Alex smiles at the badger, happy to find a friendly companion for the night, who is in no imminent danger due to the presence of Cezars. He happily shares his food with the creature, wondering absently how the black griffon is doing back with the guards. Hopefully she's okay. He'd hate to hear if anything happened to the poor animal. 

His face darkens at the talk of Cezars and Adelaide. The whole thing is such a big mess, but at least Simo seems to understand their predicament now. 

"I... really don't know," he says finally. "First and foremost, we need to make sure we get to the trial on time. Then we need to make sure we find people we can trust to watch over Cezars, or at least let us know if somehow Cezars escapes of gets bailed out. We also need to get all the information we just learned to the authorities... but then again we need to be careful who we give that information to. I'm not sure if Elmars is the best person to tell, but at the same time he might actually be able to do something about it, or at least help us prepare. We could also tell our friends with the... uh..." He trails off, glancing at Simo and his group before letting out a breath and saying, "Well, our other friends who know Paulis. ... that's the other thing. We need to talk to Paulis if at all possible. We came all this way just to get an audience with him, and now... Well we can't count on Elmars getting us that audience since we technically didn't follow through on the mission he gave us. So it's on us whether or not we speak to Paulis." 

He looks to Shugo, "Uh... well, who is your father? Do you think he'd actually have enough influence to help us with this Adelaide problem?" He looks to Mira, "What about your family? If we managed to make some sort of agreement with Paulis, Elmars, Shugo's family, and your family, do you think we could stand a chance?" They have their friends with the people's army too, who he thinks should be informed as well. The question is, how are they going to get that information to them? 

"The biggest problem with just sneaking in and ousting Adelaide is, like you said Leiga, She's filthy rich. Even if everyone hates her, there's no guarantee that she won't just bribe her way out of prison. If we catch her, she'll likely just get away again, unless we somehow manage to find people who won't take bribes, or we figure out how to put her somewhere no one will ever find her." Alex is the type to see the best in everyone, but... right now he's clearly worried about people just getting back out of prison. He doesn't want to believe that every guard has someone in their ranks that would take a bribe, but at this point he's having to face reality. 

Shugo looks up and blinks at Renar when he speaks to him after the elf gives his pack a look. Clearly that kid is upset about something as he's being even snappier than usual. He shrugs and proceeds with getting settled, choosing not to say anything to the irritable 'changeling'. Though he does raise an eyebrow when he goes to sit with Maya. Those two are way to close to not have at least known each other before joining this group. Oh well, he's not in the mood to pry into their relationship right now.

He gives a sharp loud laugh when Mira states that he has to be his father's favorite in a way. "Oh no. I'm far from his most cherished child. I'm not exactly the picture perfect son if you can't tell. Heck, just being out here 'adventuring' makes most of my family look down on me. Not that I care, I don't like the way most nobles act, and I'm not about to conform to their expectations." He chuckles lightly, rubbing the back of his neck as he realizes he's unintentionally answered her first question, "Yeah, I'm a noble all right. Though I don't have much authority being the seventh son and all." He lets his accent thicken as he speaks, "Haha! I thought it was pretty obvious that I'm a foreigner. I'm from Prihyeh if you haven't guessed."

He get's lost in thought when Alex relays his own plan, which...seems like it aligns with Shugo's anyways. He also listens to Mira talk about potential problems. Both her and Alex both bring up valid issues, which he had also considered but not voiced. He rubs his chin when Mira brings up the possibility of Vujica being with Adalaide. Hmmm, even if they can't touch Adalaide, just snatching that sick woman would be plenty a reason for him to risk the sickness. Her note had mentioned a cure after all. Even if he gets sick, he could potentially force Vujica to give a cure to Akari. If she were cured, she wouldn't need him anymore.

He jumps slightly when Mira taps his shoulder. "Eh" He squints at her. What the heck, all he'd been doing was frowning at the floor, is she some kind of empath or something? "Uh, I'm fine really. This is all just a lot to think about. I really don't like the idea of getting one of those diseases you know? I may not be particularly liked by many of my family members, but I do care about all of them. If I were to get sick I wouldn't be able to go home." He looks back at the floor. What he said is true, though not the entire truth as to why he's been feeling the way he is. He just hopes that's enough to keep the rabbit girl from asking more questions. So far he likes her, but they really haven't known each other for very long, so he doesn't feel right sharing his problems with her. Not to mention he just doesn't want to trouble the rest of the group with what he's learned.

He fidgets a bit when Alex asks about his father. He doesn't particularly like being open about his heritage for fear of being treated differently. Oh well, with the amount of time he's spent with these folks, his heritage is bound to be relieved at some point. "Well as you all know now, I'm from Prihyeh. More specifically I'm from Sekuris and am part of the Suzuki clan. My father is the head of my clan, and therefore the ruler of Sekuris."

Nibbling on her dried tofu snacks, Maya's attention span suddenly turns to her son as he whispers into her hidden fox ears. Swallowing the last of her meal with her stained, red lips, her closed eyes turned to him, ready to both absorb and share her ideas about the next day. In fact, just thinking about it, she does have a few ideas about cleaning up the city and making it peaceful and hygienic again, mainly dreaming about rousing the people with a motivational speech either through herself and her son or even through the other members of their new, ragtag group. However, she remains silent for the time being as she listens; she doesn't know if her son will approve of it because, well... she needs to remember that expectation can almost never match reality, especially if son thinks of her dreams as too impractical.

