Shadows Of Troria (Will Contain 'Slightly-Adult' Content in Later Chapters.)

First topic message reminder :

Well, considering Sunova was kind enough to give me a topic here...well, I decided to return the kindess by posting what I've written so far. Keep in mind this IS a work in progress and only the first 'Draft' and therefore not the final product. I don't expect much feedback, considering the general opinion was poor, but I would appreciate it. Thank you all.

Oh, yes. This is copyrighted by me. You steal, I'll track you down and...yeah. I'll give you a very loud yelling at.
----
-Prolouge-

Just another Friday afternoon. I was glad that another dreary week had finally come to an end as I slammed the door shut behind me, giving a sigh of relief that the weekend had FINALLY arrived. University had been...harder than I'd expected.

To be completely honest, my intellect was up to the standard expectations and so far any grade I’d achieved had been a B+ at least. If anything, it was the people here that made life difficult with their stupid antics and constant mid-night parties which made it nigh-impossible to concentrate. Or sleep, for that matter.

Constant invitations had been given to me throughout the first term and I turned down every offer. Not only did I have better things to do than waste my time getting drunk, drugged and waking up next to someone the next morning, my social skills were lacking sever polish because I didn’t share the same viewpoint as everybody else.

Eventually it led to a simple misunderstanding led to me being branded an outcast and loser by most of the other students on campus. Granted, the teachers actually respected me for my sensible choices but obviously agitated everyone else even more.

Tossing my bag next to the PC, it took only a few moments to boot up, while I stared at my reflecting in the meantime. Not attractive enough to be royalty, but more than enough to have several girls interested in me who DIDN’T hate me (which I turned down. Social issues, remember?) made life somewhat easier.

My facial features were basically consisted of two hazel eyes, mouse-brown hair and usually I was cleanly shaved, something that had taken a few attempts to accomplish without any mistakes or harm to myself. The mocking laughter stung more than the cuts I’d made on my face.

While I’m on the subject, I suppose ‘Mother Nature' had certainly been kind to me as well, proven by the fact that there wasn't a single pimple in sight, nor any horrific flaws. The closest thing to that was a scar on my jaw, an incident from when I was MUCH younger and involving a fall from a bunk-bed into a wardrobe. Don't ask.

As for my attire when I was 'out and about', it proved pretty plain even by normal standards. I have never cared about fashion or stylish clothing and wasn't about to change my viewpoint on such things. A simple blue t-shirt and black trousers with white stripes and other dull clothes were more than enough.

I wasn't exactly all that physically built either. While fit, my muscles weren't very as prominent as my intellect. Mind over matter, as they say. Anyway my body was blessed with fairly light frame and from a recent medical emergency which nearly cost me my life left me about forty-five kilograms in weight.

There was something wrong with my insides...I can’t remember the specifics but it had to do with my digestive system and...Well...I’m still too afraid to eat a large meal after that traumatic experience. Simply thinking about it made me ill.

Still, I was fairly strong when it came to swimming and running which got me some recognition, but who really cares about my achievements? ...Perhaps employment agencies when I search for a job but there'd be no-one else as the rest of society didn’t seem to give a damn since they were thinking they’d be able to do better.

Looking over at my computer and deciding to get some patches for a game I’d bought a few weekends ago, I simply pulled some books out of my bag and decided to take a quick glance at what we’d be studying next week. By the looks of it, there was nothing but PE which was a subject I hated, especially since the game was usually rugby.

...SOMEONE’s going to get it when I found out who’d signed me up for tryouts...

Letting myself drop onto my bed with a thud, the large mattress absorbing my fall, my body refused to rest despite how much today’s physical and mental exercises had drained me.

Taking another glimpse at my PC, I raised an eyebrow at the display. There was a digital pattern with the words ‘Gateway Construction Complete’ taking up a majority of the monitor. The text had no relativity to the patches I was download, nor any other program that was installed on the computer.

Something told me that it was getting dangerously close to having it introduced to a sledgehammer which was sounding quite fun after this week of hell. The grin turned into a frown when I realised I’d have to buy that large unwieldy thing.

“Life-form detected. Beginning transfer...”

Before I had a chance to re-act, there was a deafening roar as a vortex of swirling energy suddenly materialized before my very eyes. Blinded by some rapid flashes of lightning, they lashed out at random, reducing all it touched into...well, it simply vanished.

Trying to fight the strain as this ‘gateway’ began to draw everything towards it, there was nothing I could use to try and resist this powerful force.

Like it mattered. A second wave of powerful bolts lashed out from the vortex, one hitting me directly in the chest. Searing pain coursed through my entire being. The feeling of blood boiling, a headache which felt like it was on the verge of tearing my brain apart...

Trying to remain standing, I could feel my body start to grow heavy and fighting it proved futile as I collapsed into a heap on the floor, my eyesight and consciousness dimming as the vortex continued to rage.
--
-Elsewhere-

“Great, just great! I suppose I should be somewhat thankful that it’s started raining. But I’ll never be able to get my hair out of my eyes OR make it right again. Damnit! Why’d this have to happen...?!” a figure yelled, his voice nearly drowned out by the storm he was cursing.

As such, it was hard to make out any obvious feature about the young man as he was running through the dead of night...and the sudden storm made things worse.

A sudden flash of lightning revealed a faint outline to confirm he was indeed male without any distinguishing features...apart from his lower legs which seemed to be talons.

Turning around when he noticed no reply from his complaint, he reached down to help a second figure who’d fallen over.

“C’mon, sis! We’ve got to hurry! I know it’s hard, especially given the circumstances...but we have to keep running!” the male figure shouted, helping his sister up.

The girl said nothing, barely able to speak and simply nodded at her brother. While they both shared the taloned legs, the only other visible difference was that the other figure was more feminine.

Without another word, they continued to run, even though their legs weren’t meant for this sort of task, not to mention it was surprising how fast they were managing to travel through the storm. Yet despite whatever was pursuing them would be at a disadvantage, there would be little doubt it...they would be close behind.

“Brother...Are we...Are we going to be okay? I’m...Aah!” the girl cried, tripping over something once again.

Obviously concerned about his sister’s well-being, if somewhat annoyed at her general clumsiness, he turned around to help her up once again only to notice WHAT she’d fallen over. A young adult, likely about their age was lying there, unmoving He was bleeding and by the looks of it, was unconscious and barely clinging on to life.

Damnit! As if we didn’t have enough problems...

“Brother...we can’t just leave him here. If the rain or cold doesn’t kill him then...then...” she trailed off, her voice pleading.

“Yeah. They’d kill him instead.” he sighed, lifting the unconscious adult and turning to the east. “We’re not far from a Slynn Village. We’ll simply hide there.”

Right, Chapter 24.
===
Chapter 24

Considering that it'd be in everyone's interests to get breakfast started and ready before his friends awoke, Wren had basically resigned himself to preparing every single meal. Considering he was usually the first one awake, it was simply common courtesy to get things organized. Besides, why waste those lessons spent in those compulsory cooking classes? Especially since it was one of the few things he was good at...even if the grades said he'd be lucky to fry chips at a fast-food joint. Anyways, it was either that or learning how to become a farmer which could be considered not only very low on the scale of society but the fact Wren...didn't exactly get on well with livestock was the main reason.

"Let's see...Guess it's the usual of Strawberry & Apricot Jam on Toast for Hylesa & Falken, some rashers of bacon with a fillet of fish for Sara and some for you, if you’re interested, Azure. I've almost finished roasting some in case you'd like to eat instead of continuing to starve yourself. And if you think it's poisoned or anything, I'll eat some of it."

The Scylla simply shrugged her shoulders. She knew it wasn't poisoned, so that wasn't exactly the issue...it was simply accepting Wren's help. Before getting a chance to object, a plate of fried, golden brown fish handed to her. Azure cautiously glanced behind her human companion, making sure no-one else was awake before giving a quick nod. The last thing she wanted was the others to assume that the Scylla was weak and needed help.

Either way, she hesitated from eating. Her meal was obviously still quite hot and didn't want to risk burning herself by grabbing the fish by hand. It took a few seconds to realise the fork and turned to Wren, somewhat frustrated at her small problem.

Wren gave a smile and decided to teach Azure a bit in general table manners, starting with how to eat with a fork. Yes, he had didn't place a knife on the plate in fear of Azure misunderstanding the situation. Regardless, he placed the frying pan out of harm's way to let Sara's bacon and fish cook for a bit longer.

