Chapter 41: A Swift Yet Slow Exit

 Satisfied with her treatment of my wounds, Aoife began to check on everyone for major injuries.

 A few of the bodyguards filched at her approach, intimidated by the strange mask covering her mouth.

 Arisa was convinced their small stature and timid nature made most see them as cute. In reality, they're one of the most agile races when it came to conflict. I wasn't surprised, especially after her transformation, that they became cautious.

 "If I were you four, I'd leave while I can"

 "Why's tha-woah"

 As I attempted to question the one armed Nyx, my legs gave out. Luckily Ota was quick on her feet and halted my fall.

 I didn't think I had lost enough blood to be in such a state, but the pins and needles flushing over my body disagreed.

 My gambeson jacket had been covered in both blood and vomit, making me feel a bit embarrassed Ota was willing to help and deal with it.

 "Touji, trust me, I'm fine"

 She had noticed how uncomfortable I was, hastening my desire to leave.

 "Where should we go?"

 He reached into his coat and pulled out a cigar. His invisible hand then ignited the tip with near invisible flame to everyone's surprise.

 Can they even see it?

 "There's a two story building a short walk from the city, you should be able see it looking down the hill"

 "Wait, the bar? Really?"

 I groaned at the suggestion. Pins and needles had already enveloped my leg, making it more than uncomfortable to walk.

 The technique I used was far from perfect, resulting in a bit of a backfire. A failure technique combined with blood loss, made for quite the uncomfortable experience.

 Adelard, Aoife, Ota and I all grouped together in the center of organized chaos. Guards began to read the rights to everyone they detained while searching them for any surprises. I even recognised two of them I met during winter.

 They watched over the side entrance from the Tower into the Canopy district that doubled up a public landing pad for anyone who flew in with whatever method they chose. While I didn't see a handkerchief wrapped around the tips of their halberds, I caught a glimpse of a ring on one of their hands.

 "Leave before the storm rolls in, we can't wait much longer. That goes for all four of you"

 He spoke with authority and confidence while pointing to each of us, cigar in hand.

 "I don't even know what's going on anymore..."

 "Let's go while we can. Giving statements is a pain"

 "You really shouldn't be walking around right now..."

 "Touji, give me your arm"

 Ota and I wrapped our arms around each other's back. It was embarrassing to get her to help while my armor was in its current state but she insisted.

 She's not the kind of girl that would be grossed out right?

 "Miss Reat will be here soon enough, your choice if you want to talk to her"

 "Yeah no, let's get out of here"

 "Who is she?"

 "Reat is a massive pain in the ass. She keeps showing up to Paradise Lost, fucking the guys then bitching about it her little column"

 Glowing reviews it seems... wait...

 "Column?"

 "A thing in the paper, don't worry about it"

 Despite spending well over an entire season, I hadn't even scratched the surface of Dragons Mort. Everything normal and mundane to my party was all still alien and unnatural to me, I felt like a complete stranger at times.

 I didn't even know where Ota's original home was, only that she ended up at a brothel and grew up seeing things on the daily most would try to have their child avoid.

 "Drink this along the way"

 He passed me a small red potion he kept within his coat and with that, headed outside then down towards Merrah's rebuilt home.

 The healing remedy was bitter but with a sweet aftertaste. I was thankful that I wouldn't be adding to my sullied gear.

  * *** *

 The further we walked down the hill, the more the landscape became barren.

 Eventually, rain began to fall at a rapid pace, obscuring our vision. Thanks to Aoife's elemental control we were able to stay relatively dry as we rushed downhill.

 Enda once gave me a book called 'After The Dragons Fall', it describes the city's name being a challenge directed at the Goddess Athena, and its bloody history that shaped the land for roughly seventy years past its founding.

 'Once a lush valley teeming with towering trees hosting many villages, quickly fell to ruin after the Destroyer's death. A land ruled by monsters, each coming at the bit for a taste of the burning flesh of a beast bigger than many mountains.'

 'To this day, the land remains scarred through years of slaughter.'

