In the courtyard of the Fenrir Guildhall, a ciltran boy, a talking slime, and two garm girls were sitting next to a marquise-shaped formation of ice floating above the ground. It was about ten feet tall and about three feet wide at its thickest point. It resembled a finely cut gem and wisps of light danced around it, drawing trailing lines as it absorbed the ambient ether in the air, the wisps becoming bigger and bigger until it plunged itself into the slowly rotating ice formation, causing the otherwise solid material to suddenly ripple as it it was liquid. Thin clouds of frost drifted down, lightly covering the ground below in a light mist.
Despite the ice slowly turning clockwise, its occupant, a human girl clad audaciously in a Drow Solenrala and Deep Dragon limb coverings, remained stationary. She looked asleep and at the same time someone had posed her like a statue of beauty. It reminded the viewer of the fancy statues one saw in the homes of nobles and palaces of royalty; always in these dynamic postures that suggested it was captured and immortalized while in the throes of vibrant movement.
Strangely the slime and the ciltran catboy would occasion bicker regarding a name.
"That's Jonathan." the catboy said firmly.
"No, that's Joseph." the slime said.
The ice that Ingrid used to freeze herself was more than just simple frozen water. It was a technique developed by Ingrid herself to quickly regain her mana by using the ice as a medium to filter in the ether and use it as part of a passive, large scale restoration spell. She had difficulty explaining the concept to the other Starchasers back then but it definitely worked.
As the group conversed Cecil had his Muse Box on a low volume. He hovered the Terragalia-side dialogue window near Zefir so he could hear "The Court of the Crimson King" playing, enhanced by the room's acoustics.
Cecil held up a paper that was handed out to the group.
"It says here we should designate a name for our group, Then we'll have to work out having a badge made for our team members."
"The Moonfangs." Kvaris suggested, her tail wagging.
"That's for Ingrid to decide." Zefir said. "She's the true leader of the group."
The two garm girls looked at each other, then back at him. Their tails wagged slowly in sync.
"But you're her master." Kinu said.
"Only to an extent." The catboy said slowly. "She's really a hero of mine, and a friend. Put it this way… imagine you have a dragon as a friend, it's an absurd concept, I know… but suppose you do; there's only so much you can tell that dragon what to do."
"But you agreed to let us have fun with her." Kvaris said. "Are you turning back on your word?" both wolf girls' tails had stopped and their ears focused forward. Cecil, who had spent time in the wild, was reminded when Ingrid went hunting some wolves years back, and the two did not look pleased.
Zefir held up his hands placatingly "You will, you will. She said it herself… but she's not a pet. You can't make her do what she doesn't want to do."
"If you don't" Kvaris said, crawling closer to Zefir until they were face to face. "YOU will be the one we'll have fun with."
"Problem solved!" Cecil said, nodding with a smile. Zefir slowly turned his head to face him.
"Umm…c-context, Cecil… it's not gonna be what you think…" he said nervously as Kinu crawled up to him and sniffed him. The two girls' tails were wagging.
"Two at once." Kvaris said, narrowing her eyes.
Cecil blinked. "Ohhhh… Ingrid would like to see that."
The ice began to make soft crackling sounds.
"Guys…" Cecil said, calling the attention of the animal-eared boy and girls that were too close. "You might want to step back or you're gonna get avalanched."
Quickly the two girls with wolf ears and tails jumped back while Zefir held his ground. The ice fragmented into popcorn-sized pieces and harmlessly cascaded down the floor.
"What did I miss?" Ingrid said as she stepped down the pile of ice bits. The two garm girls wagged their tails and held her hands.
"You promised you would let us have you." Kvaris said, her face was a mix of worry and anticipation.
"Will you?" Kinu added, both girls made slight sounds that reminded her of a dog's whine.
"Yes ma'ams!" Ingrid said happily, hugging both girls to her chest. Their tails wagged faster. Being shorter than Zefir, Ingrid had leaned forward a bit and both girls indulged themselves by rubbing their faces on her. "Hahaha! C-cmon girls! That tickles!"
"They said that if you reneged, they'll do Zefir in the butt." Cecil said, chuckling.
"Save me, Ingrid!" Zefir said nervously. "Wait… why are you thinking it over?"
___
The team had gathered at an office, which reminded Ingrid, Cecil, and Zefir of the final stage of a job interview which involved reading out terms and agreements as signed out in a contract. The one presiding over this process was Siria Bluethorne, the pretty elf receptionist that Ingrid and Zefir talked to yesterday.
"Weren't we supposed to run a mission together before we get to the contract signing part?" Ingrid asked. Zefir nodded too, wondering why they skipped this process.
