That spark of consciousness returned, as if waking up for the first time. The damage and pain vanished, yet the phantom tingles of them remained. His mind recalled it, though his body had seemingly long forgotten. It was as if it never happened. The blinding light had at some point fully dimmed, no longer searing into him beneath his eyelids. Opening his eyes, he found himself on his side.
The area was a large, desolate sahara. No structures, just cacti and sand. Lots and lots of sand; So much sand. Lying on the sand, with glittering yellow grains painting his eyes, Terada sluggishly propped himself upright. Shaking the coarse grains out of his silver hair, his eyes opened, to be flashed by the golden sun. Before the view could settle in, heat lapped upon him. An unbearable heat born from the oppressive sun, supported by the ocean of glass. It was like he was being cooked alive. Familiarizing himself with the temperature, he took notice of his teeth. They were gone, replaced with a row of sharp and jagged fangs, those of a carnivorous beast. He went to wet his dry mouth, only to gently prick his tongue with a fang; the taste of iron quickly fading. Having to adjust to the strange new teeth, he realized another new challenge.
Hunger. An unbearable thirst. The immortal starvation. It was like he had never eaten in his entire life, and found himself upon the brink of death. His rage brewed, he despised this feeling. The still ocean of sand wouldn't stop moving, he felt like what little was within him also was about to leave. He felt so starved. Terada quickly flipped over onto his hands, releasing nothing but bile. Coughing violently as his body recovered from the experience, he pulled together the strength to stand. All of it was dreamlike. Almost eldritch and surreal in nature. Had he been placed in a world that could only be imagined?
If that were the case, what had it yet to introduce? What were its rules? Who would he meet? Those were the questions on his mind; What he had to figure out. More importantly, what was the point of the message that he was given? What the hell does a gaze that shines with an inferno mean? What else had that woman said before he found himself here. So much was trying to run through Terada's head, numb with vertigo and lost in the sands.
Terada once more passed his attention to the land. Glancing everywhere for an idea of where to go. That's when it stuck out to him like a sore thumb. A small group of medieval carriages in the distance, heading towards him.
Terada stood in disbelief. He spent a few seconds trying to figure out if it was a hallucination, a mirage, or if there really was a group of potential allies. At the very least, there were people to help guide his way and answer his questions. Preparing himself to meet them, he snarled. Taking off towards the carriages. It felt like he was running for hours in the sand. It felt like days. He ran, and ran, and ran, they never seemed to get any closer. Yet, it was his only goal and he found he had the will to keep running, even once every muscle in his legs began to ache, to cry and whine, he kept going. Even when he was made to crawl along the ground, he kept going until he collapsed. The daze and weakness overtook him as he blacked out.
* * * * *
The oil lanterns lighting the carriage welcomed him with a comforting and homely warmth. Terada glanced around the cabin, eyes searching for company. He needn't search for long, for he was soon face-to-face with a strange girl who was sitting across from him. Her silky-smooth lavender hair spiraled down to her back, a crown braided top her head with a thick black ribbon intertwined.
"Where the hell am I!"
The girl seemed a bit surprised by his snappy attitude. She put a hand to her chest as her eyebrows signaled worry. "We found you on our journey to Mystic Haven. You seemed dehydrated so I took the liberty of nursing you. Are you okay, mister?" Her voice was soft and calm. She exuded no ill intent, and he figured that even if she did, it was quite obvious that there was no way she would be able to win in a brawl. He was massive: a musclebound heavyweight. She was the size of a twig, he figured a single punch or even a sneeze could scatter her to the wind.
He growled out an answer. "It's not mister. It's Terada, Terada Kenji, and I'm fine." The girl nodded, introducing herself with a polite response. "Oh, are we introducing ourselves? My name is Alitys. I'm no one to take much note of, just a magic adept and someone seeking knowledge." Alitys lowered her head with a sigh, "That sounds so mundane, I know. Just about everyone you meet nowadays is into magic and knowledge."
Terada's bleak expression formed into a frown. "Magic? You mean that energy beam shit Naru talks about? C'mon that can't be real…" He put his face into his hands dropping them along in exasperation.