"It's pretty simple, actually. Just jab the fork into the fish until the pronged part goes through to the other side. And you might want to hold onto the plate with your other hand. It should stay on the fork without falling off. Just take bites out of it like that if you're really hungry."

Doing what she was told, the Scylla did so and stared for a few moments realising what she'd done and things clicked together, glancing over at Wren who nodded.

It was obvious that it'd take some time for Azure to completely lose that cold and proud exterior that was shielding her, but the fact she was being a bit more reasonable and accepting his Wren's generosity. Giving a smile as Azure cautiously took a bite out of the fish and blinked in surprise that it tasted surprisingly better than what she'd usually eaten for most of her entire life. Turning to Wren, she was about to reluctantly ask a question only to find him focused on continuing cooking breakfast.

He'd learnt a considerable bit, but not to mention Wren was applying common sense as well when it came to preparing the meals. Anything fancy or over- the-top was a stupid idea as it would be far easier to handle smaller and simpler meals at once and secondly, such elegant meals took time to prepare as there was nothing was the first meal of the day so there was no real point in cooking anything flashy. It'd waste time which would be better off spent towards handling multiple meals and considering there were bandits out for blood and monsters looking for food...

Wren suddenly blinked and for a moment, completely spaced out, horrified as a certain memory flashed through his mind and not a very pleasant one at the mention of being someone else's meal. ...Let's just say it involved looking for drawings of various demi-humans, stumbling onto a website which hosted a certain comic/manga that had GIANT 'demi-humans' that ate living people WHOLE and leave it at that. If that wasn't bad enough, the fact he'd been unable to sleep for nearly an entire week because he was almost certain a dream would involve him being devoured. When sleep eventually caught up to him, there were no such nightmares...well, not for several days and occasionally had nightmares to this day.

The fact he'd only just realised he was on a world which was full of demi-humans only made things even worse. Sure, it was highly unlikely that there were any giant versions but the point still remained! He couldn't help but feel completely terrified that a giant lamia could slither out of nowhere, pick him up effortlessly and...!!!

...A sharp flare of fire to his arm made him blink back into reality and reel in pain, unsure wether he should be thankful for this pain which was providing an decent distraction from those horrifying memories or that there was no real burns or injury from that small flame. He was simply thankful he hadn’t screamed in terror (or pain) as that would result in quite the humiliation in front of Azure, not to mention waking his friends up before breakfast was ready.

Wren concentrated on cooking the meal. He couldn't afford to get distracted, especially since the bacon and fish had almost been burnt because of his carelessness. Thankfully Azure was busy devouring the cooked fish meaning she hadn't seen his blunder. Of course, he continued to convince himself that certain incident wasn't entirely his fault.

Besides, his internet usage of the internet basically consisted of searching for fan-art, examining the forums for people who had a scrap of morals...it was heart-warming to know there were few people out there who shared his view-points but...they eventually ended up like all the rest. Michelle...was the only one who'd stayed the same. Of course, his mind soon drifted back to...GAH!

How the hell was he supposed to know that where that link had led?! It was basically the only real mistake he'd made in terms of morality and simple human curiosity made him pay dearly...well, if one considered being horrified of having THOSE images coming back to haunt them a price to pay. That and being unable to sleep well at night...

No! Stop thinking about it and focus on cooking! It's not going to happen, so don't worry. Just. Calm. Down. Sheesh, considering that the demi-humans here are more friendly than expected. Okay, I guess there's some who might do rather...unpleasant things but considering we haven't met any yet...Azure excluded, but that's debateable considering she's not as bad as we thought.

Wren stared at the frying pan, somewhat lost in thought but alert enough to place the bacon and fish on a plate before placing the pan on a tree stump nearby. He'd wash it later. His mind drifted back to the 'demi-humans' as a whole and he couldn't help but think of everyone else who was here with him. They were basically the same as things could've ended far worse if this world and all of the people in it were just like Earth. But, it was nice to see that there were people who he'd be able to trust.

It was hard to put into words how to describe why each one of his friends was so important to him. Was it that he had only one real friend until now, making it hard to explain how he felt?

Not to mention there was also the uneasy prospect of what had happened two nights before, considering what happened with Sara was basically the most...intimate he'd been with anyone and Wren couldn't help but feel uneasy. And there was the fact he wasn't sure on the exact terms of Hylesa & Sara’s ‘agreement’.

Tempting fate was a stupid thing to do and knew it'd only be fair to treat them exactly the same. (Of course, he didn't believe in fate or luck but that was beside the point) Failing to treat them equally would likely result in disaster and considering Falken seemed quite defensive when it came to his younger sister and that Sara was a powerful warrior...the end result wouldn't be pretty.

The human paused for a moment as Michelle and her happiness immediately crossed his mind. ...Her life had been a complete misery from the start and basically any joy she'd found had vanished when he'd arrived on this world. He felt...conflicted. Earth was a living hell compared to here, but leaving Michelle to suffer tore at him. It was hard not to entertain the thought of trying to go back and save her...

But there was nothing except death waiting. That 'Chief' would've likely made this look like an attempted suicide and since that crime in question was usually punished with execution, any happiness he'd be able to give Michelle would be short-lived. Giving a heavy sigh, Wren knew that like the fate of Topaz, there was no point in thinking about it as there was nothing he'd be able to do.

A human is only capable of so much. And that's all I am, an ordinary human being.
====
It took at least another fifteen minutes for everyone to wake up. Surprisingly, Aria was the first to join Wren & Azure and simply asked for some cereal rather than anything else, something which wasn't really interesting considering it was mostly flakes of various grains and a few pieces of blueberry which was drenched in milk. The human wasn't too sure how it would exactly prove to be an appetizing meal, but simply guessed there were different tastes for different people...

That was before Wren remembered most of the milk came from a certain Holstaurus back at the Slynn Inn. Wren tried not to think about HOW they ‘harvested’ it, something which caused him to slap himself to get his mind off the subject, with surprisingly more success than...something else he'd already forced out of his mind. Either way, he simply obliged Aria's request and handed her the bowl of cereal.

She seemed a bit sombre and silent, rather than her being cheerful when Sara was around. Some could make certain...assumptions from this but Wren didn’t really think anything of it. Of course, he wasn't exactly a fan of couples consisting of the same gender. Somewhat tolerant but only to a certain degree. Sure, 'love conquers all' and all that but...Wren simply shrugged and continued getting his own breakfast ready. Besides, it'd be best not to think of anything like that.

Surprisingly, Falken and Hylesa were the next to emerge from their tent. The former looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep considering his hair looked quite messed up, even by Falken's standards and there was no smart remark from him while the latter looked much better considering she had been feverish yesterday, not to mention she'd managed to keep her brother standing upright. Of course, Wren quickly put down his meal to help despite the fact Hylesa was fairing quite well.

Things seemed a bit livelier with their presence. Wren had already checked their temperature which showed favourable results. No sign of fever or anything out of the ordinary. Granted, Falken was still pretty fatigued so they'd be slowed down somewhat despite the harpy's protests that he'd be able to fly perfectly fine, yet it was obvious Wren wasn't going to allow this. Any argument he had was cut short when Falken found a plate of toast, smothered in apricot jam leaving him somewhat content to agree...for the moment, watching Hylesa swiftly consume her own meal.

...The fact she always seemed so enthusiastic about eating brought up a question whether the harpy girl always seemed hungry or simply enjoyed eating. It wasn’t like toast coated in strawberry jam was anything special as there wasn't any real method to making such a meal. Either way, Wren didn't bother thinking about it any longer when there were more important things to worry about...well, sort of. He was too busy wondering what or who was lurking in this forest. ...Besides, Sara's breakfast was starting to get cold, something that didn't really matter as she'd finally woken up and like Falken, looked quite tired. At least she was grateful for her breakfast.

Whatever. It's almost time to break camp and get moving anyway. Wren thought, already packing up the gear inside his tent without any further delay. Considering that the mood seemed rather dull as everyone seemed rather distant...well, except for Hylesa who seemed to be happy that her fever had passed and now that Sara was here, Aria was at least trying to bring up a conversation.

...Only the two of them were in a conversation, the rest weren't interested and followed Wren's example after they'd finished eating their meal. It probably was because most of them seemed tired and not in a good mood and considering they may be ambushed by monsters, some bandits or something else entirely, it'd be difficult to fight back. Granted, Hylesa would likely help with that powerful wind magic but it wouldn't be that helpful in a forest.

The fact they'd be heading through such terrain meant all of them would be at a severe disadvantage. Everyone knew this, but they'd arrive at Glennol far quicker. Outlaws, demi-humans who's intentions weren't exactly pleasant or even simple monsters...anything could lay waiting and the group would simply have to take that chance. Turning to his friends who'd finished packing, he braced himself for whatever happened next as they walked into the forest.

