Lullaby Island, Late Summer of year 12009

Alana winced at the feeling of the medicine being placed on her wounds. It stung, but not as much as the looks she was getting did. Even the mercenary captain, the one applying the first aid, looked at her as if she was some sort of alien. It lacked the malice of the smirks some of the other mercenaries had, but that only made the witch feel worse.

"Sincerely... I have seen people get shoddy when applying the Protocol to their weapons, but in their defences...?" the captain sighed as she pressed a bandage against the wound.

"It's just... I was in a bit of a rush, and I didn’t know skipping names on the credits section of the enchantment would change the result and... and..." Alana tried to play it off, her free hand playing with her red hair. "At least I only hurt myself."

The dog eared merc shot up a cold glance at her. “Do not be a fool. Think about how Rumin felt when she wounded you. She is only 14.”

All Alana could do was to whimper, even her attempts to salvage the situation only dug her grave further. At that moment the witch decided it would be best not to speak again, forever.

The other mercs had been keeping their distance, some were hearing the ongoing battle in the warehouse while others were just chatting, but as time passed it seemed most decided to leave.

“Qull, we will be going now.” One of the llama eared girls said. “Are you coming with us?”

“I just don’t think I have the mind to give yet another report to Kitu and see that cat smirk at me.” the captain clicked her tongue.

“Now come on, we appreciate you, even the commander. She is a tease, but she sometimes compliments you.”

“Yeah!” a male chimera interjected. “Your ability for logistics is great, oh and everyone loves your cooking too.”

“Sounds like I would be better off staying at the camp then.” Qull sighed loudly.

“Oh, it's not like that, it's just...”

She rose her hand to shush the mercenary.

“Nevertheless, I will need to go back to homeland soon, you know the laws of our land. As such there is no meaning in discussing what I can bring to the organization, it’s over. As for today, I will need to help the witchling go to the clinic.”

The others got the message and with a few nods and waves of hand they were gone, leaving just Alana and the other dog girl.

Alana couldn’t stand how quiet it became for more than a few minutes.

“So, your name is Qull? Mine is Alana!” the witch asked, breaking her vow of silence.

“Qullqi Chiribaya.” the mercenary answered.

“Hmm! Where is that name from? Atlantis? Oh, I always wanted to visit that country! The big towers, the mega malls, oh and those burgers!”

Qull looked up and shook her head. “It is also in Wes’hem but to the south of the continent. Runasuyu.”

Oh no. Alana immediately realized she had no idea where that was. She started pouting as her mind went overdrive trying to find any clue, but even the world map could only come up as a vague memory. The possibility of lying quickly entered the table but even that needed at least some basic knowledge...

Qullqi sighed.

“Terrace farms, mountain villages amongst the clouds, colourful clothes, potatoes...”

“OH! I actually know that!” she said honestly. “I saw pictures. Me? I come from Zvezda! Do you know that? It’s a land with... a forest, and uhm, a river... Do you know where it is on the map?”

“Hard to miss the biggest country in the world”

“Oh yeah. Right. I knew that. I was aware of that information.” the witch laughed nervously.

Soon Qullqi finished wrapping up the bandages, standing up and extending a hand for Alana. “All done here. See if you can walk.”

Alana stood up and although her body was still stiff, especially her leg, she was no longer in pain. Qullqi sure was reliable, good at combat, good at support, and quite cute to boot. In particular, the contrast between her short black hair and taciturn face with the droopy dog ears was quite adorable. The type that makes one want to go full auntie and squeeze her cheeks, of course Alana would never do that, it would be impolite, and her target had a lot of guns and knives.

They had barely started their very slow-paced journey towards the clinic when they heard someone approaching.

“Do you desire some assistance?” the voice was new, and turning Alana saw it came from Mazeline, part of the group that had hired her.

The wolf eared girl was everything Alana wished she was, tall with a defined body and a big fluffy tail that made the witch seethe in envy, as all Alana had was a pitiful short thing in the shape of a sickle.

Qull’s own worries were more practical.

“Mazeline, shouldn’t you still be fighting that magical girl... Wait. Is that my roll of bandages?” the mercenary immediately started patting her bag to see if any other item went missing.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The wolf nodded as she wrapped her wounded arms up.

“Ah, the thunder brat was quickly victorious. Even our plan to hold her back failed, the princess made a very poor decision.” she forced a fanged smile, but her tone denounced her exhaustion.

“Did you manage to make the deal with the Tengu?”

“No. Not only did it fall through. I believe we actively helped Rumi to track them down. In fact, they may even be furious towards us, we will be lucky if they never seek us again.”

Though she spoke with Qull, Maze’s focus on was on the other half of the duo of dogs. The one lagging behind.

“What’s up with the pup?”

“I messed up my defence ward... Got my ankle hurt and my leg burned.”

“Bah, unfortunate. Well, since I am going to the healer as well, let me help. Qull here lacks the muscle to treat a wounded lady properly, let me show you how a real woman does it.” Maze said playfully, then, without asking, took Alana up into a princess carry, laughing as the witch yelped.

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The clinic was very impressive, it had clean sheets, modern equipment that was at worst ten years old, and a nice selection of medicines and potions ready for use. Seeing all of that, only one thing crossed Alana’s mind.

“Goodness, I hope this doesn’t cost too much.”

She emptied her small purse and counted each and every single coin, totalling 10 manas. Hopefully it would be enough, this was also the sum of all her money.

This brought a pitiful glance from the other two who were in the room. Maze, who was sitting on the side of Alana’s bed, and Qullqi, who had turned her chair backward so she could rest her arms and chin on the backrest while sitting.

“It was a group deal, yes? My payment will also cover yours.” said Maze.