Alitys tilted her head in confusion. "It can't be real? Did you hit your head when you collapsed? Mayhaps you need healing?"
His eyes peered up at her through his fingers as he huffed, recalling his friend's face. "If I had a nickel…" His words trailed off, the exhaustion of his recovery hitting him like a brick. "Mmm…" he slowly groaned, "Maybe I do. I don't know." His stomach joined him with a growl. It tightened, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since he arrived.
"Here, let me help..." She arched forward, raising her left hand. "Now hold still, soul magic can be rather… fragile. True Health." As the incantation left her mouth, she placed her delicate hand to Terada's chest, a seafoam green aura pooling around it. That was the hand of a healer: soft, pure, and welcoming. He cannot remember the last time he felt hands like hers, his own were the opposite. They were rough and damaged, those of a warrior, just as the jackal said. Naru's were well used and calloused, yet small and maintained, he figured her hands were those of a crafter.
Then he perked up, realizing what words had left the girl's mouth. He elected to remain still as instructed, sensing truth in her words. Once he felt it was safe, and the color emanating from her hands had left it, he swiped it away. "Soul magic? The hell did you just do to me? You fucked with my soul!? You said you were going to help me! What—what did you do damn it!?" Terada barked.
"I-I did! Do you not feel more refreshed? I don't believe I messed it up?"
"I certainly feel like kickin' your ass!" As the words left his mouth he heard the loud bang of a foot slamming on wood. The door to the carriage slamming against its frame.
From behind it a voice shouted, "I toldja so!"
"That door opens outward…" another voice calmly explained, obviously holding back a snicker.
"Aye, I know!" Before Terada could compute the interruption, the door to the carriage swung outwards revealing a man who barely seemed below a meter tall. He hastily stepped inside, his scruffy white beard flopping around like a wet blanket with every step. Stopping midway into the room, his eyes shot up to meet Terada's, and then Alitys'. "He botherin' ya, missy?"
"I think you might be bothering long ears more." The second voice sounded from the door, still hidden around the frame. As if aware her presence was desired, the owner popped her head into view. She had a soft round face with a playful smile and squinted eyes that were both as impish and wondrous as a child's. The wind blew her shoulder length hair, and from it came the scent of wood and cinnamon. A deep brownish red close to orange, the same color as autumn leaves, her hair popped against her singular visible amber eye, the red hiding the left eye under swept bangs. That same side was pulled into a high ponytail only disturbed by her idly combing a hand through it. "Come on back, Reavenbrok."
The smaller fellow, brandishing what seemed like a poorly kept Mauser pistol, waved his firearm wildly in Terada's general direction, bantering with the woman who accompanied him. "Hari, han' me a magazine, oi'm gonna blow this brute's head clean through wit' me gun."
"It's Harizh'wa." Hari muttered, though her voice didn't actually seem annoyed. "Oh, and she never answered you…" Stepping out from behind the door, she revealed herself to be a well-dressed woman of slender form. Wearing a navy overcoat over a white dress-shirt which had bishop sleeves and a high golden collar. To her hip was her own weapon, the gold and elegant handle of a cutlass banded by white ribbon ending in a tassel. Though the sheath was strange, he couldn't get a good look at it with her placing a hand to rest upon the hilt and the arm quickly falling in place to block it from view. Her other hand was now up holding a rather heavy book which she swiftly put down to the side. "That said Reave, I think you'd use up all the bullets you have left on a skull that meaty with that old—"
Terada, immediately blowing a gasket, rushed forward and snatched up the dwarf by his beard. He found the man surprisingly light, and lobbed him at the woman outside. "You guys can decide whether or not to try and kill me out there, where you'll shut the fuck up! You're so damn loud, and my head's still pounding. Healing 'magic' or not, I'm still recovering from everything that just happened…"
Taking a deep breath in the moment, as Reave flew towards her. The way her eyes sharpened reminded Terada of Naru's eyes when she was on the track, totally focused on the objective at hand. Swiftly the stranger moved her arms up, it was obvious this wasn't the first time she had to catch a high speed projectile. Though of most note to Terada was that aura again, this time though instead of colored it looked as if the lightest tint of visibility was given to something invisible.