Trees stretched up for what seemed to be almost miles, blocking out a great deal of sunlight as it failed to break through the mighty canopy. Shrubs and plants were common place on the forest floor and the fact it’d be several miles of pushing through this giant

"Everyone stay close. We could be attacked any minute and we’re not in a position to fight at our full strength. No matter what we come across, we’ll have to drive them off...trying to remove them through brute force will be too taxing." Wren explained calmly and looked at his companions who nodded in agreement.

They continued their walk forwards in the direction of Glennol, remaining cautious. Even after half an hour of walking, it was becoming obvious everyone was becoming more tense and cautious. Falken looked rather...worried and was glancing in every possible direction, almost as if he was expecting an attack while Sara’s grip on her Zweihänder was a bit...relaxed. How long had she and Aria talked last night?!

The human almost leapt out of his skin in terror when he felt something clung to his right arm, causing him to slowly turn around and notice it was Hylesa. She seemed to be a bit less worried than everyone else, except for Aria who seemed to be doing her best not to break into a cheerful tune if it didn’t bring about the possible chance of drawing attention.

Soon, that half-hour progressed into three and during this time, there’d been no sign of any real threat which brought little relief to the group as it only made them all far more cautious and tense than before...with the obvious exception of Aria who continued to try to lighten the mood. Everyone seemed almost convinced that SOMETHING would appear out at any moment.

They finally emerged out of the forest into the plains with the sun shining brightly and Glennol was clearly visible in the distance, making everyone feel a lot more at ease. Wren even gave a loud sigh of relief that it was finally over...well...before a loud roar from the forest caused them all to turn to each other. While most of them were obviously ready to flee, Wren’s sleep-deprived state caused him to remember a certain movie and an immortal line uttered by a certain king...

“RUN AWAY!!!”

Everyone blinked for a few moments before they realised Wren had already dashed off towards Glennol as fast as possible. Of course, none of them were willing to hang around considering that loud roar could only mean trouble and soon followed the fleeing human...

-A Small Distance Away...-

A pixie sat on a tree-branch while holding up a mega-phone that seemed a far larger than itself and couldn’t help but give a mischievous giggle at that last prank she’d just pulled off. Of course, sitting around here had been boring lately...perhaps she’d stalk the group and have some more fun...

And here we have Chapter 25. I'd like to point out firstly, I was half asleep when I wrote most of this Chapter and decided considering how 'Dark' it ends...I decided to leave in the shower scene in. So, yes. There's quite a bit of nudity in this chapter. Ahem. Here's the Chapter.
====
Chapter 25


It took twenty minutes for the group to reach one of Glennol's gates (which, in reality was actually quite small as the rest of the town was surrounded by a meter high fence made of wood) and they casually passed through without any complaints from the guards who seemed rather relaxed, simply asking them to enjoy their visit and avoid causing trouble. The main fact they didn't bother, nor ask Sara to hand over her Zweihänder made the Lizardgirl quite happy indeed. Likewise, none of the group asked if a certain human had dashed past them before in a blind panic since it was likely he would've at least composed himself before entering the town, or at least they were hoping so.

The houses and from the store they could see in this village so far appeared to be made with a mixture of wood and stone, meant should this place come under attack, it'd likely be burnt to the ground but considering those guards...there was the possibility no monsters had bothered to attack. In either case, the obvious thing to do was finding Wren which proved to a rather easy task as he was simply sitting on a bench a small distance from the very gate they'd entered.

At the moment, he was feebly looking down at the ground with the occasional pause and while he ignored those who walked by, others who stopped and asked if the human was alright to which he responded with a courteous 'I'm fine, but thank you for your concern.' Regardless, it seemed he was quite embarrassed with himself from his earlier reaction to that loud roar...which was him simply running away like a terrified coward. Wren hadn't bothered to look up at his friends.

Considering how miserable he looked, they were quite quick to forgive Wren...well, except for Azure who didn't really care nor was she willing to show any signs of having a soft spot. The human was about to apologize but decided it'd be best not discuss the matter anymore until he'd gotten some rest. Even though he was accustomed to going without sleep, it was slowly taking it's toll. Of course, Wren gave a weak smile and suggested they find an inn before deciding to explore this town a bit more. Of course, that could take a considerable amount of time.

They continued down the main path which was merely nothing but dirt. No cement, stone...just ordinary dust. The village indeed looked rather...behind compared to what the group had seen so far. Simple stalls selling fruit, vegetables...generally things that weren't very expensive, a fact further enforced when Hylesa dragged Wren over and asked for a basket of strawberries...a single gold coin ended up with Wren carrying THREE baskets...and still had change for a few green apples which Falken happily took off Wren's hands.

It didn't help that some of the villagers had stopped their usual business and stared at Wren because of that recent purchase, making him feel rather uneasy. Some of them were human who seemed rather envious, one or two of them were young lamia who looked somewhat interested...and Wren swore he caught a glimpse of a goblin cheerfully skipping along. Of course, the human preferred think the last one was merely a figment of his imagination, especially since he remembered goblins seemed to be rather fond of taking money, valuables and other...things from unaware men so it was obvious he quickly walked in the opposite direction hoping those onlookers didn't follow.

Thankfully, their destination didn't take long as the inn was at least three stories high and like all the other building, was made of stone and wood. Something caught the human's attention though...metal pipes which ran down one wall meaning that this place had plumbing? Wren quickly reminded himself that technology wasn't THAT far behind if that fridge back at Slynn was any indication...come to think of it, despite that heavy storm, it'd been ages since he'd had a proper shower.

He simply hoped there weren't any Devil Bugs hiding in this inn and waiting to pounce on him and Falken the moment they walked into their room. Granted, Sara and Hylesa would obviously try to rescue Wren from such a fate...but it was still rather disturbing to think about. ...Although he did find a certain one from Ragnarok Online kind of cute. Or was that thing which was called 'Maya' something else entirely? The human shrugged his shoulders. Most players preferred Moonlight Flower anyway...

Enough. Focus, Wren. Just...focus. You need some sleep. A shower and to stop thinking about trivial stuff for a few minutes...

Wren quickly concentrated on what was important, taking heed to his advice. A second glance at the inn seemed rather well-built and it seemed like a lot of love and care had gone into it's construction which was more than what could be said for hotels back on Earth. Finally deciding to carry through his plan of 'Order a room, fall onto a bed and sleep for the rest of the day without distractions' the group walked inside behind him. All of them were somewhat surprised to find the reception was completely...well, empty. Rather impatient, Wren simply pressed the bell which had escaped his notice, causing a loud ring to echo through the room.

Several moments passed before a pair of fluffy white ears slowly appeared above the counter, followed by a pair of small sparkling red eyes before a figure immediately leapt up from behind and shouting out a cheerful 'Welcome' to the group, causing every member to flinch at the sudden shock at what just happened...making it a bit ironic that when the rather short figure came to a stop after running circles around them, it looked positively harmless.

...Or rather, she. Her upper-body and lower body was covered in rather comfortable white fur, separated by tanned and rather smooth stomach in between. Dressed in a sky-blue vest which made her rather small bust stand out a bit more and powerful hind paws for legs which obviously proved the fact this figure was a Were-Rabbit. Well, it was somewhat clear from the fluffy rabbit ears.

"Hello! What can I do for you all today? Lunch is still being served. Dinner will be ready in several hours and afterwards is..." the Were-Rabbit said in quite a cheerful tone, but the fact she said it in such a rapid pace made her words seem like they were all mashed together. Obviously, this wasn't going to end well and she repeated her statement once more until footsteps were heard coming down the stairs, causing them all to turn at who was approaching.

It was a simple human man who looked rather young, most likely in his early thirties from his height, rugged yet masculine face and tanned body. Light black hair and light blue eyes, he was dressed in some pretty casual clothes that consisted of a slightly torn shirt and trousers which was the same shade of sky-blue as the Were-Rabbit's vest. It didn't take long for him to speak.

"I'm surprised you don't scare people off each time you do that, Kristy! You're sometimes too cheerful for your own good!" the man chuckled, carefully petting the Were-Rabbit behind those large fluffy ears, causing her to give a rather happy moan and lean against the human, smiling. "I apologize. She tends to get a bit too eager when we see a bunch of new faces in town and hopes to make friends. As for introducing myself...I'm Thomas. We both run this inn, but getting back to the point, I'd assume you all would like a room, preferably together. Correct?"

