Kaer Morhen

[Bloodedge]

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Kaer Morhen (Elder Speech: Caer a'Muirehen, meaning Keep of the Elder Sea) is an old keep where witchers used to be trained. The name is a corruption of Caer a'Muirehen, revealing that there used to be sea around it, which is further indicated by the presence of fossilized sea creatures embedded in the stones on which it was built.

In older times, witchers trained and underwent mutations here, but fanatics who considered witchers an abomination attacked the keep and killed most of the teachers and students. Few witchers live in the keep in modern times, although other witchers sometimes rested here between their assignments, often during the winter, after which they set out on The Path again.

The castle can only be reached by "The Witchers Trail", which is easy to miss, and encircles the keep. It is often given the nickname "The Killer" by young witchers.

[Apollymi]

"Are you sure you know the way? This place is super fucking sketchy..." these were the words spoken to a lad by his younger sister. The girl, who had raccoon like ears and a tail seemed to be walking around carelessly, but this simply wasn't the case. She was in fact, putting forth a great deal of concentration to watch her step as she ascended this hellish trek. She had no idea what she'd done to deserve this, but if she didn't love her brother so, she likely would have opted for some down time in a magical space with gorgeous weather. Or at least, that was what she assumed the Druid Homeland was like. Still, she seemed amused a devilish light in her eyes as she took each careful step, this was a potentially exciting trip at the very least, if she wasn't into whatever was going on here, she could always leave whenever she felt like it.

In the meantime as this lass ascended with whatever group she was with, a woman stood at a tower atop a castle. She could see inhumanly well down the path, well enough to know that she would have visitors soon. Volunteers for this order were quite unusual, perhaps there was more to it than met the eye. Regardless, she'd wait a while longer before descending and moving to greet this group.

[Bloodedge]

"Of course I know the way!" retorted a white-haired young man with starry eyes. Kou, as he was called in this form, had few abilities to make use of along this trail. He had recently given himself a new form, but he knew he could not take it. No, this path was all part of the journey to become a Witcher. If he wanted to do it properly, he had to do it in the form that needed the Witchers' abilities. "Well... kinda. Alright, so don't bark down my throat or anything, but I sorta have no idea where I'm going. That's all part of the journey though, right? Have a sense of adventure!~" With only his sister from their original world in tow for the moment, he seemed to have become capable of being more like his original self. He was always going to be an excitable, puzzle-loving, game-loving delinquent nerd with an attitude problem, as a certain other individual had once called him... but this was his more natural state.

One other was with them, in the most technical sense. Arjuna, the brown-skinned Holy Archer, decided to use his abilities and scout the area from far behind. It seemed, even in this form, the one known as Karna was destined to be an aloof member of the Party. That was fine; Kou was content to take the journey by foot with Hikari, the demi-human lass in his company. "... Fine, fine. It's fucking annoying, alright? I'll admit it, but I don't have any other options if I want to keep this Avatar. I need this one, so this is where I'm going. I'll make it up to you for coming along."

[Apollymi]

A scoff. That was all, that escaped Hikari's lips as the lad claimed to know the way. She'd gone along with him on a few occassions in her life and she knew when he was sure of things and when he wasn't. Right just now, he knew what he was looking for, but he wasn't one hundred percent certain of the way their adventure was presently taking them. "Uh-huh... totally believe you," she said in response to his first sentence. And then as if by magic the lad asked her not to bark down his throat. Oh the truth was coming and the lass could taste it. And there it was, the man admitted he had no idea where he was going. "I fucking knew it!" was the exclamation from the lass. "I am all for a keen adventure, but you're lucky you're my brother. Or I would have abandoned you to go hang out with peaceful, flatland loving Druids," she said stomping with new fury. She wanted to say she couldn't believe that he would drag her along without being certain of where he was going, but she also knew better. "Miki-nee seems like the type to have a whole house setup for guests, probably weird tea too..." she commented in a manner that was both meant to instigate and agitate.

And soon she'd get what she wanted. A promise that he'd make it up to her for dragging her along. "Good good, it's all I really want anyways. Though, I pick the next place we go and all snacks," she said as a condition, following her brother and his not girlfriend around was great, but there were still things that interested her as well. "Plus, I don't really have a problem with the adventure. I do like spending time with you, even if you are a fucking Nerd, who is in all honesty way too excited about what is supposed to be really fucking brutal training. Do I even want to know what you did to this Avatar to fuck it up so bad?" she asked him with a raised brow. She was still curious about his Valentines/White Day Fiasco. She'd been told gently that he'd passed out and that Miki was looking after him, she didn't worry about it too much but found this sudden need for weird training to be strange.

[Bloodedge]

"Urusai!" he exclaimed, wishing to silence Hikari's verbal judgement. His head wobbled, and his mouth mimicked the girl's words as she spoke further, referencing Miki's potential commodities and the like. "Myeh myeh myeh, I'd take Miki as a sister before you as a brother~" he mocked. A pause came soon enough though, as even he began considering things from a different perspective. Knowing Miki, she did have those things. He wondered what joining that trip would have been like. Surely he'd have been able to, if he didn't hinder himself the way he did.

Speaking of his hindrance, Hikari thought to mention it directly. She didn't know the details of what he'd done, and wondered aloud whether she even wanted to know or not. More imperative to receive a response though, was her backhanded compliment toward him. "I ain't a nerd, Loli Bait," he quipped. A sigh ensued, as Kou decided to share with her the information regarding his earlier unconscious state. "I... made an Artifact. It's a puzzle sphere with Time Lock Magic wrapped inside a dimensional transcendentalism mechanic. Basically, it's an infinite storage box... plus."

[Apollymi]

They were... bickering. That being said, it seemed to be the most natural state of both individuals. While, Hikari carried on about potential lodgings and fun to be found had they been able to take the other trip as well, Kou mocked her speech pattern, seeming to summarize her points in demeaning way. "Maybe not over you as a brother, you have your niche abilities and all. Combined though is the best possible outcome~" she said sticking her tongue out at the lad. And from her own perspective it was the absolute truth. The pair of slightly older teens was indeed better taken as a unit and seemed to pick up any slack provided by the other. His heralded insult brought the lass to a halt before she launched herself at the man's back clinging to him like a small child. "Nii-san!! I am not loli bait!" she protested, but if she was being honest, she kind of missed this sort of biting conversation and the things they said to each other with love of course.

As she would have clung to his back he sighed, explaining what he'd actually done for the lass on his White Day end of the week. A puzzle sphere, infinite storage box with Time Magic Lock and transcendentalism. Apparently, this was what he'd been working himself to death over all week and how he'd ended up unconscious. "So, you're going to deny being a Nerd while giving a girl the nerdiest fucking present I've ever fucking heard of... alright. Keep your denial. Any blind person could see she likes you, so what did she do to get you to see it and did she solve it?" she asked, also a matter of curiosity. Miki appeared to her to be her brother's nerd match, which was very strange considering the girl was quite beyond the actual need to be that way. It was refreshing for an attractive rich girl to show such earnestness in her activities. Strangely, Hikari despite her meddlesome nature, and left the teens to their own devices so she was actually in the dark about their progress to gifting each other. This was technically another check she intended to do, to make sure that Miki was a good match for her brother, what had she done for him, reciprocity was important after all.

[Bloodedge]

"I-..."

What could he even say to that? As far as things happening in this world so far were concerned, she was right; that rich idol from Shibuya was an existence which, when filling in the holes of his own, seemed to create something magnificent. If they had met online through the video game, they'd have undoubtedly destroyed all competition while simply... having fun. That was always the missing piece to the proverbial puzzle of Geno Killer's gamer life. He had participated in multiplayer numerous times, yet it always became so... stale, so boring. How long had he been adventuring with Miki, though? Weeks? Months? Time itself seemed to have gone through a blender, resulting in its very consistency being lost to him. Regardless, they had so many adventures thus far, and he hadn't once felt bored. Could the fact that this was all so real have had something to do with it? Sure, but... he knew it was only a minor factor.

As he gave this a great deal of consideration, Hikari was suddenly clamped onto his back, refuting his claims against her and providing evidence to her own against his. Moreover, she wondered what he had been given by Miki, to have made him go to such lengths. "It was... chocolate," he admitted, stopping his forward movement for a moment to speak further. "It wasn't just that, though. She basically sent me on this whole scavenger hunt through Atlantis, with a cipher puzzle to figure out where I needed to go last. The last place I wound up was where she was waiting, with the chocolate."

[Apollymi]

It seemed that he couldn't refute her statement about the pair of them working out as at least a team. When she'd first seen her brother traveling with the lass she'd been a bit skeptical but she found their combined styles to be magnificent for creating the best possible outcome. The fun of it was, neither of them, seemed to be doing anything different from what they would have been doing normally, they both just seemed to make weird decisions that worked out in the end. That was worthy of a bit of praise, though not in a traditional sense. "Know I'm right. You've been having fun... that's not a diss either. It's pretty clear," she said happily. Still there was a the matter of Valentines' Day and White Day and she was in for quite a surprise when it came to that information.

"Chocolate? You hate chocolate..." his sister said with confusion all in her person. But as the lad came to a stop she was in for an explanation the likes of which she couldn't imagine. Apparently, not just chocolate, but a Scavenger Hunt and a Cipher Puzzle. What a strange set of things for an idol to know. She could have learned to make chocolate while in Atlantis, at the very least, Seriri was good for that sort of thing and had several others on hand to help any of the women within the palace who wanted to learn such a skill. But the ability to put together a Scavenger Hunt and a Cipher Puzzle were a bit beyond the norm for any random person. "Ciphers are pretty rare. Understanding how to do them is one thing, but being able to make one even combining it with something else in a way that keeps your Puzzle-Happy-Ass interested, that shows dedication," Hikari said. "That sort of earnestness from a girl is weird, from one who has no real reason to be like that is almost unheard of..." she said going on to shrug. There was one final conclusion to be had here, and it probably wasn't what one would have assumed. "You're both Nerds. Gambare yo!~" she said encouraging the lad to continue, and giving him a firm rub on the head and a gentle squeeze. She'd decided a while back to stay out of it, as they seemed to get along fine even with no one else interfering directly. Miki or rather Kimiko was one of few people that Hikari could accept had genuine interest in her brother, not just for what he could potentially do for her, but for the same kind of reasons she loved him. With this in mind, she was content to carry on.

[Bloodedge]

Of course he hated chocolate. Naturally, no one knew this better than the girl he was presently conversing with. Still, he'd eaten it. Whether it was the source and deliverance of the confection, or simply its quality... it was far from the worst chocolate he'd ever experienced. Hikari was right again, as well. Ciphers weren't so simple a task as far as puzzles were concerned. The simple fact that Miki had created it while blending it concisely into a scavenger hunt, was something beyond expectation for... well, anyone other than himself, really. "Yeah... It doesn't really make any sense, huh?" he spoke in rhetoric, chuckling at the thought. Either way, moving forward was necessary. The quicker he finished his Witcher trials, the sooner they could rendezvous with Miki and the others. It was odd enough that this was his point of consideration when thinking of the journey ahead, but it remained suitable motivation to keep him going forward up the hazardous path. Soon enough, they would be capable of seeing the place known as Kaer Morhen just up ahead. "I wonder how much Arjuna is doing from back there. That trek was annoying, but not too bad."

[Apollymi]

The lad's rhetorical question made his younger sister laugh aloud. It was actually quite ridiculous for him to find someone who suited his personality so well. "Not a bit, better keep striking while the iron is hot!" she said happy enough with that gentle nudge to leave it alone. She also took the time to abandon her perch atop her brother's back and instead took up walking in her same relaxed pace at his side. As the castle of this place came into view the young Demi-human's eyes widened quite a bit, "Hm, this place is scary big," she said with wonder. She'd not been sounding as if she cared for this leg of her journey but, she was still shocked and awed to see something new. As for Arjuna and what he may or may not be doing to help them out she shrugged. "Eh, he'd find it pretty easy to slay a few monsters. And the way he is right now, he'd do it without saying anything..." she added only to come to one conclusion. "So, probably a decent bit, but you should enjoy the break while it lasts, you're probably about to get your ass kicked hard~" she mused seemingly excited by the prospect. Not that she enjoyed her brother getting beaten up, but she figured he'd rise to the challenge since he chose this particular path himself.

In the meantime at the front gates of the Castle there stood a woman buxom with red hair and a scar over one of her eyes. She had a gaze of battle hardened tension but a light of something less stern beyond. She stood with a pair of blades strapped to her lower back which seemed to be about the size of machetes but with a much clearer curvature. "OI, coming here of your own volition means only one thing. Are you sure this is a path you want to take?" she asked of the approaching pair. Hikari shrugged the whole thing off, she didn't need this sort of thing and had no intention of becoming an even stranger being than she already was. "I'm cool, just waiting on him~" she said which made the woman's brow raise slightly. Most people tried to sell people off to Witchers. She'd expected the boy to be giving away the girl, but it seemed nothing of the sort was taking place here.

[Bloodedge]

Kou scoffed. He knew exactly what the lass meant, and exactly what he... perhaps should have been doing all along. She had to understand, though. Surely, she knew of his hangups. If they all returned to their original world at the end of this adventure, what then? The two Adventurers who began this journey would return to being a rich girl on her path to becoming the head of a major corporation, and a poor lad shunning those who acquired fortune of any sort on the backs of others. What sort of life could exist there? Well, that was a puzzle he had yet to even give proper consideration to.

Nevertheless, they were upon the old castle called Kaer Morhen. Standing outside to greet them, was a red-haired woman who clearly understood what the purpose of this journey was. Kou stepped forward. Looking at this woman, she didn't seem like she belonged to this branch of Witchers. No, she clearly more attributed to a particular sect which took a more... assassin-style approach in combat. This realization had a direct influence on Kou's response. "I'm pretty sure, yeah. Are you sure you should be here?"