Gentle, pale, and flowing, Terada could see it but he could not describe it any better than its form. It was like it had no color. But he could see the way the substance seemed to solidify, compacting around her legs. He could see in her form, and in the substance itself the qualities of stone, something immovable. She slowly exhaled as she caught the dwarf, like he would when doing a bench press. Yet even with all that force she didn't budge. Terada could only surmise it was more magic, the woman didn't have a build that should have been able to stop that. She was like one of Naru's friends, built for swimming or gymnastics, she had the body of a dancer. Definitely fit, maybe a fencer or a martial artist, but not load bearing.
"Got a strong arm on you… respectable." She seemed winded as she dropped the improvised projectile onto its feet. "You okay, Reave? I think I changed my mind, maybe you should see just how many bullets it takes?" Pulling the magazine from her dress pant's pocket, Hari haphazardly dangled it in front of Reave. She was wearing a men's pants with what he could be convinced was a man's choir shirt.
As Reave swiped the container from his partner, quickly getting ready to start the count as he fidgeted around, Hari looked to the side. Her expression had softened, and a pretty innocent looking girl was there instead of the impish one before. Placing her hand back to the hilt of her weapon and sighing to rid herself of the tension, she shook out her wrist. Terada himself seemed more than ready to get into a fight with them, standing tall and getting big like a bear ready to maul.
Then, Alitys shot up from her seat and stood between the two men, before Reavenbrok, and raised her voice. "Alright, alright! That's it, just… Just calm down, please? For one second? He just woke up and you're already at each other's throats! This is completely ridiculous, and I thought you would have been far more mature about this. Harizh'wa! You're supposed to be reigning Reavenbrok in, not letting him barge into my carriage with a dazed man who's clearly hostile due to the confusion."
"They… They threatened my life." Terada retorted, with Alitys quickly spinning around, placing a finger to her lips, and aggressively shushing him.
"Ah, no! No, I never did such a thing. My comment was going to be about the poor state of Reave's gun. As for you Alitys. It's my foremost duty to keep you safe, study is second, and caring for a stranger is only being done out of kindness. This man, Terada, attacked first. I believe allowing Reave retaliative recourse was justified given the circumstances and will not be changing my opinion on the matter." Hari corrected, then explained concisely. Though now under Alitys' eyes, she seemed to shrink a touch despite her firm form of address.
"Nobody says stuff about having a thick head and means it to be a compliment." Terada interjected, only for Hari to turn to him on the dime and smugly announced. "Behold, it is I! Nobody!" It came out as if she were a theater kid, and she was waiting her entire life for a chance to use such a line.
Despite Hari's own amusement, Terada did not find much humor in it. "Shut… the hell… up, before I shut you up for your-damn-self!" Alitys looked over to Reave still recovering, his silence was odd—though she supposed being thrown by the beard was worth being in shock over. Returning to the duo who obviously mixed like oil and water, she shook her head.
At this moment, Hari was staring at him with a tilted head, passing him doe eyes before releasing a chuckle. Taking a step forward without hesitance, she placed a hand to Alitys' shoulder and gently pulled her to the side before stepping between her and Terada. This close, he could see that under her collar her skin was reminiscent of tree back. This woman was a dryad; an elf, a dwarf, and a dryad—he really couldn't refute that he was in a fantasy world afterall.
Putting out a hand she introduced herself properly, obviously holding no ill feelings despite their introduction having gone so sour. "I am Harizh'wa Tiyaniqro. Yes, it's a mouthful of a name, I'm aware; thankfully you only have to use half of it. As I alluded to before, it is my responsibility to keep the members of this caravan safe. That means Alitys is under my care. I will have to take on any threatening verbiage aimed at her with due urgency and utmost severity."
The 'brute' simply hopped outside of the carriage, planting a firm hand on Hari's face as he went to shove her out of his path. "Cool, I don't care. So much damn drama when you could just tell me to bugger off." He smirked in response, proud of his retaliation. That was, until he realized the sensation in his hand. It was as if he were pushing against a wall, she wasn't budging. Then, he scowled, glaring at her for a few moments before passing his gaze back to the desert. He gave it a proper inspection, sand to the horizon, just as before.
