff! I can kick the door in, but it could result in the whole building collapsing into itself!"
“Aaaaand… sorry to ask…” Koa leaned forward, "Are we supposed to go into… something like that?"
"Of course!" Lia and Razael answered in the same excited voice, "This is what it is to be an adventurer!" They continued to speak in sync.
"Well… she is right," Sion whispered, and to the others' surprise, Aurora also nodded, agreeing with him.
"I was waiting for you," Razael turned to his sister, "Because you are familiar with No-Space! I bet you can find a way to open it without being violent!"
"Now that…" Sion said again, "I am not so sure he is right about."
"Hey!" Lia spun around, her hands on her hips, her eyes looking at him accusingly, "I can be… elegant!"
"Subtle." Aurora signed, "The word you are looking for is subtle."
"I have no stubble. Nowhere. I am smooth everywhere!" She replied seriously as if Aurora just insulted her in the most profound way possible.
"B-boss…" Keily elbowed her, "I think you misread her… And you did it on purpose…"
"No, I misread her because it was funny, don't ruin it!" She whispered back, stepping on Keily's foot, who tried not to scream.
"They recovered, I see," Razael said to Solren, slowly walking away, letting the Misfits fool around and explore the campsite.
"Yes. Well… she is our sister; I expected nothing less."
"Mhm. I heard what happened. It had to be tough."
"I can deal with it." Solren shrugged, "I was prepared for it long ago! But let's switch subjects before they hear it! What do we know about this hidden realm?"
"Not much. We followed legends and tales about people disappearing in the mountains and reappearing centuries later, seemingly without issues. To them, they were gone for only a month at most! They all said they were in a magical place and lost track of time."
"Magical?"
"The notes and recounts we found all described the same. A misty valley, surrounded by pillar-like mountains and a river flowing between them. They said buildings were erected above the pillars, connected by hundreds of bridges, going on endlessly. Anyone who visited it said they felt no hunger while inside, and when they got tired, a brief nap was enough to refill them with energy."
"Every ancient realm is dangerous!" Solren nodded. "But it is our job to investigate! That Undead had to come from somewhere! This is the closest sub-realm! Do you believe they are from here?"
"No." His eldest brother answered immediately. "I don't think they would establish their first stronghold close to one of the Six's bastions. We are the strongest here! Even if they want to bring us down… The moment we catch a whiff of their stench, all the other fives would be alerted, and they would be exterminated on the spot by our full force!"
"Mhm… gathering their forces in our main territory is suicide. I agree."
"I won't deny that they would send people in to try and spy on us, disturb our forces, and draw away our searching eyes, but it would be only that. Annoyances. We couldn't ignore even one of them, and they know that! That is what I think your case was… and by what Mother let slip… similar things happened with the others too."
"Really?" Solren asked, looking into his brother's eyes, trying to read his thoughts, but he just smiled.
"It isn't a secret… I think. Rinzen and her council had to put down a similar-sized town as ours. It was taken over by a group of Intelligent Variants, and they were sending out the people to try and map where our armies camped at."
"Worrisome," Solren murmured, biting his lower lip.
"I have hope deep inside, you know!" Razael sighed, looking at the cave's entrance, "I hope to find a safe, stable, and empty sub-realm. From where we can start raiding others!"
"..." Solren remained silent, waiting for his brother to continue.
"Since I was stuck in one and we managed to travel from sub-realm to sub-realm, I realized many of them are connected. Like an ant hive! If we could find our way in and build an outpost… we could strike directly at the Undead's fortresses! It would give us the advantage, and we would no longer be only a reactionary force! We could go on the offense!"
"Do you think this will be that?" Solren asked after thinking it through, remaining silent for minutes.
"I very much hope so! That is why I waited for Lia… I don't want to mess this up!"
Corty This chappy was a bit to relax from the heavy stuff I throw on you all... Um... Sorry~
And... here are some images, now about Razael!
Spoiler[collapse]