[Apollymi]

Hikari knew her brother understood her gentle nudging and thus had nothing in particular to say. Was she aware of the kinds of hold ups he would have had in their own world? Sure. She became instantly aware of them as soon as the lad spoke the girl's real name. A simple idol wouldn't have caused the lad so much trouble, given this knowledge it'd taken her a while to figure out exactly what his problem was with accepting the girl's affection, when it was so obvious that they liked each other. Whether he felt it would work out in the previous world or not, it likely would have. If the girl took the initiative, at least that was the way the Demi-human saw it. Knowing that girls chose the men they liked based on different criteria. A man could be turned into a Millionaire. But a girl who already had money and apparently wasn't the type of person who'd let her own shrivel and die, likely wasn't looking for anything so simple. Perhaps through their blossoming relationship, her brother would eventually see exactly the kind of man he was.

But their matters of personal thought aside, the greeting from the assassin like woman at the door spurred Kou into a rather frank response. A chuckle came from her and she shrugged. "If you know that much, you should probably already be aware that those who bear Medallions do this world a service and some still don't like it. The castle at Noxus was razed to the ground only a few of us made it here. Since we are most familiar with the process that makes a Witcher, Kaer Morhen's keepers said we could make our home here. Besides there is more than one way to slay a beast," she explained the situation giving both backstory and enough warning of the kind of problem this lad could truly face in the future. "This life is a hard one, and certain aspects of it are for you and you alone. If you are willing step forward. If not, go back the way you came..."

[Bloodedge]

Naturally, Kou knew how much loathing the general population had for Witchers. Those who didn't have immediate use of a Witcher's abilities, most likely had quite a few negative things to say about them. Kou didn't care. Among gamers, Witchers were an annoying type of character to create, but very valuable in groups when built properly. The biggest annoyance was world interaction, but he was sure he could manage. As such, he stepped forward without a moment of hesitation. "Right, right, people hate Witchers. Scum of the Earth, welcome back!" he mused, moving even beyond the red-haired Witcher. Surprised as he was to learn that the Assassin-type Witchers were without a base in this world. Perhaps it had something to do with so few players choosing their school, what with the ability to be Alchemists and the like while joining a more combat-savvy sect. "Alright, so what's up first? Straight to the Grasses is fine with me," he said, knowing the thing known as the Trial of the Grasses typically came after a rather long series of side-quests. He also knew, however, that he'd given himself a certain advantage that would leave him more... prepared to skip ahead to this stage, simply by virtue of a choice he'd made in the creation of this Avatar.

[Apollymi]

Hikari watched as her brother casually strolled right on in, not even seeming to be bothered by the potential to be hated. "Gambatte, I'm going to set camp and explore..." she mentioned casually, figuring at the very least she would have Arjuna or Karna for company when he was done scouting or whatever.

Beyond this Kou's words as he moved past the obvious assassin leaning woman made her brow raise. "Not many would shrug it off so easily. Don't come to regret your carelessness..." she warned but for whatever reason avoided saying more. With the lad here and alone there was but little left to do but get him set up. His body needed adjusting so that he could take the Trial of Grasses, but...

"What?"

Kou's words seemed to hit the woman's ear as she thought and beyond what he said, he claimed to be mostly ready for that trial. "Did you just say you're ready for the Trial of Grasses? Do you have any idea what that can do to you if you aren't prepared? Hell even if you are prepared. Only 3 of 10 survive the process in the first place and when the numbers are better they are usually mad? Is that what you want? You'll die. " the woman asked as she moved forward, she couldn't believe this level of foolishness. Is this what she was sensing as this lad approached, reckless abandon about his life? Where was she going, towards the Alchemy lab, but she'd been going there to get the starter herbs together, though she could easily administer the Trial of Grasses immediately if a person wished to undergo it, it was tantamount to suicide. She walked down into the castle, below ground level into a chamber which contained a great number of ingredients. Not so strangely, measuring devices, mortars and pestles and all other manner of material were present. But in the center of this room was a large table with shackles on it where the body could be aligned to keep it from self-harming.

[Bloodedge]

The woman was clearly bothered by his insistence upon taking the Trial of the Grasses right away. He expected as much; unprepared characters doing such a thing in Age of Eternity were deleted as the result of a bad dice roll via RNG. He knew the chances, and he knew the risk of failure... and it didn't apply to him the same as it did to others. As he followed the redhead, Kou decided he would answer her question by bringing attention to his left hand. What he'd done to ruin this Avatar's abilities should not have had the consequences it did - not for someone capable of accomplishing the feat in the first place. It happened simply because his body was incapable of handling it, and thus endangered his human form.

In truth, Kou's Mana was not endangered at all; it simply took everything he had just to keep himself stable. To show his meaning, he let this control slip just a bit. As a result of this, his hand began fading into the form of a wisp-like aura, not unlike that which encased his newest Avatar... which happened to be a Celestial. "Nothing to worry about. I'm not gonna die or anything. Well... not all of me. This is just a last-ditch effort to stay the way I am," he said, knowing he was half human, half Celestial in this form. The human half of him was in danger of being destroyed the next time he exerted himself. That was his issue. By becoming a Witcher, or at least by undergoing this trial, he would either put an end to that half of himself, or strengthen it enough to restore its capacity against a Celestial half which overpowered it otherwise. All in all, he was merely gambling to keep this Avatar's future intact.

[Apollymi]

This lad would not be discouraged from his actions. It was strange to this woman. She'd seen more than her fair share of new pupils die, but never had she told someone in such blunt terms they were going to die, to have them argue about it. There was no backing down, no light of hope diminishing within the lad's eyes as she shared this news. He simply claimed that it would be fine. He showed her what he meant by this, allowing his Mana control to fail and in his left hand a wisp of energy showed. The Medallion on her neck vibrated with magical energy and she was left with a raised brow. "A creature that high order, chose a human as their mate? How strange..." she murmured. Still given what his problem was, the absoluteness of his death was no longer certain. It seemed the boy simply wished to remain exactly as his was, without becoming the same type of higher order creature who created him.

She sighed, her red hair swiftly moving about her shoulders as she gathered a myriad of ingredients and began pouring them into a mortar and pestle. "Even if you don't die, you do understand that the changes made to your physiology will be permanent. There will be no heirs produced by you... you cannot change your mind about this," for a person native to this world such a speech was absolutely normal. She didn't know it what it would likely seem like to the lad. Instead she busied her hands, crushing herbs adding strange liquids and live small samples. This concoction was a vile mix of things, made to mutate everything about this lad that was human. it would make him stronger, faster, give him a certain bit of extra... but things could not be gained without other things being lost. If he understood this they would continue. She walked over to a nearby fireplace removing from the mantle a coin like Medallion, which was blank in its conception but malleable by magic alone. The base of it was things that a Witcher would use, but what would become of it, and its final shape was something that would be determined by this boy's body alone. "If you are certain put on the necklace and sit on the table prepare for your binding." If he lived through the ordeal, the Medallion would bind itself to him and change its shape. If not, he'd die, and she'd return it to where it had been before. She sat a cup beside the lad containing the contents of her concoction the Trial of Grasses would begin as soon as he was ready.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah, isn't it?" Kou said, playing along with the idea while knowing he'd simply selected a combination of races to be. Perhaps, somewhere in the world, there was a legitimate case of a half-Celestial that was properly born. No matter. His existence was a matter of importance, but not how it came to be. He knew what his racial combination could do for him in taking the Trial of the Grasses, and he knew that his human half would be forever altered... maybe. Either way, there were no other worthwhile options. Either he'd lose the human half of his identity, or he'd earn a few boosts to its abilities, and essentially undo a hindrance in his build made by specializing in magic as a Saber Class. As neither outcome would do harm, he didn't even give a second thought to hopping atop the table and stretching himself out into the bindings. "Yeah yeah, it's fine. I'm not the type to worry about heirs and shit anyway. Gimme the juice~"

[Apollymi]

It seemed the lad also thought his particular parentage was strange. Whatever the case, he claimed a readiness to continue that this woman could only admire, though she did so secretly given his mortality ratio. The fact that this lad claimed not to care about heirs was also very strange, if he already had them it would be one thing, but lives were long and many died wishing to pass along their knowledge. She supposed an understudy would also work, or technically he could claim an heir in a different manner. Whatever the case, she had a task to perform. "I understand, here..." and with that she aimed to pour the entirety of the cups contents down the lad's throat. Immediately after she'd secure his bindings and then she'd wait. There was nothing else to be done of course. And though she'd seen this process take place dozens if not hundreds of times before, watching the transformation of another individual always stirred her own memory of the process and always broke a little something inside of her.

[Bloodedge]

Now that the chatter was out of the way, Kou was ready to take on the Grasses. This was going to be a very, very new experience for the lad. He had no clue what to expect from the concoction being poured down his throat, but he found it to be rather... disgusting. If that was the worst he had to deal with, everything would be fine. If only the most tedious part of this ordeal was being so disgusted by the Grasses themselves, that he wished to vomit on the spot.

It was far from the worst.

Kou kept his position atop the table, as if he had much choice otherwise. Aside from a bit of coughing and a few rolls of the tongue from the liquid itself, it didn't seem so bad. That is, until he felt the Grasses making their way through his body. The sensation could not be described as pain. Well, perhaps it could... if such a mundane word could be individually applied to every cell, every fiber of his being. Convulsions came quickly. He had an immediate urge to scream as his eyelids stretched to their limit, but all that escaped him was a gurgling that would not stop. His fists clenched repeatedly, his ankles twisted with matching frequency, and his head turned with a quickness that led to his face slamming against the table. What made the people of this world decide this was a worthwhile process? For a simple advancement of one's own power, the procedure alone was enough to drive one to a madness which made it all worth nothing. Even knowing he had no chance of actual death, Kou felt as if he were being killed and recreated again, and again, and again. How long would this last? Maybe he should have asked. Maybe it didn't matter, as a single second more was always too much...

[Apollymi]

The grasses and the disgusting original taste of things, his current feelings... they were only the beginning. This process was a long and arduous one. As his body became accustomed to its current state of furvor, another concoction needed to be mixed. Forktail Spine Fluid, Mandrake, Ribleaf, Manticore Poison Gland... all things to be combined and boiled down while the lad did suffer. If he was still alive by the time the concoction was finished, it'd be administered directly, this time through a tube and a vein in his arm. He would not have to taste this, but it would cause worse effects. Most likely of the side effects would be seizure, but there were others. She hadn't been kidding when she mentioned that madness was a factor, those who underwent these trials weren't always the same afterwards. "It will get worse before it gets better..." these words were probably of little comfort, but did at least imply the lad might be alright. Days on end this woman would stay at his side, and over the duration she'd administer more chemicals to change the lad's physiology. Did she block out his struggles? No... she listened to them all and continued her own work, leaving him in a half finished state wasn't an option either.

[Bloodedge]

Oh, if only the lad knew. Perhaps another method would have been more favorable after all, but it was far too late for those thoughts now. He couldn't even finish a single line of thought before his mind was clouded by the excruciating agony. It all came in pulses like a heartbeat, making adjustment impossible. Worse yet was the fact that there was more yet to come. Another concoction was funneled directly into his veins, which themselves would rise to the surface of his skin all over his body in future days. Naturally, time was entirely lost to him. That burning sensation of Akashi pushing himself to the surface of this body was the work of mere children compared to the hell he experienced over the course of a week.

The screams found their way out of him eventually, echoing throughout the weathered castle for at least three days straight. No food, no drink, and endless pain that made sleep an impossibility were all he knew for days on end, and it took everything the Celestial part of his anatomy had to offer, just to keep him going. His Mana enshrouded him in a very uncommon manner, looping in and out of his physical form over and over again. Words were spoken to him at some point, but he could not comprehend them. Did his ears even work? Maybe. Maybe these words were simply drowned out by his own screaming.

Eventually though, the outcries would come to a sudden halt. Kou fell completely silent, baring slit pupils in those starry eyes of his while his body became limp...

[Apollymi]

Screams and pain, was all this assassin woman had to offer the lad who'd wanted to become a Witcher. On day one she was still feeling like he wouldn't survive, by day three his screams made her wish he had. Still, it had been quite some time since she was last able to see one progress so far. She began to have home for him by day five, even as his screaming and fitful sleepless continued. And then, on day seven something amazing happened. The boy went absolutely quiet and his eyes, those amazingly starry eyes of his, shown slit pupils instead of the round ones. He'd... survived the process. "It seems you were right about your own heartiness..." she mentioned but she did not let him up yet. No, there was still a danger here, if he was mad, it was better to let him lay there. If he was mad, it would be better to put him down now than risk what he would do if he left this room. "State your name, and what you wish to do when I free you..." she said calmly. If she didn't like the answer she'd kill him here herself, that was the way. No use in freeing a mad monster slayer among the unsuspecting. That would not be good for the image of the Witchers as an organization.

[Bloodedge]

More silence. Even for several seconds after being addressed by the redhead, Kou did nothing but stare at the ceiling. It was over, right? Surely the pain and suffering of it all was a thing of the past now, but it lingered in his mind nonetheless. Eventually, only his eyes moved to look upon the woman. He seemed to be resting somewhere between fearful, distraught, and hateful. After all he'd been through, she had the nerve to question him before he was released? Sure, there were reasons for doing so, but those reasons be damned! Kou's Mana surged from his every pore, and the added physical strength of the procedure made breaking free of his restraints a simple feat. He sat up immediately, as the object placed on him at the beginning dangled from his neck, having formed into a pendant in the shape of a wolf's head with red jewels in its eyes.