"We've gotten a runner over to Ontala village to confirm the Padloi you're wearing is genuine." Siria answered. "And that your Drow Solenrala ensemble was given to you as a token of esteem from Fyrra. She wouldn't have given that out if you didn't demonstrate your strength."
"But all I did was kill one tusk boar, Zardoz probably could have killed thirty of them." Ingrid said.
Siria nodded "and then there was your demonstration in the magic test, which showed you capable of manipulating ether and having a great amount of mana. Cecil too, also demonstrated great potential being the second person around here to do what you did with magic. So when it comes to your physical and magical capabilities you've definitely shown you can hold up. There was also your conduct during your battle with Zardoz. He notes that knows you could have ended the fight quickly, but you chose to act in a way that hid your true level of strength."
Everyone nodded. Siria then turned to Zefir
"You did well enough in the physical duel test, your proctor here, Roger has shown you have demonstrated good enough skills in defending yourself and holding your ground when needed. In the magic test, you've also demonstrated in the discreet section the merits of your Table Box, which is a very useful tool in adventuring."
"Discreet Section?" Ingrid asked.
"Certain people have abilities they prefer to not show to others." Kinu answered. "The guild will keep it a secret, it's in that contract too. It states that the abilities of all members shall be kept in confidence. It's how the guild protects its members, the same way you will be afforded and not seen as a war-beast or breeding pet."
"Correct" Siria said. "As for you Kvaris, I've received your letter of recommendation from your sire-father and accompanying documents. You two have definitely proven in your ninety years of puphood as being capable and astute assistants during his years as a traveling merchant."
Siria paused. "With that, I daresay it's no longer necessary for the five of you to run any further testing. From now on you're free to take up quests in the name of the guild and receive proper compensation. Be aware that your actions will also be indicative of the Fenrir Guild-"
"Are there adventurers that don't have to be tied to a guild?" Cecil asked.
"Freelance adventurers, of course, you're missing on a lot of rewards, which we'll need." Zefir answered for Siria.
"Oooooh."
"Which brings us to the next step. What will you name yourselves?" The elf asked.
"The Whales," Ingrid said quickly.
"Why whales?" Siria asked. The garm girls looked at Ingrid too.
"It's the totem animal of the God of Wealth," Ingrid explained. Zefir and Cecil went "pffft!" as they vainly tried to suppress a sort of laughter.
"What's so funny?" Kvaris asked, wondering why they found her suggestion absurd.
"They think it's pretentious, I prefer to aim high." Ingrid silently congratulated herself for coming up with a quick excuse. "There's a saying on Earth… 'who dares, wins.'"
The garm sisters thought about it and then nodded. "No objections." Kvaris said.
"Now…" Siria brought out five silver badges, it was triangular in shape, the edge was plain and smooth except for some runes written on them while the center was richly decorated with engravings of flowers and geometric shapes. The top of the triangle had the figure of a wolf's head, indicating which way was up. "Get to the forges you fancy, and get your seals made on this then report back to me."
"Thank you" Ingrid said, being the first to get up. She picked up the badges and placed them in Cecil's Room. The three then made their way out of the guildhall and breathed in the delicious scents of good food from the stalls at the nearby market.
___
"Dain's?" Ingrid asked as Zefir led them down the familiar path along the avenue of stalls.
"Yes, the guild will pay him so we don't have to spend a cent." he replied. "Something I picked up from my usual job as a gopher for my boss back at Ontala. So what kind of design do you have in mind?"
"I hope they got a pencil and paper or something, I'm thinking of just drawing a regular looking whale and leave it Dain for the embellishments. Also I-aahhh!" Ingrid cried out a bit in surprise as Kvaris clapped a soft hand to her butt.
"I love following Ingrid from behind." She said dreamily.
"Agreed," Kinu added.
"Girls, time and place!" Ingrid said, but she had a smile on her face. Nobody seem to give more than a lingering glance but then again they were some hotshot's girls. The sight of them walking arm in arm with someone like her was probably as mundane as seeing some face on the gossip rag drive by in an expensive sports car.
"Okay then." Kvaris said. She put an arm around Ingrids' arm and walked alongside her. "Kinu, you play with her first."
"Thanks, sis!" her pup-sister said, reaching forward.
"I'm being walked by dogs and a cat..." Ingird giggled as the three kemonomimis lead her around, with Zefir taking one end of the scarf and slinging it over his shoulder and taking the lead.
"Oh! Look, look, Zefir!" Kvaris said, pointing at a certain shop. "Let's go there later!"
"What is it…ooooh I see!" Zefir's had a cute and mischievous smile to his face.
"What's that?" Ingrid asked, noting the big tent that sort of reminded her of those fortune-telling booths with its heavy use of dark blue and purple fabric and generally mysterious-looking exterior.