Several minutes passed and the usual matters of negotiating a price with how long they'd be staying ended up falling flat on it's face when Thomas looked at the guestbook a second time, informing them that there wasn't a room large enough to accommodate them all which led to him recommending two separate rooms. Considering it'd be best if they sticked together for safety, it seemed like they'd be camping outside.

Kristy suddenly jumped up, causing everyone to turn in her direction.

"Oh! I just remembered that there's one room left! A group of adventurers left earlier today and I think it'd just be enough!" she exclaimed, being a bit slower with her words...but still rather loud. "But are you guys reeeally that desperate? I know you're trying to save money and all that but if you're REALLY that desperate, you'll just have to be a bit uncomfortable. Unless two of you are a couple. ...Erm...Then you might want to keep the noise down a bit. We can't have you waking up other guests."

Wren inwardly flinched at what Kristy meant by that last statement and couldn't help but give a silent sigh. So much for getting some sleep in his own bed. ...And it probably didn't help that he probably saw a glint in Sara and Hylesa's eyes which obviously meant things weren't going to end well for him.

"...Considering we may have a few beds in storage, we'll see if we're able to make your stay as pleasant as we can. But I can't charge you without feeling guilty if you're all going to sleep in discomfort should we be unable to do anything." Thomas explained politely.

Wren was somewhat taken by surprise because of Thomas's kindness and generosity...but the fact he'd be unable to rest with something as small as this on his conscious made him try to make the innkeeper reconsider. It'd only be for two days. Eventually, the two of them came to an agreement on paying half price, causing Wren to hand over several pieces of gold. With the payment out of the way, Thomas gave a polite bow and turned to Kristy, asking her to show the group to their room.

Trying to keep up as the excitable Were-Rabbit leapt up the stairs with relative ease while Wren and company did their best to keep up. Three flights of stairs later, they finally standing outside the room. ...Although it was rather humorous to watch the Were-Rabbit try to jump up to reach the lock, key in hand. After one powerful leap, the door finally unlocked.

It looked rather comfortable. Three normal beds which seemed quite fluffy and well-made while one bed for a couple lay in the distance. The walls were a calming sky-blue and a small shutter made of wood led to a balcony which over-looked much of the village to create a rather peaceful atmosphere.

"Well, the showers are on the second floor. They're public ones, however but we've got a schedule organized for the guys who have showers during the night and girls during the day. Either way, I hope you enjoy your stay." Kristy explained, happily handing over the keys to Wren before rushing down the stairs.

The first thing everyone did was discuss who was sleeping where. Sara and Hylesa had come to a quick agreement, the latter who happily hugged the former. At the moment, it seemed like Falken would be without a bed but in either case, he and Wren were left alone while the girls had gone off to take a shower. Both guys sat down with very little to do to pass the time. One was contemplating on retrieving the hybrid-handheld console from his back-pack but the other decided to begin a conversation which caught the human off-guard.

"...So, do you think you've made your mind up on who you're going to end up with?"

Wren's face flushed a bright red as he quickly averted his gaze to floor before glancing up at the harpy, not entirely amused with the question.

"If this is some random diversion you want to indulge in that'll eventually lead up to an excuse for us to go steal a glance at them in the showers, then you're not being very subtle, Falken, nor am I interested." Wren said calmly before looking at Falken who seemed a bit annoyed. "...Sorry, I didn't know you were being serious..." the human sighed, looking rather uncomfortable.

Falken gave a small chuckle before explaining he was indeed quite serious in his question. Of course, he already knew the answer but wasn't about to say that when he could torment Wren some more. Giving a smile and coughing to get Wren's attention once more, it didn't take long for him to come up with a really cruel statement.

"C'mon, Wren! There's no use trying to hide it from me, so you might as come clean. It's obvious that Sara seems to be completely smitten with you after you beat her yesterday which obviously means..." Falken gave a rather sinister grin, his voice becoming more teasing. "...Well, let's say it's just too bad you both didn't get to have a room together for yourselves. After all, who KNOWS what the two of you could've gotten up to! ...Although, it's better that didn't happen. We'd probably be kept up all night hearing you two m-" he was cut off by Wren who was obviously going a bright red.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!!" Wren shouted, shaking his head and continuing to get even more embarrassed, though this only caused the harpy to burst into laughter and fall off his bed where he continued his rather cruel questions.

"Heh, or you could be trying to have a harem or something, are you!? That's just hilarious! I mean, it's almost ironic that nearly EVERYWHERE we've been so far, there hasn't been a single demi-human that's been able to keep their eyes off you! You're already fallen for two of them! And considering..."

"...I...But...GAH! Look, I've only got eyes for THREE girls, alright!?!" Wren shouted, immediately realising his error, something the harpy immediately pointed out.

"Aha! You're just making this a lot more fun for me, you know! I'm wondering who it could be though. You've either got the eyes for Aria, Azure OR...there WAS a girlfriend you had back on Earth! I wonder, what would happen if Sara and Sis heard about this?" Falken grinned.

Wren would've broken into a cold sweat if his mind was still managing to come up with a suitable counter-argument. However, it seemed he couldn't come up with some sort of excuse and tried not to panic. A rational voice of reason spoke up from his sleep-deprived brain suggesting his last statement was a mere slip of the tongue and it'd be best to confess that the girl was a child-hood friend and nothing more. He simply shrugged it off and stood up.

"Are you finished tormenting me now? I have better things to do than put up with an immature air-head." the human muttered before he walked out of the room without another word.

Falken paused for a moment and cursed under his breath. ...He hadn't meant to go that far.
--

-Meanwhile...-

The showers were quite...different from what the girls were expecting. While Kristy had said they were public, she thought...but walls separating each 'chamber' only went up to the waist which looked like they'd been partially destroyed which meant there'd be no real sense of privacy meaning it was likely one of the main reasons they were given a key...and that the genders showered at different times.

Either way, Aria didn't really seem to mind and had already removed (if with some difficulty) her sleeveless shirt despite not having human hands...to reveal her rather large chest and swiftly followed suit with her shorts and underwear, showing off the rest of the siren's rather developed body. Slim with rather slender hips and attractive figure. It took a few moments before she managed to get the shower running and began lathering her wings with soap.

Azure eventually followed suit, if somewhat reluctantly. Her skin was feeling rather dry since it'd been two days since she'd been immersed in water. Of course, she left her clothes on and simply stepped underneath her own shower-head, making sure the water was cold.

While both Hylesa and Sara had gotten undressed, neither of them were feeling all that...comfortable. The former was quite slender, attractive and rather cute while the latter’s body seemed to be covered in lime-green scales here and there along with the tail which did it's best to conceal certain parts of her lower body. Their figures, while indeed feminine and attractive, it was obvious that both of them had breasts which were considerably smaller than both Azure and Aria's.

"...C'mon, Sara! You've got to get clean~!" Aria sung, cutting Sara's thoughts short.

The siren happily grabbed the lizard-girl with her clawed hand and dragged her underneath the shower alongside her before she began washing Sara's long bronze hair. The former was happily humming a cheerful tune as she did her best to get rid of the dirt and grime from her friend's body while Sara was blushing furiously at the wings brushing over her tender breasts...it didn't help that Aria's ample chest was pressing against her back. It took a few minutes for her to realize this and spoke up.

"...Are you still upset that you're...lacking compared to me? Have a little bit more self-esteem and think of it on a more positive way! If you had a chest my size, you'd find it a lot harder to fight with it getting in the way! Besides, you told me Wren didn't seem to mind when the two of you had a rather intimate moment." Aria pointed out, giving a happy grin.

The harpy who'd ended up deciding to finally get in her own shower quickly demanded an explanation as to what exactly happened. Sara swiftly explained what happened and that it hadn't gone any further than that, followed by a swift apology for forgetting to uphold a certain part of their agreement. Hylesa happily accepted the lizard-girl's apology and gave a cheerful smile while Aria pointed out that Wren must care for them both a great deal which caused the harpy and lizard-girl to blush.

After several minutes of conversation, the girls quickly got dressed before returning to the room.
--
The rest of the day passed without incident. Night had finally fallen and everyone was casually sitting on their beds, including Falken who was content to simply lay on a simple mattress. Simple conversation ended up bringing up the incident which occurred today and what that creature could've been.

"I think from that roar, it could've been a Dragon. There's nothing else I can think of that makes such a noise. My father told me quite a bit about them."