What would he do when he rose this way? Well, he'd take a deep, deep inhale, and... sigh. "... Fuck," he muttered in a grainier tone than normal, seeming to have damaged his voice. This wasn't his answer to the woman; not at all. His first spoken word was nothing more than a representation of everything he felt, from pain to relief. "Could use a burger. You keep food in this place?"

[Apollymi]

Apparently this lad didn't take kindly to still being restrained. Much to her surprise, he immediately raised the level of his Mana breaking free of his restraints and sitting upright. As a matter of reflex the woman with her long red hair was at the ready, twin swords in each hand. She had them in a cross formation. She wasn't one known for direct combat, but she was fairly certain of her ability to kill someone directly while they were still seated. His follow up statement in a tone much more gravelly than he'd normally spoken was to ask for... food.

Food.

The woman relaxed visibly. It was a normal thing to ask for. "You could have just said you were hungry. I would have let you up," she said with blandness in her tone. She tapped her left temple with the edge of a blade, in a manner that would make a normal person's skin crawl. She'd not seen someone survive this process in quite a while, it was a bit of a relief to know that it wasn't a completely broken process. No matter what the cost. She came a bit closer, inspecting the pendant on his neck and finding it to be a wolf head. "I see, you belong here more than I do..." she mentioned moving herself towards the door, she turned her back to the lad and said one other thing. "I have no idea what the hell a burger is. But, you are free to eat your fill, White Wolf." she said as she sheathed her weapons and led the lad to the meal hall and whatever was beyond that.

[Bloodedge]

He wasn't going to wait around to be let loose. If this woman had released him instead of greeting him with questions, his post-suffering rudeness could have been avoided. He soon removed himself from the table, standing for the first time in a week, yet without feeling odd about it at all. If anything, he felt it was easier to move too much compared to how his body function before. His vision, as well, was quite powerful. Even within the dim room he was in, he saw more clearly than he could ever imagine.

Being referred to as White Wolf was strange. Taking a moment, he looked at the pendant around his neck. A wolf's head, of all things? Well, he supposed now he'd have to deal with two additional identities, between White Hawk and White Wolf. That was a shame, but an even greater shame was the lack of a burger here as well. If only he could find a place in this world that could offer him a tasty burger. Alas... food was necessary regardless, so he'd partake of something. "What do you have? And where's Hikari?"

[Apollymi]

Did the assassin know it wasn't nice to leave people tied up after experimenting on them? Yes. Was she about to break with that tradition putting a danger to her own life, and the life of every individual to be found within this place? No. It was rather simple really. When asked about food options the woman didn't really know what to say, they had standard food. "Vegetables, goat, fowl, maybe boar if anyone has done any hunting," she said upon reaching the kitchens she began to look through. There were a couple of staff moving about any more than willing to see to the needs of these people. "See that he's fed," she said as the kitchen people began moving around. There was no high class presenation to this food, but there were plenty of smoked meats visible in the burning fires, plenty of vegetables both raw and roasted and cups for ale or whatever, which ever he'd prefer to drink.

There was the matter of the Demi-Human the lad had shown up with. She'd been quite troublesome when he hadn't emerged the second or third day, by the end of the fifth day something rather strange had happened. "She's in the training grounds... apparently some of the others took a liking to her attitude. She hasn't been put through the trials but, she has some interesting qualities to start with. You could see her from that window..." she said with a shrug, pointing towards a opening in the castle which overlooked the inner training grounds. Hikari right at the moment was balanced atop logs completing an obstacle course blind-folded short sword in hand to knock away any random object that found its way into her path. A group of stern looking Witchers of various ages watching the lass compete on a level they didn't think possible for any outside of their ilk.

[Bloodedge]

The woman mentioned a selection of foods which... he supposed were about the norm for this world. It was disappointing that he could not partake of something he tended to enjoy: a good soba, perhaps something with rice. Whatever the case, food was food. He'd proceed to claim an entire roasted leg of goat, which he would bite into as he moved toward the window referenced by his trial-giver. Of course others took a liking to Hikari's attitude; she had a very explosive personality, as far as he was concerned. As he watched her through the window, he did so with much intent. "Hm-" he mumbled, pushing open the window to lean out of it. Now that he gave it consideration, she seemed to have become quite capable.

Luckily, he had a new physique to test. Another bite taken, and he hopped down from the window. His landing would occur atop a long within the same obstacle course Hikari worked through, and he'd draw his sword immediately. He moved forward, spinning around an immobile obstruction to step onto a log closer to Hikari, and his sword swept through the air horizontally to aim a strike at her right side.

[Apollymi]

Hikari and her obstacle course were having a pretty decent go of it. Strangely, there was a shift. She sniffed the air, her ears twitching atop her head. She turned in place twisting her sword around her body in a halo, stopping the path of the incoming sword. Her follow up was to kick out to the right, at what she approximated to be the torso of most beings, while she balanced atop one leg. She aimed to knock off, whatever newcomer had emerged. Of course, such an action was reflexive with enough force to jar anyone who met the kick. "Oi oi, I'm working here! I'm almost done, jeez wait your turn..." the girl chided as her actions took place. Still with the blind fold in place she hadn't a clue it was her brother she swung her weapon against. No, he didn't smell the way her brother smelled, nor did he move the way she'd gotten used to him doing... at least not to her given what she'd picked up so far. The people watching the lass work, seemed to be strangely entranced by this new addition to her training. They wondered about the outcome of such a situation.

All the while the assassin watched from the window. What an interesting pair of siblings these had to be. 'Hmphf, I have a feeling their marks on the world are going to be something else...' the woman mused to herself. Instead of jumping down into the courtyard. She took the long way around, a casual stroll feeling generous enough to give them time to bond more.

[Bloodedge]

A quick deflection was about what he'd hoped for. He was right; she had a respectable amount of skill about her. Thinking to truly test this, as well as his own abilities, he closed his eyes. Spinning again in the opposite direction, he stepped forward once more. He was led around Hikari's outstretched leg while spinning his sword, switching it to his other hand with a reverse grip. "Hm," he mumbled as he reached out to grab a hanging obstacle, using it to maintain his balance during a forward lunge of his sword's pommel. His aim was simply to strike the girl's abdomen with it, applying just enough force to knock her from the log if it struck properly.

[Apollymi]

She'd definitely deflected a sword strike, but, there'd been no contact of her leg. That was strange, someone else moving about this course with the same amount of skill she'd possessed at base, would have been sparring with her already. The Demi-Human's brow furrowed and her ears continued to twitch. No sound from feet? He'd grabbed hold of something... She'd pivot on that still solitary leg, bringing the one she'd kicked outward with down in front of herself. Firmly planting her feet. All of this was done solely for the purpose of getting the wind knocked out of her by the pommel of a sword aimed towards her abdomen? She fell off the log, she was on pouting testily as she removed her blindfold. "Hey what's the big fucking idea. Wait your turn you Obstacle-Sniping-Line cutting----" was there more? Maybe but her eyes were open now and they settled upon the lad who'd emerged from inside recently. "BAKA-NII!!!!" that was the follow up as tears of joy streamed down her face and she flew towards the lad aiming to hug him instead of attack him. "I really should kick your ass. You had me worried sick, making all kinds of irrational decisions. Then you have the nerve to cut in on my training, you fucking Nerd!" overall she was quite happy to see him. She'd raised a certain amount of fuss after finding out how long the lad would basically be tortured and was happy to see him fighting fit.

[Bloodedge]

A successful counter strike had ended the scuffle betwixt Hikari and himself. Hearing, even feeling the girl fall from the log, he opened his eyes. She began a tangent before realizing it was he who interrupted her training, only to switch to a brief rant directed toward him. This was accompanied by a leap, which led to her hugging him as she usually did. A single arm wrapped around the girl in return, though he came to a realization within a matter of moments. He had a response for her, he did... but he also had a realization. Looking into his recently-emptied hand, he noticed it was suddenly... lacking something. "Fuck," he said, realizing his leg of goat had been dropped during his earlier antics. He planned on eating his fill of it, but alas, it was not to be. "Whatever. How long have you been training with these Witchers? Smells like sweat and shit out here."

[Apollymi]

It seemed her brother was upset realizing he'd dropped his food during his descent. It was his own fault so she had nothing to say about it. Instead she was happy with the fact that he was fine and hugging her back and as such was likely not mentally off as she'd been warned he could be after the process. A bit of a chuckle came to her when he asked how long she'd been up to training in this space with these people. "Ah, I don't know, about four-ish days I guess. I may or may not have been trying to raise a lot of hell around here when you didn't come out after a couple of days," she said having the decency to look a bit bashful. "But apparently they appreciate that kinda moxie around here, so they said I could participate in some normal training, while I waited to see what would happen to you," she said it sounded a lot nicer than it had been.

"The exact words of the Keepers were, 'If you are going to be this feisty for no reason you might as well be able to back it up with skill...' or something to that effect," the Assassin mentioned as she walked into the courtyard seemingly without a care in the world. Several of the men around the place began to disperse, lest they end up in some sort of ordeal surrounding their choices about the lass. Regardless of how this whole thing had started, everyone had grown decently fond of Hikari in a couple of days. "Yeah, well they could have just answered my questions, but whatever..." said the girl. "Anyways, are you alright? Feeling not broken anymore? Do you need anything?" she asked of her brother apparently taken to worrying about him in this world the way he used to fuss over her in their previous one.

[Bloodedge]

"Hmm." A simple grumble was all he offered initially. It was not uncommon at all for Hikari to 'raise hell' as it were, and now that she was in good health, it was somewhat pleasant to hear of her doing so... even if the redhead who transformed him came to tell that the story was far worse than Hikari made it out to be. Of all the things he could do upon hearing what actually happened, Kou let a smirk grace his lips, and snickered. "Che... That sounds more like it. Let me guess, you came in asking questions of people who had no idea what you were even talking about, got mad that they didn't seem like they had a clue, and wound up fighting a whole group?" he questioned, having a summary of his own concoction based on how he'd seen her behaving thus far. Regardless of her answer, he'd place a gentle hand upon the demi-human's head to ruffle her hair and... ears. He still hadn't gotten used to the ears. "I'm fine. Could use a bite of something better than goat leg, but Miki's holding all the money. Guess it's time to do Witcher work. You in?"

[Apollymi]

In defense of the young Demi-Human she was indeed very worried for her brother's safety. Hearing out the words out of the Assassin's mouth she looked a bit bashful, but still said nothing. Her brother on the other hand, smirked, snickered and proved he knew his sister better than most, by giving the exact situation of her coming to be accepted among the group. "Oh?! Look at me, I'm a Nerd. I'm so fucking clever!~" she said in a mocking tone. Still she couldn't help but feel very happy as her head and ears were patted. Strangely, her tail was wagging too. If her brother wasn't used to her having animal ears, she still wasn't used to having an animal tail to tell on her when she was feeling happy. He even claimed that he was ready to continue their adventure a bit, if only because he wanted better food than what was offered here.

"Hai hai, I am always up for it!~" she chimed wondering what kind of work the lad would want to do. That being said it wasn't entirely true that Miki had all of the money. In all actuality, Hikari still had about 100 gold coins from her first adventure, when they'd left Atlantis to seek a cure for the Devouring. When she'd tried to return that money to Miki the girl had simply waved her off, claiming she should keep it as a finder's fee. But whatever, there were adventures to be had. The Assassin gave a gentle wave. "Work, if you are looking for it can be found in the valley at the bottom of the Canyon. If you require any guidance in the early stages, feel free to come back for further lessons. But, I am a thorough believer that learning through experience is best," and with that she took off. Heading back inside the castle.

[Bloodedge]

"Urusai, Loli Bait," he snarled. It didn't matter what sort of quip Hikari came back with; he was still right in the end. Either way, he was under the impression that they had no additional money to spend, so he'd be off to earn a bit. Being a Witcher would make it easier to take on quests without having an official Adventurer Pass, so they could easily acquire a decent amount for the return journey. Besides, he needed to further test his new physique as well. "Down to the valley, then. We'll be back to pick up the creeper," he said to the Assassin, referencing the ever-aloof Arjuna. Without further ado, he'd be on his way, assuming Hikari would be following closely.

Onward to the valley they'd go, on a much easier path than the climb up to Kaer Morhen. Why was it always like this on the way back? No matter; he'd find the village within the valley, locate the nearest tavern, and do something about acquiring some work.

[Apollymi]

"I am not, Loli Bait!" the girl said stamping her foot in frustration. Though she found the term endearing, there was nothing she could do about her loli proportions. Even in this world she hadn't grown into a proper woman's figure when she'd reached the right age. This was obviously who she was, she's simply deal with it. The Assassin who cared little about the lad she knew to be lurking around outside of the castle, had nothing to say about the future return of her pupil. He was hardly a bother to anyone as such he probably wouldn't even be noticed by most.

In the meantime, Hikari followed her brother down the to the valley at a much better pace than they'd taken to get up there. "The travel back from places is always weirdly easy. Well, except when you guys were in Atlantis and we got stuck in that dungeon and had to go back..." said Hikari making light conversation as she moved towards their new goal. This valley had several towns populating its expanses with large distances between them. Whatever the first one they reached was, her brother wished to find some work, and she'd tag along as a sidekick or whatever until they had enough coin to get him a decent meal. "So, Witchers do like Monster Slaying and stuff right? Are you just gonna choose something random?" she asked of him wondering how much if at all, she'd actually be needed for such a thing. She could always take a bit of a breather while her brother got used to moving around again.

[Bloodedge]

"I was just thinking that," he said regarding the ease of return trips. "It's fucking annoying." He didn't have details on how Hikari and Karna made their trip back to Atlantis, but he could imagine it had to do with the closed Dungeon. Perhaps they got caught up in the time before a proper path was made, or perhaps they simply didn't know one existed. Hikari at least provided clarity that they had, in fact, been caught up because of the Dungeon.