At Dain's, Ingrid laid on the counter the five brooches and she quickly drew on paper a simple design of a whale rising out of the water, its tail and head curled up above the waves and blowing water out of its blowhole. Dain glanced at it and then got to work.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
"Come back in an hour." Dain said, taking also a written letter from Zefir. It came from the guild, a sort of order completion form Dain could present to the guild later and receive his payment.
The five then led Ingrid into the sleazy looking shop, pausing only to help themselves to some Isekai version of subway meatball sandwiches. Ingrid found the vegetables having quite a bit of a strong but pleasant pungency like onions and ginger and it was splashed with some light vinegar-like sauce. The meatballs were well-spiced and interestingly enough, the three of them that were on their sandwiches each carried their own distinct flavor. Aside from the well spiced one, the other had some sort of tangy cream-cheese like filling that complimented the Indian/Middle-Eastern-style vegetables and spices, while the third had something like curry filling it up.
"Can never get enough of these Journey Sandwiches." Kinu said "They're my favorite here!"
Inside the sleazy-looking shop, a bored looking bird looked up as they entered. He looked like a man-sized raven.
"Oh get out of here!" The bird said with a tone of amusement. "There's no way a Nemesis-Stalker could be the pet of a bunch of whelps!" He cawwed in laughter.
"Starchaser actually, it's a different thing we're from and trust me, she's properly tamed by our catboy here." Cecil said. The bird looked surprised to see him talk, and that got his attention.
"Catboy?" He then looked at the group again and saw only one boy, the ciltran. "Well that makes sense, some humans can't resist a good lick from a ciltran." he clucked. "Alright, have a look around."
"We're basically in an Isekai Hot Topic." Zefir explained to her.
Kvaris laid on the counter a pair of large winged brooches. A loop of red rope crimped in decorative silver ends hung from that brooch. "You mentioned that you got to ride her, these can double as stirrups or just be decorative tassel-like things to hang down the sides of her waist." She then clipped them onto the lowest scarf on her hips.
"Rider Tassels" The bird said.
"Won't these snap off if you get o-oh!" Ingrid exclaimed as Kvaris effortlessly stepped up.
"They're a bargain, and come with a weight-negation enchantment."
"He means it's a little on the pricey side" Zefir whispered in Ingrid's ear.
"Figures." Ingrid whispered back.
Kvaris jumped off of her, showing her acrobatic ability befitting an adventurer and of Amaduscia Enthana's bloodline.
----------------------------------------
INGRID received the following Accessories
* Rider Tassels
* Seal of Devotion
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The eatery they stopped for a break reminded Ingrid of those ancient roman thermopoliums where meals were laid out in a tiled counter, in large pots and a slow-burning flame kept it warm and steaming.
"So, The Whales, that'll be our group name from now on." Ingrid said as they dug in. Everyone nodded. "I guess we should start small." she continued. "I'm not sure that the usual fare is for adventurers starting out… gathering herbs? Killing nuisance animals?"
"You mentioned that you arrived here only yesterday." Kvaris said as she leaned back in her chair. "There should be a goblin search mission somewhere on the bulletin board, that should help you get the lay of the land."
"Goblin search mission?" Ingrid asked,
"Goblins here build, maintain, and repair various architecture such as tunnels, bridges, and roads." Zefir explained "They're also quite infamous for rednecking their tools and are loath to return to town unless absolutely necessary or when their tools are clearly no longer functioning properly."
"I imagine there'll be a couple of orders posted up soon, if I'm not mistaken we're overdue for a Red Moon within the week." Kinu said.
"Red Moon?" Ingrid asked "You mean like the sky turning and red and a bunch of monsters coming out?"
"You get those in Earth too?" Kvaris asked. Ingrid, Zefir, and Cecil shook their heads in unison.
"Nope." they chorused.
"Sounds like a pretty peaceful place." Kinu remarked.
"Nah, you don't need a Red Moon to make Earth dangerous. It's a pretty barbaric place at times." Ingrid said with a combination of self-disdain and amusement.
"Agreed" Zefir chimed in. "It's pretty bad by itself already."
"So, Goblin Search Mission, we should take one up as soon as possible and escort them home. The Red Moon is coming up any moment now and it pays pretty well. Hopefully we only need to spend a day or two on the road, you three packing any provisions? Maybe in that portal of yours?" Kvaris said.
"Oh that one, you'll just have to see what Zefir is packing." Ingrid chuckled a bit at the double entendre.
___
The Whales returned to the guild hall and presented their finished badges, Siria took the badges for some kind of processing, possibly enchanting them so they would be seen as "official". While waiting Ingrid and Cecil started looking up different job postings. Zefir was currently finishing the team's paperwork along with Kinu while Kvaris went outside to watch the last batch of candidates finishing up their test.