Wren turned to Sara, somewhat confused and cautiously asked what sort of dragon she meant by that statement. Was it a 'proper' dragon which was a large monster which was capable of breathing fire with razor sharp teeth or a type of demi-human? The human seemed rather uneasy at either possibility.

"The latter. They're demi-humans like us and obviously have some resemblance to my kind. Apart from them having quite a powerful body and being covered in far more scales to the point their arms and legs are pretty much completely covered in scales form deadly claws. Compared to us Lizardwoman, our claws usually form from the wrists and ankles..." Sara explained.

Oh. I thought they were just gauntlets you didn't bother taking off. Guess you learn something new every day. Wren thought to himself, feeling rather foolish for not figuring that obvious fact out sooner before turning his attention back to Sara.

"The most noticeable differences is that they have horns, wings and their tails are actually a useful for a means of self-defence if necessary. And like you'd expect, they are also able to transform into proper dragon but most of the time they tend to conserve their strength by staying in human form. ...There have been some rumours that they've been able to change into their true forms a lot easier lately. Apparently several years ago, it was incredibly difficult for them to transform. But that doesn't matter. In either form, it's clearly obvious they possess the most power amongst any of living thing in this world and to fight against them is suicidal. Oh, and they enjoy find humans quite delicious, too." Sara joked, giving a small smile.

Obviously because of Wren's fears of being devoured by monsters, combined with the fact he couldn't tell if Sara was being serious or not meant Wren couldn't help but give a loud scream of terror before curling up into a ball and refusing to budge, a reaction which everyone in the room stared at with surprise. Azure found this rather amusing, though and while Sara wasn't sure whether to laugh or feel sorry for him falling for such a joke...well, both of them felt a bit distressed when the latter saw how terrified to the poor human was, to the point he seemed almost ready to break into tears at any moment.

Hylesa was already trying to comfort Wren by giving him a hug while Sara gave a rather heart-felt apology. Either way, considering it'd be best to get some sleep, everyone agreed. The human simply

Taking a quick glance over at Hylesa who was happily curling up next to him with a smile on her face, Wren somehow managed to sleep easy...for a few hours. Rubbing his eyes as he sat up and looked over at the harpy who seemed to be shielding him with her wings, making him wonder if there was something on her mind. Either way, he got up and walked onto the balcony and gave a small sigh.

"...Okay, why the heck are you still awake? You said it yourself that you've been up for more than the last twenty-four hours. So you're either still terrified of being eaten by a dragon, or is it something else? Besides you've got to rest. We'd be in a real jam if you keep pushing yourself like this."

Wren remained silent, not bothering to turn around at the sound of find Falken's voice. He was still fuming with anger and embarrassment from his earlier humiliation and simply wanted to go back inside until the harpy stopped him, his facial expression grim.

"...Look, I'm really sorry for being a jerk earlier. I didn't mean to go that far. It's just that when I'm the one wanting all the attention, I get a bit jealous. You have no idea how lucky you have it."

The human simply gave a sigh and turned around. He wasn't exactly feeling any better but felt a bit happier before his companion decided to speak up.

"I guess it helps a little bit that I have some older sisters who did a pretty good job at keeping me in line and making me who I am." Falken paused, noticing Wren was confused. "Oh, right. Well, you never really asked if we had any other siblings. Anyway, they were actually triplets believe it or not. Sure, they looked slightly different and had different colored hair but were completely different in personality. As for the main reason I haven't bothered mentioning them is...well..." Falken trailed off.

"Is it something you'd rather not talk about? If it brings back painful memories, don't struggle to do so on my account. It's not like you're going to die if you DON'T tell me." Wren asked, showing some concern.

The harpy simply gave a smile and shook his head before continuing from where he left off, saying that it wasn't that they hadn't fallen victim to some horrible tragedy, but pointed out that not only were all three of them were indeed still alive and well, it was they'd simply left home to explore this vast world four years ago, leaving him with mixed emotions.

"I was only sixteen back then and felt rather depressed that they'd gone off without us, but then two years later and completely out of the blue, they ended up coming back home to visit. Sure, they did pick on me for still being single and not having anyone in my life but the fact none of them had changed...well, all of us were happy to see them after all that time. Sure, it's been another two years since then...but they may have found their own happiness with someone." Falken smiled. "What about you? I guess we didn't really ask if you have any brothers or sisters waiting back on Earth."

The human's response was to simply give a simple nod.

"Well, the only sibling I have is a younger sister who's two years younger than me. My parents ended up calling her Elizabeth. You know how it is, finding out that someone else has come along and take all the attention away from you, well she did exactly that. I guess it helped that she was as cute as a button and actually rather nice as she grew up. Sure, I was usually left on my own either reading a small book until she insisted I spent time with her. Considering our parents usually had to go to work and left us on our own, we ended up becoming fairly close since we had no-one else to play with." Wren told Falken, trailing off.

It didn't take long for Falken to ask what happened next. Of course, he had little idea of what to expect as Wren continued to look rather calm despite the subject, not to mention the thoughts that were going through his head.

"Out of the blue, a terrible disease began claiming many lives and while a majority of ages were immune, a lot of young children, mainly those who were under five years old was subject to it's horrible effects. What it did to a child was cause it's body temperature would slowly decrease, their immune system stops working before they'd simply fall asleep. At that stage, if it wasn't treated in at least two hours, they'll usually awaken in a semi-conscious state for one last hour as their body completely shut down and they go to sleep one last time to never wake up. It's strange. They're never in any pain...but it's horrifying to watch, especially since there are still a few cases of it today." Wren paused for moment to catch his breath before continuing.

"...I guess if that wasn't obvious enough, then I'll put it in simple terms. My sister caught the disease and the cure was ineffective on her. Of course, my family wasn't about to let her die as they had the necessary resources...as in money to keep her alive which resulted in them putting Elizabeth into statis when she fell asleep for the first time." he said calmly, looking at Falken's confused expression. "Forgot you guys wouldn't have stuff like that here. Statis is where a person is frozen in time to save their lives, giving people time to find a cure. And while their body is frozen, their mind is still capable of some thought. Getting back on subject..."

Falken simply stood there in disbelief, horrified at Wren's story so far, causing him to cautiously ask if this story actually had a happy ending. Wren simply shook his head, making the harpy's face to turn away. Not that it mattered as Wren continued to finish his tale.

"It's been SIXTEEN years and they're still struggling with getting that cure for the mutation of the disease Elizabeth had. The fact my family's fortune has been necessary to keep her in statis all this time and considering it's quite expensive keeping someone in that state, there's very little money left. My yearly earnings would only be enough to keep my sister alive for only HALF of the time I'd spent...less, in fact, considering it's becoming more pricy." Wren explained, catching his breath.

"At best, she'd have a few months left...well, if it wasn't for my sudden departure to this world. You see, I need to sign a form to confirm that I'd want Elizabeth to be kept in statis for another two months and since I'm no longer on Earth, the document in question was likely going to arrive in the mail the next day and knowing the human race, they'll soon bring Elizabeth out of statis, fail to cure her and will simply dump her body in a pile of garbage since there's no family there to take care of funeral arrangements."

Falken blinked in disbelief. That was just...inhumane!

"W-What about your parents?! Wouldn't they be able to do something?!"

Wren folded his arms and simply continued to remain rather calm, pointing out it was HIS responsibility to look after his Elizabeth's well-being while THEY went abroad for more important manners. So not only would his parents remain unaware of her condition or if there was any change, any help they wouldn't be able to provide any assistance, ESPECIALLY since Wren said they had yet to come back from their THIRTEEN YEAR trip. It didn't help that the people they left him with until he'd gone off to college didn't care at all.

As for Wren's uncaring attitude, Falken had put up with it enough. Swiftly grabbing by his shirt and glaring at him with those burning emerald green eyes, the human didn't bother struggling and simply remained calm, not at all phased by his current state.

"How can you just stand here telling me all this without flinching about that horrible time during your childhood? It's bad enough, but the fact you haven't shed a single tear or seem to be feeling any form of angst, sorrow or breaking down over what's likely going to happen to you sister...I thought you were better than that, Wren! You almost cried for no reason a few hours ago, yet you won't weep for Elizabeth?!"

Wren turned simply broke free from his companion's grip and shrugged both shoulders, the calm and emotionless expression on his face was still quite clear and hadn't changed from what it had been during the start of this conversation. Normal people would've been a bit enraged or upset at this statement but it was obvious he wasn't showing any sort of emotion at all.