Into the valley, there was an immediate occurrence noted by Kou. He made way for the tavern, but along the way, villagers were giving him the strangest of looks. Some seamed fearful, some seemed to be detesting his existence. He may have become a Witcher, but this all seemed a bit much. Many of the villagers were... talking in whispers? Strange as this was, he had no choice but to continue making his way to the tavern. "... Weird," he said. "Basically, yeah. Kaer Morhen had to be put up in a place near work for the people who built it. This place has to be full of monsters, or at least rumors of them."

[Apollymi]

After providing clarity about their recent adventures, Hikari was content to walk along side. That didn't mean that she didn't notice that upon reaching the town that many of the villagers seemed to have a problem with the lad. She hadn't experienced these kinds of whispering jeers in quite a while, though they were common in one particular instance. Her pace was still casual as if she was very used to it, even as they entered the cavern. "I haven't seen that many people suspicious of anyone, since I went to Eonis the first time, only to find out that their king was a Demi-Human Hater...." she said knowing that such a thing was fairly common in their world. According to the lad he did intend to seek work in this place, so she'd happily follow along into the tavern he chose. "Hai hai, just a bit weird for everyone to already be on pins and needles," she said slightly on guard and ready for any attack that could come their way.

Surprisingly it wouldn't be an actual attack, as a blue haired male encouraged upon the young lass taking knee and smiling up at her. He was dressed a bit like a peasant with a strange cap and golden eyes. He seemed a bit small for an adult but she couldn't really talk. "Sing a song for the lady, only 1 silver coin?" the lad said with a large smile on his face. Another man from the background gave out a hearty laugh. "I'll give you 20 silvers to shut the fuck up!" The boy for all of his troubles seemed enticed by this and headed towards the other taker with a gentle bow aimed towards Hikari. "Some other time milady," and with that he was gone. "Ugh, bards. I'm kicking him if he comes back..." she muttered, what was this general animosity towards bards?

[Bloodedge]

"Probably just Witcher hatred. I didn't expect it to be this intense," said Kou, who was infinitely surprised by the amount of scrutiny being applied through mere looks. Nevertheless, they were within the tavern. Hikari encountered what seemed to be a desperate bard mere moments after entry, but by the time Kou turned to view the interaction, the blue-haired lad was on his way to claim whatever scraps of money he could muster. "A silver for a song? That's ridiculous," he mused. Moving along, he made his way to the bar. What better place to find work than the local barkeeps?

"Need a job. Any monsters around to be dealt with?" he asked, somehow managing to earn the ire of the male behind the counter. "Work for the Butcher of Blaviken? We got nothin' for you here, Witcher. Go crawlin' back to your hole!" the older man said, surprising Kou enough that he took a step back. "Butcher of... what? I've never even been to a place called Blaviken, and I only just became a Witcher. You've got the wrong guy," he insisted, but the barkeep refused to speak further. There was a story to be told here, yet no one seemed willing to tell it. What could have made him associated with this Butcher of Blaviken?

[Apollymi]

The bard had wandered off, that was good, or at least it seemed like it. Until of course, the Tavern Keep decided that he wouldn't speak with Kou, referring to him as the Butcher of Blaviken. This seemed to gain this man the Demi-Human's ire, in a way that was seen pretty frequently. "FIRST OF ALL," she started eyeing this man from across the bar, "We've never even been to fucking Blaviken. Second of all, this stupid nerd hasn't butchered anyone he's been out cold for a week! Give him a fucking job or point him to someone who fucking will!" the girl exclaimed. Several attendees of this bar, promptly looked away. All except for that lonely bard who seemed a bit entranced. He'd been here quite a while, and never seen anyone talk as this Demi-Human did, if the man with her really was the Butcher of Blaviken, perhaps, they could use a bit of assistance.

"Pardon me, my good people. But perhaps here is not the place for you... I could be of assistance though," he claimed motioning towards the door. He'd gotten very good at avoiding fights and ire, and now paid once more he could easily find himself being of use. And maybe, even using this Witcher as a way to properly jump start his career. "Or rather we could help each other~" he claimed lute strapped to his back as he headed for the exit.

[Bloodedge]

Kou was prepared to step out ahead of Hikari and do something about halting her sudden fury. The barkeep she spoke to hadn't a care for her qualms; he would not associate with the man who held that title. Before he could do anything, though... that bard returned to speak with the pair. With a sigh, Kou turned to face this blue-haired lad. Why did it have to be the bard? He was a fan of music and all, but bards were always so annoying in video games. Perhaps this one could be different. Keeping that potentiality in mind, he decided to follow suit. "Tch! Fine. I'm not sure what a bard bad enough that people will pay him to shut up can do to help us out, but I'll hear it. It's better than these people insisting I've butchered a place I never heard of. What is it you want from us?"

[Apollymi]

The blue haired lad had a large grin on his face once outside the watchful gazes of the towns folk. He turned ot the lad and the Demi-Human who'd followed along still in a huff and spoke very frankly. "To be perfectly honest, they have heard a prophecy about a man who bears the Medallion of the Wolf, who will kill dozens in the Town of Blaviken for no reason other than to sate his blood lust. It's a terrible stain on your reputation, even if it isn't you they are talking about..." he said a trifle too amused. "So, I have a proposition. I am a bard, and I know things and hear things... " he said calmly. "I can act as a go between for you in the nearby towns and accompany you on your adventures. Then, I'll write an epic of your journey and it will sway public tidings back in your favor. So, long as the jobs are done well...I can't paint you as a hero of Humanity. No one will even think about the Blaviken thing when they see you," he claimed.

"I should say too, I'm not actually a bad singer, my songs they don't have any real content... and that doesn't work here. We could really help each other out!" said the lad with a swift bow. "Please!" This amount of begging as strange, but the lad really couldn't adventure on his own. And after being kicked out of several kingdoms for... seducing with his honeyed words several princesses and Queens, it was only right that he actually do something to gain favor again.

[Bloodedge]

"All that, over a medallion? That doesn't make sense." Surely, there had to be other Witchers wearing the Wolf Medallion; this was once their home, after all. Perhaps there was something more to the connection than that. He'd been referred to at Kaer Morhen as White Wolf, which he assumed was certain to become his identity as a Witcher; it always seemed to work that way.

The bard had an offer that could be mutually beneficial. Would it be, though? That was the question in Kou's mind. He certainly needed some sort of go-between for the sake of collecting coin, but he wondered if it would be better to make use of Hikari. No, no; he'd rather have her alongside him. "Fuck," he uttered once more, jerking his head left as he did so. "Fine. So we don't starve, get us some work, and maybe I'll manage something worth writing a song about."

[Apollymi]

"Since prophecies always have some truth here, people believe them... superstition reigns supreme," the lad said. He was quite right. In a magical world where anything was literally possible, believing in someone who says they've seen the future is something that can barely be considered anything more than listening to the news would have been back on their home world. After speaking such he waited, it seemed that he might not get anything out of this situation. This man seemed a bit gruffer than normal, but because of this, he had faith he could produce a nice song based on his adventures. His coming swear was something which the lad didn't expect, soon after he acquiesced albeit with a great deal of skepticism obvious in his voice. Or maybe it was sarcasm? It didn't matter! This blue haired lad was about to get exactly what he needed. "Wooohooo! You won't regret this!" he said before giving a rather foppish bow. "I'm Jaskier, and it'd be honor to accompany you on this journey..." he said.

"This guy is gonna get murdered..." Hikari said. But at the very least with a go-between she wouldn't be forced to do it. She didn't like playing nice with people who talked trash about her brother, and was more likely to end up in a fight than anything else. "Whatever, it's fine I guess, but these people won't deal with us, and we're trying to get a meal and get to work..." she said. Jaskier as he was called took a deep breath. "I am not going to be any use in a fight, I did also just get paid for doing nothing so, a couple of silvers would be more than enough for a decent meal for you two in the next town over while I prod my connections for some information?" he offered two of the silver coins from his earlier point in the day in his open palm.

[Bloodedge]

"Of course it does. Don't understand something? Put complete faith in the first person who sounds like they know what they're talking about," he said, seeming to feel a particular amount of disgust about the topic. In truth, he was repulsed by the concept. His own father had been the sort of fool to misguide others who weren't in the know, simply for personal gain by having a bit of charisma at his side.

That was enough thinking about that, though. They'd reached an agreement, and he'd been given the bard's name. Jaskier... how strange. Though he agreed with Hikari that such an individual wouldn't last by himself, he merely decided there would be more work for him to do. "Kou. Keep your coin, Jaskier. Just show us to the work, and be on your way. You don't seem like you have the skill layout to deal with monsters at all..."

[Apollymi]

"Okay okay, nice to meet you," said Jaskier, he withdrew the money he had. He too understood the problems that Kou had with the blatant acceptance of random prophecy. Even so, in a magical world, such things were in general expected. "Come along then, when we reach the contact. He is pretty... unreasonable. But he'll pay for good work," said the lad who approached after a long walking journey a small farm which bordered the foot hills of the mountains on one side and an descended towards the seaside cliffs on the other. It was a remote place, seemingly out here all on its own and within it dwell a single farmer and his family. The stout man came to the front of the dwelling with a stern facial expression. His children had seen the bard approaching and as such he'd meet this being outside. No way he was going to be let inside the farm house. "Jaskier did you bring me someone to take care of the problem. I told you, I will not return a single thing you left here until you do!" he exclaimed. A creeping smile appeared on Jaskier's face. "Yes, yes. This is Kou. He's a Witcher, I'm sure he can help you... he will still require payment." he said without looking directly at the man.

"Oh? Brought a Witcher, they always tell me missing farm animals isn't their line of work! Whatever!" he exclaimed seemingly frowning. "Something keeps stealing my goats. The others keep claiming its just some buggering idiot. But I haven't seen anything like that. It doesn't leave tracks and it only comes at night when no one else is around. It even breaks into the barn and out without being noticed. If that's not magic I don't know what is..." claimed the man. "Find out what's been taking my goats, and I'll make it worth your while... I got a gold coin I don't have much use fer. It's yours if you do the work proper." he said without further ado. Everyone in this place really sounded like an NPC from a video game, which was the only thought on Hikari's mind.

[Bloodedge]

Following along behind the bard, Kou found himself mulling over what sort of quest this would be. Surely it was likely to involve monsters, but there were too many options to count. Monster species were more plentiful than any other in this world. He only hoped it was one he could deal with in his current form. His sword was not made of any sort of silver, so it had no bonuses against monsters. If he wanted to be effective against a stronger variety, he had no choice but to either rely on his magical abilities, or create some sort of concoction to coat his current blade in. It was quite a bit to consider.

When they reached the farmer, the portly male seemed to consider it strange that a Witcher agreed to help him. It made sense; Witchers in lore were about their coin, and cared not for the jobs which weren't confirmed monster cases. The farmer even offered him an entire gold coin for the work of discovering what robbed him of livestock. "Gold?" he questioned aloud. "That's a lot to pay for something like this, but I think you're right. That does sound like a monster, and no regular one at that. Being honest, I'm just glad it doesn't sound like Drowners, given how close we are to the sea here. Maybe a Griffin? Who knows; I'll find out. Take a silver out of that payment, get an inn for the night and stay away from here. Use whatever else from it you need for food, and to recover whatever you can from what's gone missing. Your problem will be fixed by morning. Got me?"

[Apollymi]

Apparently, Kou thought the offer of a gold was a bit too much. The Farmer could disagree, but why argue something in his favor. "Alright kids, wife... pack it up, we're going into town for the night!" he exclaimed. A group of small children clambered out from the house seemingly excited and barefoot while being half dressed. None were taller than knee height and all seemed to be pretty excited. The man's wife also came out and gave a nod. She was a youngish looking young woman with brown hair and thick eye brows, but soft eyes, though they were beset by bags. "A night where I don't have to cook, it sounds like a vacation," within a few moments that woman was back in the house with all the children with her. And when they exited again, each was dressed, with shoes. The woman wore a bonnet and each child marched behind her like it was a grand adventure.

"Alright, you have free roam of the property then. Fix our problem and I'll give you what's left from the purchases," said the man. And with that he left with his family following suit. Hikari stood with her hands behind her head seemingly amused by the whole situation. "So, we stalk some random thing that's been stealing farm animals?" she asked of her brother. If this was all there was to his plan, there was hardly any reason to have involved anyone else, aside from perhaps fixing up his reputation, this didn't seem to need any extra bodies.

[Bloodedge]

The farmer had an entire family to protect - a wife, multiple children. That was enough motivation to get the job done, but upon seeing the children themselves, Kou quirked a brow. The second time they left the house, they were all fully dressed, but... why would they be barefoot otherwise? "Hmm..." This was going to be a worthwhile quest to take, one way or another. He only hoped for something a bit challenging, but not ridiculous in any way. He wanted to test his abilities, but he didn't want to waste too much time before returning. It had already been a week, and Kou doubted Miki's task would take so long.

Once the farmer and his family were gone, only three remained. Kou wasn't sure how Jaskier would hold up, but he understood that the lad needed to be nearby for the sake of whatever song he'd be writing. "Should probably get some distance. If it doesn't show when anyone else is around, we'll want to keep lookout from off the farm. It should work out; I'm pretty sure I've got low-tier Archer eyes right now. Let's go," he said, moving toward a small cove not far from the farm itself. He'd be waiting there, until whatever manner of creature showed itself come nightfall...