Meanwhile for Ingrid and Cecil, they were looking up the bulletin boards. There were jobs for picking herbs but the descriptions suggested these herbs were found in areas that were either considered dangerous or located in hard-to-reach places, some being the nesting site of said dangerous creatures. There were also postings for nuisance animals but these were elusive creatures.
Ingrid and Cecil also noticed that rather than take down the postings and present them to the counter. Adventurers were simply writing it down on a notebook with a pencil or pen, while some of the mages conjured a sheet of fancy looking parchment and a quill that moved on its own to copy the relevant information.
Cecil jotted down the notes, he had also procured writing materials after all, making sure to provide Ingrid with a copy. The job posting also came with instructions to approach the desk for a copy of a map, which they obtained for a silver coin. It was at that point that Siria returned and handed her the badges. Ingrid pinned hers on her scarf while Cecil simply stuck it to his body.
Calling over the kemonomimis, Ingrid laid out the plan.
"We'll head out to Tunk's goblin crew right now, Zefir will handle our lodgings out at the field." she said. The garm girls looked at him suspiciously, his backpack was on the small side like the rest of the party.
"Are the tents stored in Cecil's Room?" Kinu asked.
"Something better, trust me." Ingrid said.
"Take care, Whales." Siria said. "Oh and Ingrid…"
Ingrid came over. "Yes?"
Siria leaned forward and whispered "Have the garm girls been touching you?"
Ingrid whispered back, nodding as she did so "Yup, they love me."
Siria giggled. "Since you said you're from some far-off country, I'll let you in on something about garms, those girls are just past a hundred years old, they're at that age where their mating instincts are very strong."
"Well that checks out, I heard earlier that if I reneged they'd mate with Zefir…like with a priapus."
Siria managed to suppress a laugh. "Sorry, sorry. A-anyway. I'm sure you're already aware of this, but here, most of the world sees you as either a Nemesis-Stalker or a Succubus, right?"
"You mean either a creature of war or a creature of sex? Yes, and I like it. That boy is wonderful, and those two girls want me. I'm not going to skip that chance. Thanks for worrying about me, Siria."
With that she gave her a wink and joined her team. Siria watched Ingrid walk away and sighed, wondering how fast she could resign her post and join them before they inevitably leave town..
She flicked open the folder regarding Ingrid's file, the reports of her performance said she was extremely strong and very talented with the usage ofher mana. She was sure their team knew how blessed they were to have a human that was both a Nemesis-Stalker and Succubus on their side that genuinely liked them, Part of her was worried however that it was only going to be a matter of time when someone pompous aristocrat or high-ranked adventurer would try to claim Ingrid for himself. The Enthana girls might help Ingrid with some leverage but there were limits as they were from Freid. They needed someone higher, someone of pretty high enough standing to stop anyone from using loopholes to snatch her away from her group.
Well, she'll see how they handle themselves in the next few days.
___
That evening, the Whales walked out of the gates of New Gorpisal, waving bye to George who grunted back. At Ingrid's insistence, the garm girls had checked out of their inn and collected their things. Their round shields now hung on one arm, a few daggers holstered in a few easy-to-reach places, and their swords hung on their hip.
They walked in silence towards the ever-darkening farmlands and towards the grassy wilderness ahead. Everyone was on high alert now, the girls weren't clinging to Ingrid's arms anymore and were walking with the professional detachment of a soldier on-duty. They saw the Night Men were already making their rounds. They waved at a few armored skeletons moseying around the perimeter of the farmlands, their spears or greatswords resting comfortably on their pauldroned shoulders.
"Don't go losing your heads now!" Called one skeleton in plate armor.
"We won't, gramps!" Zefir replied.
Cecil moved over to the balcony and turned his roomside Dialogue Window accordingly, providing the party with lighting as they made their way down the road.
"That's pretty convenient." Kinu said. She took up the rear guard, occasionally glancing back as they made their way farther and farther from the farmlands.
"So how are you taking care of our lodging outdoors?" Kvaris asked, seeing that they were far enough from any prying ears.
"You heard Siria talk about my Table Box." Zefir said.
"Yes, she did, something about you having a different kind of Item Box from the rest." Kinu replied.
"Well I got more than that, It got a whole house I can summon. Of course I prefer to keep its existence a secret from anyone who isn't a teammate. That's why Ingrid wanted us to go as far as we can tonight and then camp somewhere out of sight like in the forests."
"Is this true, Ingrid?" Kvaris turned to her. Ingrid nodded.
"Yup. That said, when he summons the house it will give us a lot of privacy since it becomes completely undetectable, I don't know about scents but you're free to give it a try." Ingrid said.
"We should test it out later…" Zefir said.
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