"Angst? Falken, let me tell you something. When the world decides your it's play-thing and throws a second trauma-inducing incident when you haven't even gotten over the first, angsting over what's happened to you so far is pointless. And considering that my adoptive family made life a living hell, it forced me to avoid breaking down over the things that have made my life one big chain of misery. If I did, I'd very likely to end up joining those who've been taken away VERY quickly."

Falken blinked in disbelief at Wren's sudden and rather rational remark despite the fact it was delivered in such an uncaring and dull tone to the point it completely went against the rather caring or considerate manner Wren had shown so far. For several moments, his mind was struggling to come up with some sort of comment to try to make the human somewhat regretful for his attitude (or lack of) but couldn't come up with any sort of argument...and was cut off by his companion anyway.

"But...I guess you're right. I should be upset about the fact Elizabeth's likely not going to make it. But when you've already watched your own grandparents die before your eyes it tends to make it hard to care about what you have left. Maybe there's more to it than that though...there's some small chance I'll see my sister again which keeps me going."

The harpy stared at him for a moment, stunned.

"...I'm sorry, Wren. I simply thought that you didn't care at all. But..." Falken started, getting cut off at the mention of it would be a discussion for another time. Giving a simple wave goodbye to his human friend, he returned to his bed while Wren stared out into the distance for a few moments longer, thinking.

Pushing those thoughts aside, the human returned to his own bed and lay next to the Hylesa. For a few moments he stared up at the ceiling before falling asleep once again.

...And Chapter 26. This'll be the last chapter for a while as I need to keep writing the rest. Anyway, PLEASE comment so I know what I should try to improve upon. Please. It's all I ask.
----
Chapter 26

...For several moments, there was nothing but incredible pain and agony coursing through someone's body despite the haze of unconsciousness blocking them out from reality. A brief flicker of light pierced the darkness before a shrill scream brought an end to this horrible nightmare, shattering the veil of shadow and causing the figure's eyes to open, slowly adjusting to the blurry illuminated room. Unsure of what to do, the one who'd awoken placed a hand to their face, noticing something was missing...

It was impossible to make everything out as all remained one big blur of shadow and colour, causing the figure to wonder what was going on and why their entire body was still in a great deal of pain.

"Oh, you're awake. Hold on for a moment..." someone calmly remarked before placing something on the recently awakened figure's eyes, making everything far clearer. "Hopefully these are a suitable replacement for those broken glasses we found you wearing...Well; actually there was more to it than just that...you were lying in a pool of blood outside town two days ago, but it was a miracle that your wounds weren't serious. How are you feeling? Do you remember your name? Or anything at all, dear?"

There were a few moments of silence as the girl simply laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling as her vision finally cleared, revealing it was one slab of cold grey stone. ...Everything slowly pieced itself back together of what happened before everything turned completely blank. Giving a simple nod and turning to whoever was speaking, she gave a quick gasp of surprise as the speaker finally came into focus and the thing that was seen...or a lack of which...a proper human body from the waist down that. In it's place seemed to be something which held a frightening resemblance to a spider's form, a revelation which caused the wounded girl to give a shrill scream and fly into a panic as she flailed both arms around trying to fight this monster off.

The Arachne retreated for a moment before trying to calm the panicking figure down. This took several minutes of convincing that she wasn't going to devour the one she'd rescued despite her appearance. After promising an explanation of what was going on, the girl was still rather uneasy despite the promises of an explanation and what she'd been told. As far as she could tell, this...person could've been behind all of this. Considering there was nothing else the youth could do except simply nod introduce herself hoping that things would work out.

"I-I'm Michelle...Who...or what are you?...And where am...I?"

It was obvious she was still quite afraid and confused on what was going on. A bit more willing to look up at her saviour who was standing beside her, Michelle was rather stunned by the Arachne's appearance. Granted, it was rather un-nerving to see this rather unnatural amalgam of woman and spider which stood before her, especially since all eight red eyes seemed to be focusing on the poor girl, yet...there was a sort of beauty to her as well.

The woman's hair which a silvery-grey, usually linked with the fact time was catching up with them, but it seemed to shimmer with life and when she cautiously ran her hand through it, it felt like soft silk. Her clothes were rather unique in design as they seemed to involve a spider's web an quite interesting ways, not to mention those silver clothes revealed a great deal of pale, smooth skin. For a moment, Michelle wondered if this woman had any form of modesty considering a glance up at the arachne's chest revealed it seemed to be barely restrained by what little 'clothing' was there.

Michelle's impediments thought was wondering if this woman had heard of the term 'modesty'. Perhaps it was natural for...whatever...whoever this person was, but if SHE decided to wear clothes like that, it'd be embarrassing if that tight outfit managed to accommodate her upper body. In either case, it seemed that the promise the Arachne made finally decided to keep her end of the bargain as she finally introduced herself as Sharlet and what exactly she was, causing a perplexed Michelle to ask what she meant in a bit more in detail. And while the one who'd saved her decided to talk about it some more tried to stay on topic, the conversation quickly went off the rails.

"Let's see...Well, it's obvious that we're not exactly 'human' like yourself, but at the same time, we are. As I said before, an Arachne of my heritage is a perfect mix of strength, beauty and intelligence that far surpasses mere humans...although there are plenty of people in the world who view us as monsters merely because of our appearance and talents. Some say we're mindless creatures that need to be erased for the good of everyone. Hmph! Perhaps the reason some of us are so hostile towards your kind is because they were selfish enough to not only force us out of our homes, but burn them to the ground as well while leaving us to find shelter elsewhere." Sharlet remarked rather sharply before noticing the fact Michelle felt a bit uneasy from that last statement.

Michelle could only give a cautious nod and hope that this Arachne's distaste for humans didn't apply to her. ...Of course, there was the horrible realization that wherever she was now wasn't Earth and almost went into a panic because of this. That fading pain she'd felt meant this wasn't a dream...and even if it was, there was no possible way she'd be able to create something like this. Mustering what little courage she had to ask Sharlet where exactly she was caused the woman to point out they were in a small village hidden in a forest.

A second question resulted in that this place was rather out of the way and was generally ignored by most. The few who dwelled here were those who'd lost their homes or simply seeked a safe haven, meaning there were very few humans who were allowed to live here. Despite being in a clearing while being surrounded by forest for several miles, their lives were quite peaceful...if somewhat dull. Sharlet simply folded her arms and seemed rather angry that it'd be a matter of time before the humans would find them and burn this sanctuary as well.

Of course, the girl couldn't help but feel guilty. It seemed that mankind hadn't really changed...if anything, their treatment of these...'people' was worse than the hatred they had for each other. Deciding to point out that this wasn't her 'world', Sharlet stared at Michelle in confusion before making a comparison between Earth and...wherever this place was.

"Are you indeed telling the truth, saying you arrived from another world? One where there's none of us?" Sharlet couldn't help but give a rather confident laugh and give a small smile. "I suppose such a thing would be possible in fiction, or with enough magic to warp reality, but that's highly unlikely! The mere concept is quite absurd! ...But considering you're bringing this all up from memory, it rules out any possibility that your suffering from amnesia and I doubt you'd be delusional and I doubt you're the type who'd lie." she grinned, making Michelle weakly smile back.

The Arachne couldn't help but fold her arms and continued to think. This wasn't exactly a story one would expect to hear, but since Michelle seemed rather sure in her description, it brought about a question if she had any desire of returning back to her own world. The human hesitated for a few moments and contemplated the situation. On one hand, in only a few minutes, Sharlet had shown actual concern for her well-being...more affection than either of her own parents had ever shown. But there was obviously the fact Wren was...is still missing and hasn't been seen for almost three weeks.

A sudden realization struck as Michelle remembered something. That email from Wren...it seemed to be what brought her to this world. So did that mean he could've ended up in here as well?! For a few moments, she felt like there was some genuine chance that one of her two problems were solved, but it made way for new ones. If he ended up on here, Wren could be on the other side of the planet or even worse...! Quickly asking Sharlet if she'd heard of anyone named Wren, Michelle felt her hope slowly begin to die as the Arachne shook her head which left the human silent.

"Although...there may be someone who's heard rumours about him. Like yourself, we make exceptions to several humans who've earned our trust or those who have been badly wounded and deserted. Of course, there are others like us who come and go and they usually bring stories to tell." Sharlet pointed out, causing Michelle to brighten up. "There might be a chance that someone might know about your friend. A small chance, but it's better than nothing."

While the girl was rather determined to find out if SOMEONE knew Wren, Michelle immediately recalled one very big problem. She had no idea if she would be able to walk, let alone stand on her own two feet considering she'd been in a wheelchair since that...incident. Sharlet seemed rather impatient and simply grasped Michelle's arms.