[Apollymi]

Hikari followed along with her brother, only to have Jaskier trailing along behind. The blue haired lad looked a bit like a tourist, gawking as they made their way up to the cave, only instead of going there, he'd take a stroll down near the beach hiding among the lighthouse where he'd have a clear view. The Demi-Human girl for her part in this seemed unbothered but she still had something to say. "Well, that is fine, I can also hear everything within a pretty good distance. I'm sure between us we'll have no problem taking out anything that approaches too quickly~" she mentioned her own skills having been honed through practice. With that in mind she continued walking but strangely she had a little more to say. "So, is this just sketchy to me? Or do you get a weird feeling about it too?" she asked of her brother while they walked.

Eventually she'd find herself nestled into a small cove. She took to the side of the cave, out of sight from the front of it, but in just the right place to pick up all sorts of sounds from the area immediately surrounding them. Because of the depths of the cave, she could even pick up voices from quite some distance, though not to clearly given the sound of the tide rising and falling.

[Bloodedge]

"I do," he said, believing there were multiple oddities about this particular endeavor. The most serious amount of strangeness came from the problem itself, which didn't add up at all. "Never heard of a monster acting like that. Monsters are like animals; they ravage places to feed themselves. Why would a monster come to one place over and over, picking up morsels one by one, night by night? If they wanted to save food, animals would just take as much as possible back to their den, nest, or wherever. They especially wouldn't act this way if they were skeptical in nature enough to avoid leaving tracks. This is the kind of thing people do."

From within their hiding place, Kou kept an open eye. Night fell, and his vision did not seem hindered at all. No, if he were being honest, he felt he could see even better once it was dark. He didn't have Hikari's hearing, but he was beginning to pick up a few shadows moving in directions considered impossible when viewing how the wind shifted everything else. There were bodies, numerous bodies conspiring something. He whispered to the lass in his company. "What can you hear?"

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Hikari wasn't the only person having misgivings about this particular quest line. It was true, animal habits were a bit more predicatable than what the farmer indicated. She understood at face value why the other Witchers might not have been okay with dealing with this problem. Based on information alone it seemed like a hoax, or a case of buggery, which she assumed had something to do with indecent acts with a goat based on context. "I was thinking the same things. Animals wild ones don't have shame. They wouldn't hide what they were doing. That is a higher order intelligence skill..." she said with a firm nod. As day turned to night she was left to ponder a bit more. And eventually though she had some higher order night vision, it wasn't nearly as extreme as her brothers. Instead she heard the voices of those shadowy moving figures.

"They are saying the targets should be in the farm or at the farm house..." said the girl whose ears were still twitching. "They are looking for people... and for someone to take a goat so it doesn't look suspicious..." said the lass, whose eyes widened immediately. Where they looking for the family? No, that didn't make sense, they could have taken them out at any point, if they'd been doing this all along. And that man didn't seem like the type to sell out his own kin but maybe... "Shit."

[Bloodedge]

"It might be a bit more than that..." he said. There was something more about this situation, something very discomforting. Whatever it was, it earned its place as a puzzle that he'd be working on solving in the near future. That future would come the moment night fell, when Kou saw numerous shadows, and Hikari heard numerous conspiring voices. "Targets... people..." He mumbled a few words in succession while his mind assembled the pieces of this mystery.

There was something innately repulsive about the ideas to be pulled from this occurrence. Mentioning targets, looking for people that couldn't have possibly been the farmer and his family... and yet... "Fuck. Where's Jaskier?" he questioned the moment he realized what had to be happening here. This was a trap, and a clever one at that. The sad part was, they had taken the bait simply by agreeing to help.

[Apollymi]

Her brother thought initially something sinister might be a play here, and certainly there was by the end of their conversation. After night fell the coming of something akin to a raid party wasn't at all what the lass expected. What was more they seemed to be targeting people but not the ones that lived there. Shame of it was they were inadvertently leading others into a trap without knowing fully what that trap entailed because all they thought is they were missing livestock. When asked by her brother about the whereabouts of Jaskier the girl seemed to think about it for a second or two. "The Light House. I heard him practicing earlier..." she mentioned. "He's actually not that bad... also he abruptly stopped a few minutes ago..." she said with a deep frown. Knowing that they'd need to head there she readied herself to take off. "But should we try to rescue him directly? It might be better to track them backwards and find out where they are taking him first..." she said thinking about it from as logical a perspective as she could. Of course, their friend the bard had likely been kidnapped without even knowing what happened.

[Bloodedge]

Someone reputable had to be behind this setup; he was sure of it. What to do, though? Jaskier had gone to the lighthouse, but had ceased playing his lute in an abrupt manner. He was gone; of this Kou was sure. There was no way they had gotten rid of him yet, though. No, criminals of this sort wanted something from their prey. Hikari was right; their best option was to track this group back to whatever hideout they crawled from. In addition to being able to discover whatever their plan was and stage a proper attack, they could ensure that any who may have been left behind, were swiftly dealt with as well. "Not much choice. They got to him already, but if we can lay low, we can follow them back where they came from. May as well at least figure out what they need people for, and we don't want to get caught up in something that has too many enemies involved. Yeah; let's scope 'em out," he said, crouching low and shifting farther back into the shadows of the cave. "Hide us."

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Kou at least wasn't against the idea that Hikari put forward. She knew he wouldn't be since it was the most logical of places to go with their current line of thought. His final words on the matter though gained him a huff and puffy face from the young Demi-Human. "Oh, I like how we are just assuming I know how to hide us..." she said in a crotchety manner. All that aside, she had created a magic that would allow her to do just that, "First Hiding..." she mentioned as a mystical form of invisible light bent around them hiding them. It wasn't a skill that was truly that simple though, it provided presence concealment to her party when cast in this way so they could even move around without being detected and because of the magical component it also came with muffled voices so they couldn't be overheard. "Oh, just don't touch anyone, until you are really ready to touch someone," she mentioned softly. "This magic loses its quality if people become aware of you physically..." with this little warning taken care of, they were more than ready to start avoiding the raiders and searching for Jaskier.

[Bloodedge]

"I'm a Holy Knight. You're my Apprentice Holy Knight. I can see your full skill list. Just like old times, right?" he said in jest, referencing a time in which he always knew the rambunctious antics of his young sister before she even had a chance to enact them. Once she made use of her illusion skill, the pair become invisible via the bending of light around them. Hikari mentioned that they shouldn't touch anyone, lest they lose the illusion. That note was very akin to a video game tutorial, prompting a laugh from Kou. "Loli Bait and an NPC now? Nice upgrade~" he teased. Figuring the type of spell used would function in other ways he could easily assume to be natural, he chose to move slowly as well. The white-haired Witcher slipped out of the cave, remaining low to the ground as he crept his way toward, and around the intruders. He wanted to at least know what they were dealing with from the start, whatever race or sect this group belonged to. With that information, he could likely piece together a few more important bits of information.

[Apollymi]

"What?! That's just unfair..." she said knowing her brother now had access to all of her skills set. "What if I wanted to I dunno... murder you and try to take over the world? It's an unfair advantage," she complained about this all knowing mechanic. It seemed a bit counter productive to want to overthrow her brother, and she wasn't even saying that she thought of such a thing seriously, she'd just like the option to slip one past him as it were. Moving right along, apparently her brother found her advice a bit too much like an in-game companion and it made her made. "Nii-san!" she would have yelled but it came out more of an angry whisper. "I'm not Loli Bait, I was just trying to warn you. See if I tell ya' anything else ever!" she exclaimed, still in that hushed whisper. "Fuckin' Nerd, has the nerve to be so into video games he doesn't realize what normal conversation is like..." she muttered in a cross tone as she too slipped out of the cave slowly trailing along behind her brother and scouting for anything suspicious.

[Bloodedge]

"Easy solution: If you might ever want to murder a person, don't swear fealty to them before you have a plan together." Honest advice, he gave, even in the face of rhetoric. Of course, Kou may have actually been lying about his ability to see Hikari's full skill set; it would not have been the first time he did so. Did he intend to let the girl know whether his words were truth or lies? Of course he didn't; he simply continued moving toward the targets. A single bail of hay was all he needed to peek over for the sake of visually finding a couple of the culprits. What were they? All he needed was the specifics. If he could see just one of them, he would be able to figure something out. Perhaps, from this distance, he could hear a bit more as well...

"First, you're thinking about it backwards. Second, shh. Keep an ear open, see if anybody's saying anything else."

[Apollymi]

"I don't like that solution. It's easier to find out someone's weaknesses if you work for them first..." the lass said practically. While she was not actively plotting against her brother, she'd learned a bit as a child stuck in this world. One of those was that working for someone who wasn't necessarily nice to you, as a good way to betray them eventually. Why did she know this? Perhaps she'd share eventually, but for now, there were more important battles. The lass was also hidden behind a hay bale, and she was still huffy about the current conversation. That being said, she was always listening to what was being said around her. In truth she couldn't really help it. "I hear them, I can say what I want and still hear them..." she said with a triumphant smile which when she was smaller would have come with some sort of dominating pose. For now, she simply went about her apparent next task as his apprentice and told him the things being whispered by this group, knowing her brother would be able to put together the tiny pieces of information she couldn't be bothered to sort through.

"I hate slumming it down here."

"Humans are only good for becoming the creatures of burden they were always meant to be."

"There aren't enough a decent number of specimen."

"This could have waited for something more than a foppish beast who dares call himself a bard."

"Maybe he'll be useful, like a bird singing of our arrival... yes I quite like that."

Hikari had a mind for separating and noting voices. In addition she could very easily recall all the information and maybe later even match those voices when she heard them again. Strange it seemed to her, these conversations only pointed out a few obvious things. The raiders weren't just killing people. They were obviously not human to any great capacity and they may or may not have come from somewhere much more frightening than the lower world should be at this point in the journey. That being said, her brother had undertaken a late game upgrade pretty early, maybe this was the cost for doing such a thing. Whatever the case, she'd be along for the ride.

[Bloodedge]

"Pretty big difference between working for somebody, and swearing an oath of servitude to them," was Kou's retort to the Demi-human. With that, he looked over the hay bail to gaze upon the group of conversing enemies. What he saw in doing so, was quite disturbing. Lithe frames and narrow faces were joined by long, pointed ears... Elves? What were Elves doing on this continent? He could see how they reached this land, presumably by boat, but why bother?

"What even-" he started, pausing as he heard Hikari repeating the words of these Elves. His eyes widened over the course of a chain-reaction in his mind, linking segments of each statement together toward a single clause. "Creatures, specimen, bard not good enough, scrapped idea, scrapped idea... scrap. Human scrapyard. Break it down, piece it back... Fuck! They're using the Human Mystic Code to create Chimera. The code accepts every race, every species, every attribute that can be made. Get a strong enough human specimen, and you could make an A-Class monster like it's nothing. Time to move," he said. Even if Jaskier was nothing more than a bard, he could make a very powerful Chimera. What's more, if they were already in possession of another... Things could turn sour rather quickly. As such, Kou leaped over the hay bail right away, loosing his sword as if it were a javelin toward the torso of a single elf in the group. He may have been undoing his own invisibility shroud to do so, but he felt it necessary to make a point right away. "Oi. Where's the bard?"

[Apollymi]

"Naw, it just means they won't see the betrayal coming," she said of vows of servitude and all else. If she really wanted to do something so sketchy, she likely would have just created another Avatar not sworn to anyone and used it to deliver the killing blow she sought in such a situation. That being said, she wasn't that type of person at all, most times. Their speech patterns and looks were being identified from the current distance apparently this group of raiders were 'Elves'. That was an annoying thought to Hikari as Elves were definitely post main story content, this was going to be a tough battle.

Beyond the particular aspects of battle, her brother figured out their plan pretty easily. He moved to stop them, stripping himself of his hidden cover before Hikari could voice her opinion on it. "Wait, but... Baka-nii!" she exclaimed but as he was already moving she'd decided to do the same. 'You're a prime target for that sort of thing, then you go and show yourself like a fucking Nerd with a Hero Complex...' she thought to herself. Actually, that was pretty good, she'd need to remind herself to use that one later... Whatever the case, she remained hidden. She would instead move about the group waiting for the chance to sneak attack someone or spot and free Jaskier.

In the meantime, Kou's sword was launched into the gut of a single Elf, who was so surprised to be attacked he'd not moved out of the way of it. He looked down at the sword sticking out from his gut and gave an outraged cry. "You dare attack me?!" This one was lithe, with pointy ears and golden blonde hair. His eyes wide apart and a piercing shade of gold as if the sun bloomed within them. "Attack? If you let lowly scum attack you... you deserve to die!" These were the words of someone apparently a bit higher on the ranking scale in Elf Society who present used magic to blow a larger hole in the abdomen of the injured Elf and aiming to send Kou's sword rocketing back towards the hay bale at his feet. "The Bard is ours... as you will be. You seem to be of better stock than him. You'll make a decent creature together!! But I truly detest dirtying my hands with human scum..." said the same man with snobbish disgust in his visage. He had eyes like lavender which shown even in the darkness with an eerie glow. He whistled gently, magic rippling across the breeze and bringing down from the skies, a creature which looked a bit like a horned and hoofed griffon. It's front legs hoofed its back legs clawed, with a head like a majestic eagle. "When he's received proper punishment for his insolence, grab him too!" proclaimed this man as he stood off to the side completely unafraid of the goings on.

[Bloodedge]

Of course... there was no answer to his question. He knew he'd become a target of the Elves' plan immediately, but he also knew he would actually be of little use to them at all. That is, unless they happened to have developed enough to be capable of splicing Witchers. More to the point of ongoing things, was the matter of the first Elf falling to his blade. Even with a sword through his abdomen, he spoke with undue arrogance, much like the higher-ranking Elf who went on to... do exactly what Kou didn't want at all. "Fuckin' stop..." he said with a mighty sigh. Damn. This was going to be quite an annoyance, but... where was Jaskier?