Alana was not impressed to hear that, Maze had barely needed any healing by the time they had arrived, her body worked on a whole other level, and it was not like the doctors could simply charge for unnecessary procedures, she assumed.

"Ah, that is handy. I was saving some coins, these clothes of mine have gotten too torn to use.”

“Actually...” Qull looked to the side as she spoke, avoiding eye contact “I am leaving Lullaby Island soon, and I have more clothing than my luggage can carry. We are the same size, so I could lend you some of my spare clothing.”

She gave Alana a sincere smile. The witchling returned it with a smile of her own and a nod.

Mazeline was smiling too, but it was a more mischievous smile, her fangs showing.

“Oh. You are going back home Qull~? You are from Runasuyu, no? How fortunate. See, I need to visit a friend deep in the jungles of Iarapira, so I am also going to that direction, and, well, a guide would be lovely.”

The mercenary rolled her eyes, immediately catching on. “Don’t speak as if it would be a leisure trip. What does your group want in South Wes’hem.”

“No group, I decided to break off. Will need some money to act solo, and this friend is the only one I could trust to make a fair deal over items I have that are, umm, not exactly my legal property.”

Alana was surprised to hear that, Maze and Prim were always together the few times she saw them, and from what she heard they had adventuring together since ‘05. She knew it was not her place to ask, but...

“Do you think Prim will be okay? She seemed attached.”

Maze lost her smile for a second and then forced a very fake one. “Oh, she has better companions now, who are far more her pace than I ever was. The only reason princess has been so attached is because she noticed how we are growing distant. Now let’s move on? I want to talk business, not private life.”

“Well Maze.” Qull started. “I don’t think it’s a good route, and that is not only because I would rather not bring a grave robber into my homeland. The mountain passes have too much security, and the jungle trails have no security at all, it's all monsters and forest spirits of the worst sort, possibly even Feaxtre.”

Now that was a term Alana knew well. While a mere forest warden could be placated with offerings and respectful behaviour, a Feaxtre could not. They were smart entities driven by a hate of human civilization, so much so their very presence caused metal to rust and fabrics to rot.

“Bah, point taken, but I really need to go there. Alternative routes?”

Qull nodded. “Yes. Take a ship to Iarapira’s eastern coast, then move westward, inland. Depending on how suspicious your smuggled loot is, and I assume it is quite suspicious, I think it would be better to avoid the land routes and instead travel by boat, blending in with the fisherman.”

“Ah that sounds good, but I don’t know how to sail. And a foreign girl asking for a discreet ride is just too fishy, even for the fisherman.”

Alana rose her hand.

“Uhm! I have a boat.” she patted the duck shaped wooden amulet in her neck. “This is my family’s heirloom relic; it can transform into one. It is a houseboat too! it could absolutely house us three within.”

“Us three? Why am I getting involved with Maze’s business...?” Qull rose an eyebrow.

“Arf. Right. Well, I'd love to have you with us, but just me and Maze still sounds so fun! I have always wanted to go on an adventure! I wonder if we will get to see giant monsters in the forest.”

With each word Qull’s expression grew wearier while Maze’s grin widened.

“I can't just throw a child to the literal wolf” the merc said with gritted teeth. “I will go with you. Been meaning to travel to that country for a while anyway.”

Alana clapped her hands. “Lovely! Thank you so much. But could you not call me a child? I am 19...”

Sure, she did not have the mature looks of Maze or that adult presence Qull had, but she didn’t want to be reduced to the team’s pet puppy just because she was short and...

Alana’s line of thought was interrupted by the looks of absolute shock the other two had.

“W... What? Why are you two staring?”

“I am 16!” Qull exclaimed.

“Bahahaha. What the hell. She is our senior! Like, even I am younger, about to turn 18.” she was barely containing her laughter. “That is malnutrition for you.”

“What a grotesque thing to say.” Qull slapped the side of Maze’s arm.

Meanwhile, Alana could do little but blush and whine. “Ark... It was already bad before but now it got worse.” Qull was three years her junior. Three years. And she knew way more than Alana did.

The chimera turned over the chair so she could lean closer, and she smiled at Alana in a reassuring manner.

“Hey, everyone has their pace. It was a bit surprising, but we didn’t mean anything rude. Right Maze?” she stared daggers at the wolf girl.

“Uh. Yeah. Sorry, just ignore all I say, I'm a bit messed up in the head.” Maze nodded.

Immediately, Qullqi’s genuine smile was gone, her normal icy expression returning.

“So, it seems we agree to help you get into Iarapira. A 30, 30, 40 percent split of the profit would be fair.”

“Wow!? What? Qull, I may be the burglar, but you are the robber. How is that a fair split of the loot I pilfered?”

“It's simple. Without Alana, you’d have no boat. Without me, you’d take one of the worst routes known to men and end up as the dinner of some monster.”

Mazeline bit her lips and her tail and ears stood alert. Then she gave up with a long sigh.

“Fine...”

“Oh!?” Alana’s eyes shone with excitement. “Our party is set then? Can we have a cool name? How about Cerberus! Since we three have dog aspects!”

“Urk. No way.” Maze said, pretending to have nausea. “That is too pretentious Alana. We’d sound like a group of edgy middle schoolers. Also, I am wolf.”

“She is our senior Mazeline... Plus, it's cute.” Qull whispered the last bit under her breath.

“Great, then it is decided!” Alana leaned forward in the bed, staring back and forth between the two. “Can we have matching outfits too?”

The tide immediately turned against her.

“No.”

“No way.”

Alana thought that was very rude, a cute dress was essential to the modern mercenary adventurer.

“B-but... I am the senior!”

Qull delivered a chop to the witch’s head, so soft Alana barely winced.

“The gerontocracy has fallen, long live the republic.”