"W-Wait...!" Michelle managed to cry before being pulled off the bed and standing on both feet. For a few moments, she was unable to move, half-expecting her legs to collapse beneath her and finally break but...it seemed that they'd finally healed after all this time. A nervous step forwards caused Michelle to take another more confident step. It seemed she was perfectly fine.

Sharlet simply stood there, waiting for her human companion and pointed out that it'd be a good thing for Michelle to get outside and breathe in the fresh air considering she'd simply been asleep for the previous two days. It wasn't exactly healthy for a young woman to simply lie around...of course, Michelle seemed to busy trying to figure out how this miracle had happened. The doctors said she'd be stuck in that wheelchair for at least several more months...so how was this possible? Either way, the Arachne simply stood by the door, waiting and trying not to look impatient.

Weakly apologizing for her rather odd behaviour, she gave a small smile and promised not to waste anymore time. Stepping into a small corridor and then through another door which led outside, Michelle had to shield her eyes as it had been far too long since she'd seen proper rays of sunlight shine down from the clear sky. At least that is what she assumed as several trees towered over them, blocking out a good deal of light, but the blue sky was indeed visible, creating a rather beautiful sight.

Turning around to look at the small house that she'd spent the last two days in, it seemed rather small. Made of rather smooth and what appeared to be slightly polished stone, Michelle simply assumed that Sharlet and those who lived in this small village preferred to avoid cutting down trees and using wood. She wasn't sure how easy it'd be to build a house made entirely of stone, but simply decided not to think about it and simply continued to look around in awe as she walked besides Sharlet.

It felt rather...odd, seeing all of these amalgams of human and creature. The first one Michelle could clearly see a Were-Cat which was laying in the grass only a few steps away. It's fur was a light black, with hand and feet replaced by paws and a tail which seemed to twitch as if it had a mind of it's own. Occasionally it'd roll around in it's sleep, subconsciously trying to remain in the rays of sunlight. For a moment, she wondered if this 'Were-Cat' enjoyed being scratched behind the ears but decided against testing that theory and continued to walk past several more houses of stone.

A glance to her left revealed the back of a figure with...green skin, long hair of the same colour and...most of their lower body concealed by a giant flower. Michelle almost flew into a panic, fearing that the plant was dangerous until Sharlet calmed the human down and explained it'd still take the human some time to adjust to some of this world's inhabitants but if they were anything like Sharlet, that wouldn't be a bad thing.

The village was rather small as Michelle only counted twenty buildings made of stone, some which were larger than others...and the closest thing she could see that resembled a 'proper' human being was an elf, one who seemed rather smug by simply turning away from them with a huff. Granted, this did make her feel a bit alone, yet it felt somewhat comforting that these people wouldn't hurt her.

"Hello~! What's your name? I'm Blessa! Let's play, okay? C'mon! Let's play!" a voice suddenly spoke in such a way that sentence seemed more along the lines of one large word.

The human blinked at the small figure which was hovering in front of her face and despite being somewhat surprised, she didn't need Sharlet to tell her what that this cheerful sprite was a fairy. Cherry-Pink colored hair which flowed behind her, held in place with a rather ridiculous pink ribbon that seemed far too big for someone who seemed no bigger than Michelle's hand. It's transparent wings fluttered every few seconds, yet when they caught some sunlight, they shone brightly with multiple colours to create a rather stunning sight. ...The dress it was wearing seemed to be made out of a cherry-blossom's petals which were held together with small vines.

Of course, Michelle didn't want to get distracted from asking the villagers here if they knew anything about Wren. She turned to Sharlet who simply gave a smile, one which made her companion wonder if it was genuine, malicious, or simply masking her annoyance at the fairy's presence. Calmly introducing herself to rapidly moving fairy, the human turned to Blessa and said they'd be able to play later before walking off. The sprite, however was rather persistent and simply flew besides them, deciding to bombard Michelle with more questions instead. For a few moments, it seemed there was no end to the barrage of inquisitions and the arachne simply came to a stop and folded her arms, unable to tolerate the fairy's behaviour any longer.

"...Go and play with Blessa, but don't leave the village. I'll simply ask around myself and we'll meet back here...soon." Sharlet simply remarked, causing Michelle to watch her companion leave.

She simply looked up at the fairy that seemed to be flying around and vainly trying to drag the silent Michelle along. It kind of stung, considering that Sharlet had left on her own to get away from the irritating Blessa, but considering she'd sacrificed her time to not only save her but help find someone who might know about Wren's whereabouts, it made Michelle even more determined to repay the 'debt' she owed. Continuing to walk besides the sprite who flew just out of reach and giggled about playing a game, she surprisingly vanished from of sight.

Was this supposed to be a game of Hide and Seek...? It wasn't exactly the human's strong point, nor was it fair considering the fairy was tiny and could be hiding anywhere. Michelle casually walked around the small village on her own to the point she ended up getting a bit lost. Simply deciding to wait for Sharlet to return and vainly trying to find Blessa, everything came to a complete stop as something...wet and sticky brushed against the human's foot. Looking down, she gave a small scream and swiftly backed away from what was there.

Blessa obviously came out of hiding after hearing the cry of fear and dived from a branch which was a short distance above Michelle before floated in front of her and turned, wondering at what the human was afraid of.

It was a tiny ruby-red slime in the form of a young girl which seemed to recoil from Michelle's scream and simply stared up at them for a moment, confused before trying to close the gap between them. It was obvious that the human was terrified of this harmless creature and continued to retreat as the poor slime struggled to keep up despite oozing across the ground at a rather slow pace. Noticing that she was at least a good distance away from this...creature, Michelle turned to see it was still trying it's best to catch up to her, something which caused Michelle's fear to turn into sympathy.

This little girl seemed determined to reach Michelle despite her rather hesitant steps backwards until a glance at it's face showed that this slime was quite scared and from it's form, likely defenceless. Realising this, Michelle cautiously walked over to the small slime and knelt down besides the transparent crimson creature as it slowly looked up at her, confused and afraid.

"...Mom...mommy...?"

Unsure what to do, Michelle simply stared at the slime in silence. It seemed to be the size of a young girl with features to match, making the human feel more at ease since she knew this creature was harmless and cautiously reached out a hand. Several moments passed before the girl of goo timidly grasped it, looking up at her with a weak smile, while Michelle tried her best not to laugh at how the slime seemed to tickle her hand.

It was obvious this...girl was made out of some sort of red jelly considering how it seemed to wobble and feel, but how it could have confused Michelle for her mother was what made the human worry. Were her parents still around? Or had something happened to them? She simply shook her head and decided not to think about the obvious problems and somehow think of a solution. The only idea that came to mind was to look after this girl until something could be done.

...Until then, Michelle decided it would be for the best that she'd give a name to this tiny girl and simply went with Rubi. She knew it wasn't exactly a good name, but this was all she could come up with. Blessa simply hovered around the two of them, silent for several minutes before pointing behind Michelle, causing the human to turn. Sharlet had returned, looking somewhat surprised at the ruby red slime that 'stood' next to Michelle yet simply dismissed it, motioning to two figures who were standing behind her.

At first, Michelle felt relieved that Sharlet had come back and even found someone who possibly knew where Wren was until her mind noticed something else. What was it with people and their lack of modesty on this world? This man, who was probably a year or two older than Wren seemed rather content to only wear a vest, dark green in colour and somewhat torn which only showed off much of his rather masculine physique, not to mention the lightly tanned skin. He wore a pair of matching shorts which, again, showed off most his muscular, yet reasonably toned legs and gave an over-confident grin.

As for the girl with bird-like legs and chocolate brown wings for arms...not to mention long hair and eyes of the same colour, she seemed rather silent and simply did her best to avoid making eye contact. At least she was wearing a dull grey one-piece dress, probably the most sensible form of clothing Michelle had seen so far.

"You're probably wondering why a guy like me is here. Well, I guess it's because I'm no-one special, but the people here have treated us well during our stay. Maybe it's because my companion is a harpy and 'one of them' or for some other reason they haven't told me. Anyways where are my manners? I'm Drengalo but people call me Drent, Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire!" he smiled, causing Michelle to look at him with a puzzled look. "And I case you're wondering, I'm NOT a thief. I'd never drop to the level of a common criminal to get some shiny gemstone! ... ... ...Giant Shiny Diamond. Hm..." Drent smiled, his mind lost on sparkling diamonds, rubies and emeralds.