Disregarding the exact location of the bard, Kou decided to address the mightier of the Elves. How he did so was, oddly, a simple mockery. "Nah, I'm bad stock. My stonks are high as fuck, though," he quipped. The sword returned his way was met not by a normal magic associated with the Avatar Kou, but instead with an odd hand sign applied to the hay bail beneath him. It was a Witcher Sign, called Yrden, with the ability to slow time within a radius of himself. The sword's return was nearly at a halt, stranding it in midair to be grabbed by Kou. "You're a real piece of shit if you bring an entire small army of Elves, and a Chimera. Fine, fine. Bring it on."

[Apollymi]

"Stop? He was a weakling... I refuse to tolerate anything less than excellence. He knew this when he came here to work for me. He was always expendable. Admittedly, less expendable than humans but expendable nonetheless," said the high tier Elf. "Besides, he was a little Dark Elf Halfling, I should have known he would come up... lacking." the man seemed to exude the arrogance of Old. Old Breeding, Old Money, the Old Hierarchy. Whatever the case, the boy's magic was at least interesting to see in action, this man found his speech strange. "I will not entertain this nonsense" He uttered in a commanding and condescending tone, clearly not getting the reference. "Human speech barely counts as speech to start with, don't muddle it further..." the man said, clearly not getting the joke. Hikari on the other hand, was giggling hysterically still under the cover of her magic. Where the hell was Jaskier? Well, he was being dragged up by a group of scouts, ready to begin moving him, they loaded him into a nearby cart as they'd been ordered to before. "Please! Do what you want to me, but careful with that lute it is my life!" the man said seemingly distraught. A swift kick was aimed at his face and spun around on one foot to also trash the entire lute in the same moment. The situation was dire, and Jaskier lost a bit of the light in his eyes. "That is good, bugs should scuttle about the world. Grovel on their knees or sit silently and wallow in their squalid filth." This leader was deranged at best.

The last of the words Kou made this Elf look at him with just a raised brow. Did he think him bad for bringing with him a small army? Did he think he brought this creature with him, well he supposed that was par for the course. "I had high hopes, but it appears you are only human..." he said seemingly disappointed by the lad's logic. "I brought a small set of hands with me, it isn't like I intend to dirty myself with something as menial as collections. I don't like dirtying my hands with you scuttling little insects. As for the Chimera... well, he was made here. And many more like him if humans ever looked out for their neighbors. It is quite a shame, I heard human communities were full of hovels and closeness, but we landed here, where so few want to lend a hand..." his words sounded like a sinister speech from a villain but that was par for the course in this world. "That poor farmer must think himself wretched for having so many go missing around him..." he said with a wicked smirk. "I even took the youngest of his off-spring, but that brought too much of a search, I learned from that experience. Made my footwork more complicated, my plan harder to follow. He still doesn't even know how many people we've taken that he's hired to help him, BWAHAHahahahahaha!" Maniacal laughter escaped him. Humans were hilarious groveling stupid creatures, barely with the thought to be more than cattle. They couldn't complain. They wouldn't escape. All the while the Chimera was approaching the lad, flying forward aiming a swift beak downward to his face as if it intended to peck his eyes out. It was still an animal after all.

[Bloodedge]

Kou stared endlessly at this troublesome Elf, his brow twitching as the Sign he'd cast faded. At the very least, Jaskier's location was finally discovered. What a shame, the bard intended to write a song based on this adventure, and his lute was crushed in the same movement that struck his face. During this time, Kou merely continued seething over the Elf and his disgusting beliefs. Kou himself did not enjoy cooperating with others, but even he could never sink so low. "Kisama..."

Only human, the Elf called him. At this point, Kou wasn't actually sure how much humanity was left in this form. Something was very off about the Elf, though. Elves were normally pompous, bigoted individuals, but this one was something well beyond. Even the high society of Elf-kind refrained from absolute abandonment of their fellow Elves. They may have shunned their less-skillful citizens, but even those Elves were capable of proving themselves useful. "Alright. Guess I'm killing you today. Being a general piece of shit, using kids for your fucked up practices, and not even getting my memes? You've gotta go, bub." It seems he could retain a bit of his joking side. Perhaps the Grasses made this scene just a bit less irksome, partially due to the recency of the transformation.

Whatever the case, there was an encroaching Chimera that needed to be dealt with. Kou imagined the Elf leader was going to be a much bigger threat, so he dared not waste too much time on the servile beast. His reflexes felt... good; incredibly so. The coming beak was evaded with a step to the right, and an accompanying counterclockwise turn while Kou used a different Sign to trigger a telekinetic thrust from his left hand. That wasn't all, though. "Trace on," he chanted to make use of his most versatile and powerful skill, albeit in a lighter form than he'd used previously. This usage created a single long sword in the air above the Chimera, sending it down toward the beast's beak, wherever it happened to be after his most recent Sign application.

[Apollymi]

As Kou continued to assess the situation, the showing of Jaskier gave Hikari an actual job to do. She was working towards making her way over to him, when his lute was broken and the Lone Elf Scout who acted in this way would be handled pretty quickly. She rather easily used her, First Light technique to cast a large ball of light directly in front of this creatures eyes. As it was blinded she used her weapon to swipe his legs out from under him and as he fell, she slammed the hilt of her sword against his prominent brow, rendering him unconscious. She'd become visible but that part didn't really matter, with the immediate threat around her dealt with, she cut Jaskier free of his bindings. "Eh, you wanted an adventure, you can't go all sad eyed now," she mentioned hastily. He seemed to see the lass in a new light as she encouraged him so gently. He'd fallen for her, just like every other male she seemed to have dealings with, such a kind heart Hikari had in the man's eyes. "For you, I can try this..." he said softly. "Iie, not for me... do it for you. Can't have you spaced out, what if he does something bad ass, you need to include in your song?" she said of her brother. Jaskier looked confused, without his Lute he couldn't properly compose a song. But she still had hope, how could he do anything but place his faith in this lad and his abilities. With Jaskier in tow, Kou could fight with relative peace and they would disappear under her First Hiding spell once more.

"Killing me? You presume you have the power? BWAHAHAHAHA~ the nerve," the Elf said once more. It seemed that he was quite powerful and pompous. He still had at least minor faith in his servile creatures, or at least he would have. If another of his Elves hadn't been felled by a little raccoon girl and the creature he'd sent to maim Kou had been knocked back by magic only to have a weapon slammed into it from above by the lad. It met its beak right where it was near his face pinning it to the ground. It couldn't move and couldn't even open its mouth to caw properly. "I'm surrounded by idiots. Fine I could always employ you, since everyone seems so useless by comparison. Before I dirty my hands with you insects, become my hands so, that I don't have to exert myself..." this was an offer of employment? This Elf was capable of combat did this kind of speech work on others? Obviously, he had a whole army behind him. An army which was being picked off scout by scout by the magically inclined scamp of a Demi-Human. And Jaskier was safely hidden away.

[Bloodedge]

While the Elf busied himself with his own arrogance, Kou was able to witness the freeing of Jaskier. Good; he didn't have to worry about a movie-style hostage scene from that moment on. He'd managed to at least subdue the Chimera for the time being, so he could focus fully. If the Elf wasn't repulsive enough, he had the gall to carry out his little recruitment effort, all to bring the Adventurers under his wing and avoid having to dirty his own hands. Kou sucked his teeth, and clicked his tongue. There were so many things wrong with this Elf, he couldn't even begin to count them. "You don't get it, huh?" he questioned. The pieces were falling together, forming a complete image of why he had to eliminate this Elf as soon as possible. "Alright, pointy-ears. Either we're fighting right now, or I'm doing something I don't really wanna do to wipe you out. Which one's it gonna be?"

[Apollymi]

If Kou thought this Elf repulsive, it was about to get much worse. At his refusal to join up, and his proclamation that he'd either put up a fight or he'd be wiped out by some form of attack that the lad didn't really want to do. "Ugh, all of you are so foolish... it's truly an annoying aspect of your species," the Elf mentioned. Once lavender eyes began to glow a demonic orange with red rings forming around their outer edges. Atop his forehead, two horns sprouted from within his very skull, curving outwards and seeming to glow light orange with power. Each finger on his hand, became like a claw with strange scaling and as he moved, the clipping sound of hooves could be heard, but only for an instant. This man would move at a speed incomprehensible to many and find himself directly in front of Kou. He had made himself out to be a magician of some sort, but here and now, it would seem his power was physical. He aimed a concise kick directly at the center of Kou's body by flipping himself onto his clawed hands, his back bent over in an arch and kicking outward with enough force to break bones and send the young man reeling. "I might still be in a forgiving mood... surrender or perish?" There was an evil power radiating off this man, as if his very existence was meant to coerce others into doing what he wished. Such a power is how he gathered his followers and a gentle demonstration of his power compared to others was usually enough, though he detested such physical violence, perhaps humans required firmer hands than the Elves he normally recruited.

[Bloodedge]

"Well, it's good to know that. I'm not even sure what species I classify as anymore, so it's good you could tell me something about them," Kou quipped with a flippant wave of his left hand. It became apparent that a fight would be taking place, and one hell of a fight at that, as the Elf began to take on a new form so clearly influenced by demonic energy. Kou scoffed externally, even though he wanted to do nothing more than sigh. "Fucking. Knew it. Ugh..."

Before he could say or think another thing, The demonic Elf quickly encroached upon him with an immediate strike. First, Kou saw the Elf in front of him, and then... he saw that same visage gaining distance. He was flying back from the demonic being, and he'd yet to even feel the causing blow's impact yet. By the time he even felt the pain of a shattered rib cage in his chest, he was... inside the wall of the farmhouse, quite far from his starting location. He coughed, and blood spewed from his mouth. This wasn't good at all, but he managed to begin pulling himself from the wall rubble. "Ugh- Fuck!"

Surrender, or perish; these were the options he was being given? How ludicrous. He wouldn't give this Elf the time of day, much less his submission. It was already seeming like he wouldn't be able to rely solely on his Witcher abilities in this fight; a Demonoid in the making was far too powerful for that to be alright... he thought. Maybe there was a way, but he definitely had to do everything possible. He'd start right away by conjuring another sword in his left hand, and six more that floated behind him. These new blades seemed to have been made with silver's qualities in mind, as opposed to the usual steel-like structures he conjured. It took a bit more of him mana-wise, but he had it to spare. "Option three: You go fuck yourself."

[Apollymi]

"You think you're clever don't you?" asked the Elf who was now giving off all the vibes of a demon.He stood straighter as the lad went flying away from him and let out something akin to a giggle. All the while Hikari watched with wide eyes. 'Damn that looks like it hurt... should have dodged!' she thought with a bit of a snicker. She figured he'd be fine, advanced healing and the like being what it was. It seemed the human had a bit more of a physical resistance than the Elf thought, he eventually managed to stand and even reply to the options he was presented. "Ugh, vulgar little human..." said the Elf who watched as he created a great number of weapons. "Hoh?! Is that meant to intimidate me, weapons made by human hands aren't useful against me..." he proclaimed, he moved forward once again, this time aiming to ram the lad directly shoving his horned head towards the lad's torso, aiming to further batter him while causing himself no physical strain. "If you won't be controlled, you'll be culled."

All the while Jaskier watched with wide eyes. There was much to be taken in here, he'd been inspired... oh if only his lute wasn't currently in pieces. Imagining the epic he could have written brought a tear to the blue haired lad's eye. This white haired lad's antics were definitely worthy of a good song, worthy to be told.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah... kinda." Oh, this was going to be rough. From a single injury, Kou could hardly bring himself to move very far. This was likely the greatest shame; his maneuverability was one of his best assets as a Saber. Alas... he wasn't just a Saber. The demonic Elf would pay dearly for judging his weapons as mere human constructs. The blades he used here were crafted as if they were segments of his very soul, each potentially carrying any qualities his Mana could produce. His newfound physiology allowed him to easily upgrade all of his tools to Silver, and he knew the innate magical properties of silver alone would make them at least somewhat effective. When the Elf came his way again, he was more mentally prepared to deal with the speed. Physically though, he was lacking. His right arm rose, only to fail at any attempted parry, instead taking the horns that would have otherwise encountered his chest. He was fortunate enough to have his arm caught between the horns instead of being pierced, though the Elf's horns seemed rigid enough to be tearing up the skin of Kou's arm regardless. The six hovering blades moved as Kou aimed to fend off the Elf, each aiming to pierce the demonic being's torso from either side. "Fucking... ugh! Guess there's no talking to this thing!" he groaned, expending energy via his Mana Burst skill to unleash it from his body as something akin to concussive force, even a form of barrier.

[Apollymi]

This young man had felt that initial hit well into his being. His speed was greatly reduced but his reflexes were good enough to avoid getting gored by the charging Demonoid Elf. Even so, there was still damage taking place and as such the Elf felt vidicated. He was even managing this without touching the lad, thus keeping his dignity as a higher tier being, at least in his own eyes. He absolutely had no fear of the weapons created by the lad, this would likely prove to be problematic, as he made no moves to stop them from penetrating his skin on the sides. As Kou groaned through his reply about not being able to reason with the Elf Creature, it screamed, before being pushed back by a burst of mana. "Ugh! It burns!!" he seemed to be having a bad reaction to the amount of silver within these weapons. Humans couldn't make weapons out of precious metals, how was he being treated in this way? His body was tossed back a great deal and as he sat up, he began plucking weapons from his person, the skin on his hands sizzling. "I..." he started. "Have changed my mind..." he claimed seemingly distraught as he pulled another blade from his person feeling the pain of it in his hands. "I'm going to rip you asunder!"

He charged forward once more, meeting the barrier like form of the Mana Burst, doing so his hand dripped with purple energy which seemed to be devouring through magic. His plan to eat through this lesser magic and then straight through the lad himself, clawing at his neck intending to deeply leave into it. He didn't intend to give him more time to create weapons. Nor did he wish to let him live anymore. He supposed a live specimen wasn't absolutely necessary after all, he could just use a few pieces... maybe his head?