 No trees, no landmarks, only a plain of yellowed grass and mossy rocks, as far as the eye could see, leading away from the city. 'A dried riverbed where water never flowed, death seeping endlessly into the ground below, poisoning all that dig too deep.'

 All written before Arisa somehow managed to open up a massive scar in the ground, revealing a large Nori deposit roughly three hundred meters away from the bar. 

 When I asked her about both she said the same thing every time; 'Don't worry about it'.

 Maybe I shouldn't have told her she sucked at describing things.

 "Hey Fae, you know about farming right?"

 "Only a bit, why?"

 "I never understood where there isn't trees here but plenty of giant ones behind us"

 "Want the short or long version?"

 "Both"

 "...Ok. Long version made short; magic terraforming, logging for houses, and then they compressed the ground for The Jaw"

 "Wait, what's The Jaw? I've heard that name a few times now"

 "Where do you think all the Waterborn live? Up here is only half the city, half the skull"

 As I came into the city in a coma, I never had the chance to look at it from afar. I knew it connected directly to a winding river that led to Tyrants Rest, and we took a carriage from Broken Blade Fort, however, I never made the connection to how it was built.

 "I kinda want to see it myself now"

 Ota readjusted her grip after I spoke, as if she was taken by surprise by what I said.

 We passed a wooden sign with the saloon's name and with the carving of an eight legged horse underneath. As much as Rider hated disingenuous people, she enjoyed humor that leaned heavily on innuendos and double entendre.

 "Sleipnir's Sacrifice... Was that always the name?"

 "Nah, it used to be Tuckered Traveler. Everyone working at the Quarry gets their drinks here"

 "Why would they change it?"

 "No idea"

 "I mean... it's a bit on the nose..."

 I chimed in only to realize that only I seemed to be privy to Rider's identity. Although I still had no idea why, I felt like it was linked to spirits and the will of the world.

 "What do you mean?"

 "Uh, oh, yeah, don't worry about it"

 Great, I'm turning into her

 To my surprise, the building was up and running like it never burned down several weeks ago.

 A two story wooden and stone saloon, raised up by a half a meter of concrete and black stone foundation, still stained by streaks of ash from the recent fire. It was a far cry from anything I would picture when someone calls it a bar, it would have been more accurate to call it an open mansion.

 With a veranda surrounding the building on three sides and unique rooms stretched out of the building itself on a few walls and corners. An entire corner at the back looked like the captain's quarters of a massive ship.

 Whoever designed the building placed no limit on their imagination. 

 A cheerful piano and cheers of a crowd, gave off a welcoming feeling, one I resonated with.

 This place felt like a home away from home, right up to the point when a strange woman was thrown through the front window.

 With the crack of shattered glass and a loud thump, she landed right in front of us.

 I'd seen many different races, more than most, but a four-armed girl with skin as white as snow and parts of her body covered in dark gray chitin with bits of fluff seemingly spewing out was something entirely new.

 She could easily pass as part monster and judging by her reaction, she was.

 Having been sent crashing into the mud, it seemed like she couldn't care less as she stood up without making a sound. Instead, she simply flicked the mud out of her white and green hair without complaining.

 "Sometimes it's better to let things end"

 Ota tilted her head in response, checking her horns with her spare hand. Just like with the middle aged Nyx, something was up with this strange four armed woman. With another sun through her hair, two antennas that almost looked like feathers flicked up.

 Did she just conceal her presence or something?

 Looking up to the rain above, she tilted backwards running two hands through her hair as her other arms tore a piece of clean cloth off her tattered rags. Unlike the gray robes the sisters wore back in Tyrants Rest, hers was far thicker and wrapped her chest, waist and fashioned into a skirt.

 Only Aoife managed to keep a serious face as she started to eat the piece of ripped cloth, not that we could tell what was going on behind her mask.

 Her yellow eyes glowed for a brief second as she looked over us before focusing on me. If not for the dark circles around them and a seemingly friendly intent, I would have been on edge like Ota and Adelard.

 Commotion broke out inside the bar as she addressed me directly while scolding Aoife.

 "Strange to see such an afflicted individual next a neglectful Druid"