Michelle indeed couldn't help but wonder why someone like 'Drent' was here, considering his rather interesting personality. ...Maybe it WAS because of his harpy companion. In either case, it took several moments before Drengalo's companion gently pushed him with her right wing, causing the youth to snap back to reality and realise what had been asked of him. He felt rather embarrassed for letting his mind wander but nodded.

"...Wren? Yeah, I'm pretty sure there were people talking about some warrior called Wren who fought against a lizardgirl at Slynn Village and from what I heard, it was said he put up a rather decent fight despite what he was up against. Sure, the kid still lost in the end, but considering that he'd almost managed to win, that's a pretty impressive feat. As for what I've heard after that...he's travelling with two harpies and that girl who beat him. Considering what people have said about that lizard-girl warrior and her title which is apparently 'Slayer of 1000 Monsters', I'd say Wren's in safe hands."

Michelle was rather shocked that Wren had gotten into fight with...she turned to Sharlet who pointed out that lizardmen...or in this case, lizardgirl are born warriors who are constantly training themselves in the arts of combat, whether it were to be with axes, blades, spears, they usually focused their efforts towards mastering them. Deciding to change the subject, Michelle decided to ask more about the harpy which was accompanying Drent.

He replied that the harpy's name was Ceilia...or at least the name he called her. They'd simply met at a village during his travels where she'd only woken up and found that something had left the poor harpy mute and with her left wing broken. Obviously, being mute she couldn't say her real name and considering no-one wanted to look after her any longer, Drent decided to let her tag along. They'd been together for the last two weeks and despite not being able to talk, she was welcome company.

While everyone was talking, Blessa had gotten bored and had floated off on her own. It felt irritating that none of them were paying attention to her and simply decided to casually leave the village, obviously curious. ...Of course, things didn't go so well. Something...something un-natural began moving, causing her to fly closer before doing a complete turn and flew back to the village.

A shrill scream caused them all to turn as Blessa flew past Michelle, screaming which caused the group to turn in the sprite's direction, obviously worried. It seemed someone...or rather, something had found the village.

Sharlet looked rather disgusted at the misshapen creatures who continued their mindless shuffling forwards and seemed ready to fight in whatever way she could...until she noticed Drent stand in front of the group and gave a small grin at the monsters and told his companion, everyone else to move out of harm's way and for Blessa to go warn the villagers as these monstrosities continued their lurching march forwards.

There seemed to be about thirty of these misshapen....things and considering none of these villagers were capable of fighting, mainly because they'd never been attacked until now...some of them had fled into their homes while others were simply frozen to the spot as fear took over their senses. Of course, Drent simply sized up his opposition, wondering what would be the smartest course of action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFAb2-K0KzI

"C'mon!"

And without another moment's hesitation, he charged at the swarm of undead and misshapen humans with a rather powerful double-bladed battleaxe in both hands. The entire weapon was coated in silver and it's edge seemed very keen as it effortlessly cut through the rotting flesh and bone of one unfortunate zombie which had been foolish enough to get too close, cleanly slicing the monster in half sending black blood spraying across the ground. Shifting his weight and swinging the axe in a full circle, more undead were dispatched with ease as heads and torsos were removed from their rotting bodies, causing them to crumble into dust.

Everyone looked on at the human hack his way through the masses with ease as it seemed like nothing would slow him down. A skeleton managed to sneak up on him from behind with a rusty blade in hand only to find that it's victim had already smashed through several undead in his way, revealing he'd already destroyed at least half of the group of thirty. Even despite the size of that massive battle-axe, Drent continued to deliver such powerful blows with such speed that few of these creatures were able to survive the first attack and even if they did, most were reeling back from that first blow, they weren't able to avoid getting hit the second time.

Granted, most of his efforts seemed dedicated to sheer power rather than a balance of agility and strength. Whether it was common knowledge that these undead monstrosities were slow. While they seemed to have some sort of awareness that they'd need to be more cautious as their numbers were rapidly thinning, it seemed like most were trying to avoid meeting a rather messy end. Considering how much Drent pushed forwards however, it was a foregone conclusion they'd be unable to flee.

Some of the crowd had begun to cheer the human on as he continued to hack his way through the enemy numbers, reducing them to almost nothing. At most, there seemed to be only two left as that silver axe effortlessly sliced a zombie in two diagonally before it crumbled into dust. It was quite obvious that Michelle felt rather unwell at this horrific display and simply turned away as the black blood and limbs flew through the air, holding the still sleeping Rubi close.

While Sharlet did point out that these creatures weren't human any more or even alive for that matter in an attempt to comfort the terrified Michelle, yet it did very little to banish the girl's fears and being told that these monsters had indeed been human at one point made her shudder, yet the sound of cheers and applause made them both turn around to find Drent standing in the middle of what was left of those horrible monstrosities. Several piles of dust and black blood which stained the soil, but otherwise there was no real trace that they'd even existed.

For a brief second, Drent's red eyes seemed to shine brightly, causing him to step to the left as a blast of raw magical energy harrowingly missed him and reduced a tree to ash. A skeleton stood in front of him, dressed in lime-blue robes with bronze lining. They were tattered, torn and blood-stained meaning they'd seen better days before this poor soul ended up like this. It's bones seemed held together by some magical force as the cracks and fissures were quite noticeable meaning it was obviously quite brittle and would collapse into dust easily...yet unlike the other skeletons, this one had a sparkling diamond which seemed to be firmly lodged in the monstrosity's skull. In either case, Drent swiftly went on the offensive, forcing the skeleton to awkwardly retreat.

Considering that it's form wasn't very agile, it took mere seconds for Drent to close the gap and with a shout, he brought his axe down on the undead's skull and cleanly cleaved it into with enough force it broke the skeleton's bones into dust. The cleanly cleaved skull leered up at him as it fell onto the 'bonemeal' before crumbling into pale dust. Apart from those tattered blue robes, there was no real sign it'd had ever existed...except for a single glint of light caught the man's eye as he knelt down and picked up the diamond, rubbing the gemstone on his torn shirt to make it sparkle brightly. It didn't seem to exude any form of sinister power...not that Drent noticed as he was too busy staring at the transparent gem shine.

"Heh. And who says no good dead ever goes unrewarded? To the victor, the spoils!" Drent laughed, giving a polite bow as the few women began to applaud. "But to be honest, I'm simply repaying the generosity you've all shown me. You have my gratitude." he smiled, before walking over to a stunned Michelle, amused Sharlet and cheering Blessa who

The young man dusted himself off and gave a small sigh, saying that those creatures weren't exactly anything to worry about. Getting back to the subject from before they were interrupted, Michelle claimed that she needed to find Wren, but admitted the fact she...couldn't stand fighting and even if she was willing to use a weapon to defend herself, she'd be unable to bring herself to do fight.

"Look, if you're that determined to explore this world searching for 'Wren', you'll need help. ESPICALLY if you can't defend yourself. Sure, there's not only those undead, but not all of the 'half-humans' you'll see are friendly. I...we don't have any real direction so we'd be happy to help you out! I've got enough supplies to keep us three going for a month or two at least, not to mention a spare sleeping bag in case someone else comes along." Drent started, turning to his harpy companion who gave a firm nod and managed to give a small smile, showing she seemed rather eager to help. "See? Even Ceilia thinks it's a good idea!"

Michelle felt a bit more confident that she wasn't alone. Granted, there was some degree of unease that she'd only known these people for a few hours, but considering they'd been far kinder than anyone back on Earth...it'd be best to accept the kindness she was being shown and nodded, saying that she'd accept Drent's offer. Of course, this caused both the young man and his companion to give a happy smile.

They all began discussing when they'd be able to leave, something which caused to conversation to stop as Sharlet gave another of her over-confident laughs and smiled at Michelle, announcing she'd be joining them and with some organization, they would be ready to leave the next morning. As for why she was joining them, Sharlet was simply concerned with Michelle's well-being. In either case, Drent joked, hoping that the 'old lady' didn't slow the group down which caused the arachne to glare at him, something which would've un-nerved most people, having eight red eyes focusing on them.

"Hmph! I've been on this world for 32 years, boy! I'm far from old." she sharply remarked, yet still seemed rather calm despite her rather piercing glare.

And despite the fact she was going to be with people she'd never met, the fact they'd shown her such kindness...Michelle couldn't help but give a small smile while Rubi looked up at the human, nuzzling against her new 'mother'.

Was just waiting for you to post all of what you had so I could read it all in one go instead of sitting and waiting for the next chapter. Will likely comment later.

I see. Well...this is as much as I've written so far. I'm still working on Chapter 27, but it'll take a while before I've finished it. Still, take your time.