[Bloodedge]

It seemed to be a working approach to use his new blades against the demonic Elf, who thought them to be simple constructs created by humans. Kou imagined this Elf knew little to nothing about Witchers; he continued addressing Kou as a human in spite of the Signs he used. In that case, he had no reason to believe there was anything to harm him. Lucky for Kou. After being granted a bit of reprieve, he was raring to go again. It seemed the Elf was hellbent on tearing him down, or even apart after the apparent atrocity committed against him. Kou's Mana Burst was soon pressed against with a degrating, opposing energy produced by the Elf. He had a brief moment of time, and that was all he needed.

It wasn't his intention to create more blades, but instead to use what he already had... or in this case, what the Elf attempted to use against him. "Furukauntaa," he chanted as his Magisteel blade rose toward the Elf's claws. The ability his opponent used seemed to equate to magic, and if it did, Kou's blade would return it through the Elf's arm at double its original force. If he failed or miscalculated, he'd simply be sacrificing more of his arm. Whether he met success or failure, though, his recently-freed left hand began accumulating a glowing, magical dust-like substance that he pressed against his chest.

[Apollymi]

Was the purple energy coming out of the Elf Demonoid's hand magic? Yes. Did he know anything about Witchers? No. Why would he bother, learning about what creatures so insignificant as humans did with their meager short existences? They were bugs scuttling about on the lower levels of creation, crawling on their bellies for any spare morsel they could grab. They were nothing. Mere tools, no, they were not even tools. Tools had uses, they were pawns. Nothing more than sacrificial pieces of garbage to use as he saw fit. So, he was nothing if not surprised, when this lad had something more to offer than normal weaponry. He was stunned with his usage of magic to reflect him, and as he aimed to claw him asunder with magic and physical force, he was not prepared. There was no defense prepared and none he could have erected. Full Counter, what did that even mean? Well, he was soon let know, was all the magical force he was going to use to rip this lad's head from his torso, was directed up his arms. They were sheared from his very shoulders the extra pressure spreading across his torso after there was no where else for it to go. His body flew backwards and he looked up at the sky. He was dying? Being killed by an insignificant little human over a bard and some farm animals. "Ugh!" blood spurted from his mouth as he tried to speak, and the demonic presence within his person screamed, trying to force his body into movement, trying to tear him apart, lest he be carried into death with this body he possessed. But alas, it'd all happened too soon. The convulsions continued for a moment or two and then... he was nothing more.

"That was pretty bad ass! Nice job, Nii-san!" the Demi-human girl said. She and Jaskier were now visible again, both had watched this epic unfold and both were more than satisfied with the outcome of it. "Thank you, thank you... you saved my life!" Jaskier proclaimed as he moved forward to his now broken lute. There was obviously nothing which could be done about this. He'd need another, though he had no way of making the money necessary to replace it. He looked at the broken bits of wood and string with much sadness in his heart.

[Bloodedge]

Kou was wheezing, but luckily, his strategy paid off to end the demon spawn in Elven form. The blood trickling down the Witcher's chin was beginning to thin in flow. The dust from his left hand was Fairy Magic, which he used to gradually heal his injuries at high cost to his Mana reserves. It was a slow-going process, but it helped him return his breathing to a more normal rate now that the adrenaline of combat was beginning to wear off. Some Elves remained in the surrounding area, and they needed to be dealt with accordingly... yet, considering how their leader had been...

"Two options for the rest of you: Leave or die. You're from a sect on that mountain to the north, right? Go. Be smart about it." This was his only command. If they acquiesced, he would have no qualms with them. Either way, he returned to Hikari and the bard, Jaskier. "It's cool. One of you wouldn't happen to have a heal on you, would you? I don't think this dust is gonna do the trick the way I'd like." As he spoke, Kou looked upon the broken lute of Jaskier. It was a shame; he'd been taken, beaten, and even lost what was obviously his only method of making it in this world. If he had the time... Kou could do something about this. "Oi... bring that lute with you when we're done with the farmer."

[Apollymi]

After the fight with the Demonoid Elf, his underlings already beaten up quite a bit by Hikari, they all looked at each other. This boy, this human child had killed their leader. They should have been furious and fought to the death but, in all honesty they knew he wasn't a good person. It was especially good fortune for him that he was dead. Beyond this, they'd gathered quite a bit of information about the people in this part of the world. There was no need to continue any further and many objected to the experiments performed in front of them. They all got up and began running for the shore, back to their boat, and away from this horrid situation. "Damn they turned tail pretty quickly," Hikari mentioned with a chuckle. Her brother now joining them and obviously using his own abilities to try and heal himself albeit at a very slow rate.

"I am sorry. I don't possess those kinds of abilities. And I barely get by just living here..." said Jaskier unable to help with the lads injuries. "Yare yare, you got all of that cool fighting ability and that is the best you got for healing? You were out here taking all the hits... damn it man, DODGE!" she exclaimed. Still she didn't like seeing her brother hurt and though she was a bit shy on healing magic herself she'd had a few interesting conversations with Miki while they were alone together and had gotten a certain set of items off her. "Sit down. Jeez, you're lucky ya' know. Miki-nee is pretty thoughtful about stuff... she gave me these for setting up camp when we are separated or in case anyone got hurt with no potions," she said, as she held her finger up to the wind and got her bearings straight in her own mind. She pulled from within her pocket a small collection of smooth stones with flat bottoms like the ones found in Atlantis. Only these, were strangely carved with runes. Four of them to be precise each with a different one. She placed them on the ground around both Kou and Jaskier, at the proper alignment with cardinal directions and they would find it produced a bounded field. One which protected those within, increased all their regenerative abilities (including their physical and mana reserves) and was a reinforced barrier in case of sneak attack. Jaskier immediately felt the healing being as the swelling in his eye and jaw decreased he was able to see better and began picking up the pieces of his lute as instructed, from within the confines of this barrier. "Now just sit still until you feel better!" said his younger sister who was now taking care of him in a way that she was usually taken care of before. She felt strangely accomplished in the moment though she hadn't much to do with the situation to start with.

[Bloodedge]

"Fuck," Kou said the moment he gained confirmation that neither of his companions had healing abilities. He supposed he'd have to take the slow approach to repairing himself, even waiting for his Mana to return somewhere in the middle. He hadn't realized how much he relied on Miki as a teammate, nor how easily he had become reliant on others in general. It was... strange.

Alas, it seemed Miki continued to be useful for team composition, even while away. Hikari presented stones engraved with Runes, offering a bounded field of both defense, and health and mana regeneration over time. Kou seated himself, clicking his tongue upon hearing Hikari's chastising. "Yeah yeah, dodging just sounds so easy when you're not the one fighting Akuma that move at the speed of fuck you!" he countered, wincing as his voice reached too great an elevation. He'd be still as the healing took place, letting his Fairy Dust dissipate in due time. "Alright... The farmer and his family should be back in the morning. I don't remember him saying anything, but I guess they won't mind if we crash in their house. Though... I did kinda crash through the house. That might suck-"

[Apollymi]

Hikari noticed that since his waking, her brother had been using a singular swear much more than he did before. While she didn't care about this at all, it was an interesting change in demeanor. Beyond this, it seemed her brother hadn't taken many skills for healing himself, which she'd already noted. She just found it strange though, because for someone who didn't really depend on anyone for anything, it seemed that his current set up, aligned a bit better with having Miki in the vicinity. 'Ugh, I bet he didn't even realize he'd done it. He didn't just meet someone he could potentially match with romantically, but someone he could actually depend on to do their part,' the girl thought scoffing. She immediately became angry again that he'd seemed so against trying to pursue the other lass properly. "Calm down. I am just saying you are a bit lazy on the footwork. Be stunned about what you're seeing later, Nerd. Move the fuck outta the way when a creature with hooves and horns is charging at ya'..." she offered in her typical almost teasing fashion. It seemed that Jaskier was doing alright now and had the pieces of his broken lute together within the confines of its lower shell. "Yeah, they won't mind at all. They are pretty decent people, aside from the farmer not being easy to get along with. Considering the trouble he could have gotten into, he probably wouldn't mind sharing even his broken up house with you," said Jaskier. All the lad wanted to do was write his song. He had an idea for it in his head, but he needed the instrument. Instead he'd focus on healing up and then wait to see what came of his current situation.

Whenever the healing was finished, Hikari would go and collect her stones in the order she'd put them down in. Miki's instructions about them had been pretty specific so that they wouldn't need extra energy to start up they simply had to be aligned with the cardinal directions. They'd use natural energy created by a circuit to run and this wouldn't need to be jump started or anything of the sort. It was an oddly novel use of magic when Hikari thought about it. Whatever the case, she pocketed the objects and leaned back with her arms behind her head. "Alright, so we crash for the night and meet the farmer in the morning?" she said being clear on the plan. With that she headed over to the farm house to inspect the damage and find a place to fall in for the night.

[Bloodedge]

"Yes, I'll just move out of the way of something that can hit me before I see it coming! All my problems are solved! URUSAI!" he snarled. Sure, Hikari's advice was good from an objective standpoint, but it simply hadn't been possible. At the very least, the healing barrier seemed to have already patched him up well enough for his lungs to support yelling. Once it was all over, he rose and looked toward the farmhouse. The general consensus seemed to be that the farmer and his family would be fine with their stay for the night, so, off he went into the building. He'd eventually find an open space against a wall to fall asleep sitting in, not wanting to intrude upon any of the family's beds. It was uncomfortable, sure, but it ensured that he was awake bright and early to await the family's return. The... draft coming from the hole in the wall helped a bit, as well. He had a plan for that too. A few stretches, a few joint pops, and he was ready to step outside and await the farmer's return.

[Apollymi]

"Well look at you, feeling all better~" the lass teased once more. She had to admit, that Miki's use of Rune Magic was well beyond useful for general wellness. She'd make sure to thank the older lass for helping out even when she was gone. Soon after they all settled for the night in the open house of the farmer. Jaskier couldn't sleep too well and spent the night slumped over their kitchen table trying to write his next epic. Hikari cuddled herself up on a chair with her head leaned back against a wall and Kou slept sitting against a wall. The next morning when Kou awoke Hikari did as well, though not for any good reason. "Jeez, next time I am going to find a bed. Or sleep in the woods on some leaves or... I don't know something..." she grumbled her back hurting from the strange position she'd contorted into. Jaskier opened his mouth muttering about a lyric as he awoke soon after everyone else. "Toss...a... coin...." he mumbled. "Yes!" and then he went about framing whatever thoughts he had in his mind.

The farmer walked upon his farm with wide eyes. Seeing the place with a large hole in one side was a bit astounding. Even so, he was very happy he and his family had left for the night. "I take it the jobs done?" he asked with his head leaning to the side inspecting the damage.

[Bloodedge]

Ah, the farmer at last! Kou was prepared to meet the portly male, though it was clear he took immediate notice of the hole in his house. Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, Kou cleared his throat. "Yeah─" he said. The job had been done, but at what he imagined was not a low cost at all. "You had a sort of... Elf problem. It wasn't your livestock they were after, either. They were doing all that stuff to you, just so they could bait out anybody you hired to take care of the monsters you thought you were dealing with. One of them might have been... kind of a demon. Not important. Job's done now." Deciding to spare the finer details to the farmer, he sighed. He could only hope letting the straggler Elves go free would not come back to bite him in some way, but for the moment, all was fine in this valley. "Anything else you need a Witcher for, or are we good here?"

[Apollymi]

The lad known as Kou explained to the farmer what had been taking place around his residence. He was shocked by this. Who could have assumed that asking people for help would end in their untimely demise? And what would Elves possibly want with lowly humans anyways? It seemed like exactly the sort of thing a man of humble means like himself should have been able to avoid. "Well, I guess there isn't much to be done about any of that... I don't think I need anything else. I'll be sure to put in a good word if I ever hear anything else about ya'. Thanks..." he said holding out the remaining 4 of the silvers from the gold he'd offered the lad for the job. He'd taken what was necessary for his family to get food and shelter the previous night. He wasn't truly bothered about the damage to his house, it could easily be fixed up, now that they wouldn't be having any more problems. "For a job well done..." he said to the lad allowing him to take what was left from his hand. Whenever this exchange was done he'd move right along, he had work to get back to.

Hikari and Jaskier just watched, with the latter holding his still broken Lute. There wasn't much he could do, but he was glad the old man kept his word at least.

[Bloodedge]

It seemed the farmer wasn't too worried about the state of his house. He had every reason to follow this train of thought; his farm was now as safe as it could be. Kou was to be paid, a sizable four silver coins at that. In a reasonable economy, he knew the price of a night's stay at an inn was a single silver. Four total pieces had bought this family a room, one or two meals, and a bit of insurance to restore the farm's quality? It made sense. When they entered, there was a sign welcoming travelers to 'Luxury Valley' as it was called. Of course, luxury was the key word here. Everything he'd heard about in the area thus far had been ridiculously expensive. Perhaps that was why the farmer initially offered him a gold piece for the job, but... this farmhouse was so poor.

"Right, my pay. Damn shame you spent it all," he said, his eyes traveling to the farm's crops. It had to be tough, running a farm of all things in an area like this. The house repair alone might take most of what Kou was offered. "Guess we'll just have to take a meal for the road. That, having a house to sleep in last night... I guess it'll have to do. Make it a hearty meal, yeah?"