Hari hurriedly came out after him, that same innocent expression on her. "Do know, it is only because of me you are alive right now. I spotted you in the sands and decided to change course to pick you up. It really in hindsight was a poor decision, most trying to pass through Arachnid's Lair would know better. You also owe Alitys thanks for watching over you as you recovered. Beyond that, we are not so brutish as to ask you to leave. I am only formally warning you not to threaten my people again. That all said, I wouldn't go out there alone if I were you. It's a wonder you got so far, but you have no way of surviving here as you are. You couldn't even push little ol' me."
A subtle growl escaped him, with the left corner of his lip retreating so that he may bare his teeth; only for it to stop as soon as it started. Although he did not look at Hari, he did respond to her. "I'm not leaving. I'm investigating. Stretching my legs, or somethin', I don't know. Why do you care, anyway? Thought your job was to take care of the caravan, not me." He chuckled.
She seemed silent for a moment, catching herself from what he had just said. Then muttered to the side, "Well now, guess that's why I didn't make it as part of the Hunter's Guild. Heh…" There was a touch of pain in that laugh, forced and weak.
The brute scratched the back of his head. "I don't know what that is." His tone filled with subtle agitation and minor confusion. "That means nothing to me. You're speaking gibberish, tree lady."
"Eh—uh, okay. Well, it's the Hunter's Guild. What do you think it is? Alitys, I don't think that spell o' yours did much for Fang's brains here." She called to the side, addressing the elf while pointing at the brute like a child.
Even though said elf tried to respond, Terada just spoke over her shy commentary. "I don't know. I just said that. A collection of hunter-gatherers, I guess?" He said, contemplating hurling a stone from the ground below straight into Hari's forehead.
"What? No." Hari sounded genuinely confused. "You seriously don't know? Did you actually… ah… hm…" She trailed off in thought, Terada could sense the apprehension—incredulity overran her tone and expression and hesitation was born.
Finally, both were quiet allowing Alitys another chance to be heard. "The most famous and popular mercenary group in the entire world." She started. "They're called Hunters because they hunt for payment. It's… Admittedly a dumb name, but nobody's bothered to change it."
"I think it's cool!" Hari interjected.
The beast perked up once more. "No, it's dumb." Which she only responded to by giving a small pout.
"It's a cool name." A soft masculine voice peeked into the conversation, greatly contrasting the dwarf's ravings and Terada's own growls. "A bit of a reach and a bit edgy, but cool. Edgy can be cool."
Just as quickly as she went to pout, hearing another on her side immediately brightened Hari's mood. Sliding to the front window of the carriage, where the driver would sit and where the new speaker's head was poking out from behind the folded glass curtains. She reached up to mess up his hair. "See! Wyvern gets it! Come on down, we won't be going anywhere soon. Say hello; I don't get to hear your pretty voice enough."
The man, seemingly named Wyvern, let out a deep sigh before stepping out of the carriage's driver seat as prompted by Hari. With one good look, Terada could immediately determine that he was a man who quite enjoyed taking good care of his looks. His aquamarine hair had been neatly combed to the left side, with a long and heavy bang sitting over one of his soft yellow eyes. He wore a well defined indigo and white suit jacket over a white button-up dress shirt. He looked like he had belonged in some mansion, with his entire aesthetic directly clashing the fantasy aesthetic of Alitys while blending in with Hari's, who he seemed to be matching with, and Reavenbrok.
Speaking of the short and rough man, Reave had shot to his feet after the appearance of Wyvern. "Aye, Eul, ye' don't need to get involved. Te vicious one here would pull 'yer damn face off. Almost did me one with that stunt with my beard." He warned, while taking a quick verbal shot at Terada, who stood directly behind him. His attention was on the one Hari had called Wyvern, though the names were completely dissimilar. He combed a hand through his beard, it seemed like the skin under it was still stinging as he slightly flinched with every run through.