[Apollymi]

The farmer looked very confused for several moments. "But I..." he looked at the lad, then back at his house. The words about the meal was something which made his eyes widen quite a bit. This was a very rich area, and everything was about trade and costed a great deal. Even so, this lad was willing to exchange his work and near-death experience just for a meal and the fact that he stayed in a house with a hole in it the previous night. "Thank you... truly..." he said happily he looked back to his wife who had all the children running around behind him. "Woman, you heard the man. We're cooking for an extra three! Let's make it something good." he said with excitement in his tone. "Alright... I'll get right to it," she said heading past the group.

A hour later and the group at large was being presented with a large meal. It included fresh baked bread, roasted lamb and several different veggies. The wife of his farmer was quite the cook and each of her children had a plate as well all of them settling down around the house to eat and speak with each other. "Here you are. I hope you enjoy it. And take as much as you like..." she mentioned to this group of adventurers. They'd done a lot for her and her husband and had done it basically for free. A well cooked meal was the least she could offer them before they left her.

[Bloodedge]

"No clue what you're talking about," Kou said, closing his eyes and turning his head from the farmer. He wouldn't further acknowledge the man's words of thanks, instead only taking the offering of food the lady of this house would provide. One hour later, he'd finally have a decent meal set before him. It... still wasn't a burger, but there was something sorely missed about a home-cooked meal. The warmth of it all, the weight of the plate itself. This was no simple tavern food; there was far greater substance to it. Kou stared down his plate with a grin, snatching up a chunk of lamb with a single word of offering. "Itadakimasu~" he chanted before his teeth tore into the lamb. Several chews and swallows later, he was looking across the table at Jaskier.

"So? Did you get the song you were hunting for? Don't make me look like a loser for taking all that damage─"

[Apollymi]

As the group settled down to have a home cooked meal, Hikari managed to eat very quietly. It'd been a while since she'd had such a meal herself. She enjoyed the look of this family as well for a couple of different reasons. With that in mind, she was sitting with the children having chats with them and making grand gestures. This was her way, after all.

Jaskier looked up from the meal he was enjoying with wide eyes. "Of course, I got it. And I wouldn't make you look bad. I think I have the right song that encompasses the whole of the adventure... whenever I get a new Lute. I'll make sure to play it for you," he said, offering reassurance that he didn't intend to make the man look bad given his noble actions. "Actually, I should thank you properly, I think it might be one of the best songs I've ever written... it's the right amount of catchy and exciting..." he said with a bit of confidence. He would eventually be able to play the song of the lad's adventures for him. And he'd make sure that everyone understood the greatness that was Kou.

[Bloodedge]

Everyone had won, apparently. The Adventurers had accomplished their mission, Jaskier had created his song, and the farmer's family could go about their normal lives unhindered again. The only loss was of Jaskier's lute, but Kou had a plan for that. First though, came the meal in front of them. They'd eat, they'd talk, they'd have a general good experience with the farmer and his family before moving on, out into the valley during the afternoon.

This brief journey led the trio into the same tavern they began in, where Kou sat at a table with Jaskier's fragmented lute laid out as if he intended to reassemble it. With the ring of his craft on his finger, he did indeed work his Mana to slip the pieces back together, along with a lump of bronze he'd been carrying around since his craftsman training. As the segments pieced themselves together and drew from the bronze while taking on the metal's unique magical properties, Kou spoke for the first time since the process began. "Jaskier, you're not planning on staying in this expensive town forever, right? What's your plan?"

[Apollymi]

They had their food, enjoyed their meal and even managed to have a nice experience within the farmer's home with his children and wife. And when it was all said and done the three adventurers headed back to the tavern they'd started this journey in. At a table the lad known as Jaskier watched in awe as Kou began the process of repairing his lute. He apparently used magic, metal and a great deal of skill, but still managed to ask the blue haired lad about his plans. "Oh? Well... I don't really know. To be honest I ended up out here fleeing a particularly ominous situation in one of the mountain Kingdoms," he said not being too specific about what he'd done exactly. "I just ended up going broke out here without much combat potential..." he finished up with the smallest of upturns coming to his list. "To be honest, I just wanted to be the most famous bard in existence... sing songs I could be proud of," he mentioned. "You're setting me well on my way to that, actually..." the lad said. But in truth, he could use more experiences to sing about and would absolutely love to get away from the expensive living of the area he'd ended up in.

Hikari at the same time sat to the side. She was wondering what this bard would do with himself. He seemed like the kind of lad who'd get himself into trouble if left on his own for too long. Perhaps her brother thought something similar. She managed to look upon him with a bit of softness, and respected him just a little. In the face of something which was quite frightening he hadn't run nor completely given up hope. A bit of grit had to account for something in a world like this.

[Bloodedge]

A bit of tinkering here, a bit of adjusting there, and the lute was beginning to take on a slightly new shape as pieces connected by bronze. Jaskier told his tale. Kou didn't need to look at Jaskier's information; he knew this lad was from their world based solely on the decisions he made, and how out of place this Avatar was in Luxury Valley. He wasn't simply some gateway into another quest-line, or anything. With this in mind, he had something interesting to say about the information Jaskier... conveniently left out of his tale about running away.

"Hope she was worth it," he said. "It's good you're on your way and all, but you might want to consider making better choices. You're not in any sort of Guild, are you? You don't seem like you belong to the Bards' College or anything, so─" His sentence trailed off, as an azure glow encompassed the lute before closing in on it. The craft was complete, and he'd reconstructed the instrument as an Artifact. "Here. It's a bit different to what you had, but there was no saving that damage. Take this, and an offer to be on a Holy Knight's Cavalry."

[Apollymi]

A bit of bashfulness came from the bard, as it seemed his vague explanation was understood completely by the lad known as Kou. "Well, of course... I am just a man after all," said Jaskier. He rather obviously loved women and would flirt uncontrollably and playing music meant that he got a level of affection out of women that most did not. Beyond that, he was from their home world, which meant he had a more modern understanding of music, which would only become more obvious once he could actually play again. Beyond this, it was stated by Kou that he thought the young bard should make better choices and he came to some rather... succinct conclusions about the lad's current affiliations. Jaskier was soon presented two things of great value to him. His lute restored well beyond what it had been previously and an offer to join this lad's Holy Knight Calvary. "But this is... it's..." he gave a serious bit of pause looking at his reconstructed instrument. "This is legendary quality. I... really don't know what to say," the boy said seemingly both excited and unsure of how to accept such a gift. "I really don't have much fighting potential, but I am willing to learn and help with group composition if you'll have me..." he said. It was quite true, that he'd gotten really caught up in a single aspect of game play and as such hadn't developed or learned any skills that could be considered useful. "Before that though... you should hear," he said calmly. He'd finally done it. He began running his fingers over the lutes strings, he found them to be perfectly in pitch already. He began to strum gently the music drifting across the loud tavern and beginning to lull the locals into quiet to hear what new drivel the lad had come up with.

"When a humble bard♪
Graced a ride along♪
With Kou of Kaer Morhen♪
Along came this song♪~"

There was a quiet rumble as if they'd never really heard a song which sounded as such. Whatever the case, it seemed as if this bard had been on an actual adventure, thus even his normal hecklers managed to be quiet enough to at least hear out his tale.

"When the White Wolf fought♪
A silver tongued devil♪
His army of elves♪
At his hooves did they revel♪~"

What kind of adventure had this lad been on. The White Wolf was the lad at the table, but a silver tongued Devil here? That was madness surely, but all were quiet. Lulled by the soft tune of the now legendary lute and entranced by the gentle pull of its strings.

"They came after me♪
With masterful deceit♪
Broke down my lute♪
And they kicked in my teeth♪
While the devil's horns♪
Minced our tender meat♪
And so cried the Witcher♪
He can't be bleat♪~~~~~"

[Bloodedge]

"Don't say anything, then. Nod, or shake. It's really easy," Kou quipped while exhaling a deep breath. Indeed, the lute had been reconstructed with legendary traits. Kou now found it much easier to craft Artifacts, considering his body had become more capable of using a greater quantity and quality of his Mana. He could easily create legendary Artifacts of this tier, at least. Moving on, Jaskier chose to accept the offer in a roundabout way. First, however, he had a desire to play the song he'd written. Kou said nothing, merely leaning back in his chair to watch as Jaskier strummed and gained the attention of tavern-goers. As a point of inspiration for the song, Kou listened intently. He was quite surprised this bard was actually... good. Of course, in this world, bards were story-tellers, as opposed to what one could expect of music where they came from. This was clearly the issue Jaskier had been having up to this point. Now, though, it seemed he was garnering a great deal of attention with... a very interestingly entertaining song.

[Apollymi]

The strumming continued. He'd been told to shake or nod, but he needed to know this lad was actually alright with the song he'd created before he allowed himself the luxury of joining him permanently. He wouldn't want to be annoying to the man if he could avoid it, especially not after he'd done so much for him already. With this in mind his song continued through strums of his instrument and the musings of his rather mellow voice.

"Toss a coin to your Witcher♪
Oh, valley of plenty♪~
Oh, valley of plenty, oh♪~~
Toss a coin to your Witcher♪
Oh, valley of plenty♪~"

It was a rather straightforward hook. Aiming to say that the Witcher deserved his pay for the thoroughly good job he'd done. And further worked towards framing him to be a good thing in humanity. It was a rather interesting take on the days events. Hikari for what she'd said earlier of him being pretty good, was actually a bit surprised the song had come together so well, it was definitely the case that the lad had simply been missing content from his earlier works.

"At the edge of the world♪
Fight the mighty horde♪
That bashes and breaks you♪
And bring you the morn, oh♪

He thrust every elf♪
Far back on the shelf♪
High up on the mountain♪
From whence it came♪

He wiped out your pest♪
Got kicked in his chest♪
He's a friend of humanity♪
So give him the rest♪

That's my epic tale♪
Our champion prevailed♪
Defeated the villain♪
Now pour him some ale!!♪~~~~~"

Over the course of this entire story, the whole of the tavern seemed to go into stillness. All were in awe of what was happening here. Beyond that, at his last words, the barkeep had moved to pour some ale for the lad who'd obviously been doing this place a great service that none of them had given him a chance to do. For all his troubles, several patrons began passing him a few coins here or there, whatever they had that they didn't need. A few silvers would soon become many more piled up on Kou's table. Especially as the tale reached its climax and went back to the hook which had the same message. Pay the man for the work he does.

"Toss a coin to your Witcher♪
Oh, valley of plenty♪
Oh, valley of plenty, oh♪~~
Toss a coin to your Witcher♪
A friend of humanity♪~~

Toss a coin to your Witcher♪
Oh, valley of plenty♪
Oh, valley of plenty♪
Toss a coin to your Witcher♪
A friend of humanity♪~~~

Toss a coin to your Witcher♪
Oh, valley of plenty♪
Oh, valley of plenty♪
Toss a coin to your Witcher♪
A friend of humanity♪~~~~"

At the end of the song, Jaskier's fingers stummed to a lul and then, the crowd erupted in to cheers and also tossed a coin or two the bards way for completing a proper epic tale. He was able to achieve the final push towards level 30 in this moment and sighed his contentment as the light of the Nexus struck him in this moment.

[Bloodedge]

The song continued, and its chorus saw to it that Kou was provided with a mug of ale, and more coin than he could readily count. He had been content with the idea of leaving after only receiving a meal at the farmhouse, but now, he was looking at enough currency to feast for... quite a long time. Valley of Plenty, indeed...

"Sugoi─" he muttered as he picked up the mug of ale. For one who was originally perceived as an annoying, useless bard, Jaskier was proving his abilities quite succinctly. The disgust these locals had for Kou was gone over the course of a single song, replaced with adoration and offerings aplenty. Who could complain about that? Kou wouldn't, for certain. Sitting back still, he sipped his ale and kept an ear open for the remainder of the bard's tale.

... He could definitely afford to keep a singsong in his Cavalry. He could even resign himself to making a bard the first of its members.

[Apollymi]

Soon enough, Jaskier returned to the table and gave a simple bow. Hikari laughed a bit but had nice words for him. "Congratulations, for becoming the least annoying bard to another player in history!~" she said with the same general but biting snide attitude she treated everyone to. With a great deal of coin thrown to the man's table he sat across from him with a satisfied smile on his face. "I hope I can accompany on many more adventures. I really can't say I'd be any good at fighting, but I am sure I can find a decent use for my skills tagging along..." he said with an outstretched hand towards Kou. Given the lad hadn't expressed any outright anger at the song of his creation, he assumed the offer to join him was still on the table.

'Go on Nii-san. Add the bard, show us all how soft you've become~' the Demi-Human teased, within her own mind. While she did this, she had a look of supreme devilishness within her eyes and an almost cat-like smugness on her face. She knew her brother wasn't known for grouping up, and considering such a gesture a positive development for him. With this aspect of the adventure taken care of, all they really had to do, was go back to Kaer Morhen, gather Karna/Arjuna whichever face he was currently wearing and head towards their meetup with the rest of their group. It was all pretty much a done deal, "Come on, gather the coin, we can post up in a nice place on the way to the meetup!~ It's been more than a week!" the girl said, she'd had a great deal of fun on this adventure, but there was always more to see, and she was quite interested in seeing the Sky Islands as mentioned by Kaiba Seto.

[Bloodedge]

"You can say that twice," he said regarding Hikari's assertion. As Jaskier explained again that he had little to no use as a combatant, Kou busied himself collecting coins. He wasn't bothered about combat ability; he could see the uses for a bard using even just a bit of magic. "It's nothing to worry about. You could always be a Corner Horner," he explained. Now that he'd put that information out there, he was ready to move on. Jaskier would be added to the Band of the Hawk, as Kou named it, and they'd be on their way to retrieve Arjuna from Kaer Morhen before heading to the rendezvous point to find Miki and the others.

Continue the Adventure Here (http://www.roleplayuniverse.net/forums/showthread.php?853-The-Kingdom-of-Eonis&p=12908&viewfull=1#post12908).