Under said beard, the stout bodied dwarf was wearing a tattered and slightly ripped black and silver military uniform. Though, instead of resembling something from the modern day, his outfit seemed to come from the late nineteenth century or early twentieth; something you'd see an officer wearing during one of the World Wars. A giant empty sheath laid across his back, with an empty ammo bandolier strapping across his chest in the opposite direction to form an 'X'. A large black eyepatch covered his right eye, while the left one was a cloudy gray. A worn leather holster—presumably for the pistol—wrapped comfortably around his large waist. His shape could be mistaken for obesity, but underneath was pure muscle.
The gentleman of the group lightly chuckled in response to Hari's encouragement and Reavenbrok's warning. "I'll be okay, folks. It'd just be a shame if our little guest patient here weren't so kind to his hosts. I wanted to check in and make sure he was playin' nice, y'know?" His eyelids drooped and his lips spread into a smug grin, very aware of the passive aggression he was directing towards Terada.
"Oh, shut your trap. I'm playin' nice. It just ain't much fun when I'm being treated like some circus animal. Caged n' shit."
Hari nudged Alitys, motioning for her to calm down the situation again. Unfortunately, under the stress of having so many eager participants in the conversation, the elf panicked and simply did what she does best; inquire. "W-What's… What's a circus?"
"Wh-what?" Hari started, only for Wyvern to take it from there. "You know what menageries are? The place where rich folks keep a bunch of, get this, not pet animals for show?"
"Is… Is that not a zoo?" The hesitant woman continued to ask.
Wyvern cracked a slight smile, shaking his head a touch at her noting that similar concept. "No, a menagerie is a bit more exclusive. As for a Circus, the difference is in the training. Circuses train their animals, along with the people who are basically treated like animals—then there's just normal people who do tricks. They put on a show for others to watch and laugh at."
"That sounds cruel…" She paused. "I want to see one!" Her eyes sparkled.
"Are you sure you people ain't the damn circus? She's certainly starting to sound like a freak." Terada met the gaze of the intense emerald colored eyes which Alitys brandished. She let out a small squeak.
"F-Freak?! I'm no freak! I'm just an inquisitor!"
"That term isn't really used in a good light. Just kinda made yourself look worse." He mirthlessly laughed.
"Inquirer." Wyvern offered the alternate term. "Oh? Aren't all three words fitting?" Hari questioned, hinting at her own opinion of Alitys.
"...Cut the lass some slack, ye runts." The smaller man defended. "She's just got a differin' mindset, ye hear? Nothin' wrong 'bout being different. Like my height, or your skin, or his fangs, or his sense of style, or—."
"That's completely different." Wyvern gently points out, "One of those is a choice."
"I never said it was a wrong one, boyo. That bein' said, you should probably try to fit in better. You look more like a noble than one of us 'circus freaks.'"
As those two talked, Hari's gaze had diverted to the horizon; she had lost interest since Reave's mentioning of skin, and only sighed at the mention of choice. Looking over the distance, she passed her eyes a second trip over the rest of the caravan as she started to walk. Wyvern, distracted, responded, "And who said, you said, it was wrong? I'm not alone in the way I dress anyway, Hari and you both wear rather well made outfits. Could stand to take better care of it though, ladies like when a man looks well-kept."
"It's a symbol of my service, ye naive fool. I ain't got the touch for ladies anyway. This old man had his time for it when he was bearing a rifle a few countries over."
"Oh? And did y—"
Recovering from her slight embarrassment, Alitys piped up once more, attempting to quell the chaos of their debate. "Please cease conversing about how to 'pick up ladies.' You scared Harizh'wa off with your pointless arguing. I wish to get to more important matters." She brushed some hair out of her face with the back of her index finger. "Like what we are doing for the night. Are we camping or continuing down the path? Shall we take our…" She once again paused and took a few moments to visually analyze Terada. "Guest… with us to our domain? I assumed that was our plan, but it seems his nature is proving quite controversial."
The driver deeply exhaled, clearly frustrated with his situation. "This is more of a decision for Hari. I'll go grab her." He declared, swiftly taking off behind the dryad.
Terada scowled. "Isn't it kind of my choice? Y'know, being the one you're hauling around and all. My decision is to come with, of course, I don't really think I got anywhere else to go so a town would certainly be nice to get my bearings."
"I don't like you sir, but I suppose there's no harm in supporting a man when he's in need." Reave comforted, his shoulders relaxing as the tension passed.