Mira

Mira again flattens her eyes with suspicion over 'Hoodie guy's' rather blunt comment at Shugo. Geez, what's wrong with him, seriously?! How can these guys even consider him as one of their own with this attitude? Her mother will not tolerate this kind of behaviour for sure , especially if that was her in Shugo's place. And speaking of Shugo, when he recoils in response to her concern, she does so too, as if she poked the wrong button inside of him. "Oh! Um..." Mira stutters with her Welsh accent become incredibly apparent. "It's not that, really. I wanted to ask what is bothering you. I get anxious when I see people worried... And they looked down you just for adventuring? Gosh... I feel so sorry for you." She breathes a little as she considers her words carefully; Whilst an obvious social butterfly herself, even she knows when to respect other people's boundaries. "And uh... about the whole disease thing, um...  nonetheless, I understand. I'm just as worried as you are too; Ever since Laurentīna, one of my adopted siblings, fell sick for a month, my mother became paranoid that it will occur to my brother and me. I'm... Look I wasn't gonna pressure you on that matter. If you don't want to dive deeper then that's fine with me too. I was just worried for you, that all. Just like how my mother worries about me whenever I'm in the same state as you. We all are." She smiles and gently clasps his hands with her own tiny paws to try and ease him, just like how her mother did when she was just a tiny bunny measuring up to a normal person's knees. "I understand how much you care for your family. I have one too. And I'm sure in some ways they'd still look out for me despite my past. We can get through this together if we have to tread there. You're not alone this time. You have the five of us. Alex... Venet... the oddballs... ok maybe not them but still. It's ok. Always remember: No matter who you are, or what you are, we'll sure you're never left behind."

Once Alex and Shugo have had their say on the here-and-now-matter, Mira does her best to juggle the logistics of everything that they're going through. Because she hasn't been there ever since this group came together, she wouldn't really know what to say, other than her own expert opinions. "Well for starters, can you remind me of when your, *AHEM*, trial, sorry, when it is? Because I was thinking, we're near the Platone province, which is where I reside. I'm all for Paulis helping us, really. My mother could also assist you all in your defence if she can, but I need to reach an agreement with her. Though she also has this heated rivalry with the Elmars guy you said you met a while ago; Like fire-and-ice kind of one, so I don't think it'd be wise to initiate this meetup with him. But then again, without him, our financial stabilities would have fell down the drain. He's a double-edged sword, really. Besides, where is he anyways? After all, you five have proven no ill-intent towards me so far. I hope... Looks can be deceiving and deadly." Again with her suspicions of Maya and Renar, she sours at her final sentence. 

"Oh you're from Prihyeh's Suzuki clan? I've always dreamt of visiting- Wait seventh child?! As in, seventh in your royal bloodline? Woah." Mira gawks. She never knew that Shugo's royal bloodline would consist of THAT many children including himself. Now that Shugo's revealed as the group's second royal, her curiosity towards him has piqued. That also got her thinking: Alex looks like royal knight too. Venet not so much, but could she be one perhaps? Even looking at Maya and the hoodie boy next to her got her thinking that they might have some royal blood in them. Maybe this strange ragtag group might actually be a disguise of nobles rather than adventuring commoners perhaps. But that's just a weird theory. "I mean, still. I never thought you'd have so many siblings; I'm the oldest in a family of three children, but I'm the only one that is not of my mother's birth. She took me in after my real parents died. And yeah, it's been ages since I've seen both Laurentīna and Maksims ever since they left to adventure out in Lancea. It's truly a honour to meet someone like you, really. Well... I don't know if I would consider myself one since I prefer the likes of commoners such as most of you guys, heheh." At the finishing of this remark, her bunny ears twitch as she picks up a faint whisper behind her and looks back. "Speaking of which... It seems that the oddball pair have dug their noses into each other's faces. Are they from Priheyh too? Cause they for sure don't look native to Perkunwos." Mira notes, though she cannot really grasp what they're speaking since their tones are too soft. "I wonder what they're talking about? I hope it's not about us..."

 Renar

"Ok... I have thought of some options, depending on where we go next." I speak to Okaa-san in our native Lancean (at least to them it's Lancean; They can't tell really) as I successfully get her attention. I know she must thinking of something too; If I were to take a guess it would be something that is unfortunately impossible to achieve, such as rousing the population to better take care of their hygiene or something. I mean, if Rixi was here or we were more familiar with this world then yeah. I'd take it into suggestion. But that's the cruel face of reality we must deal with. Plus, I overheard that Shugo and the bunny girl are nobles, just like us. In the Sword Coast, Okaa-san is the queen, and I'm the future king and prince... except we don't view ourselves as such even when others address us as so. And just like that poor elf guy, neither of us are liked outside of the Wildland Shifters. Anyways, I take a moment to clear my throat as I relay to her in detail, whilst sneakily picking up snippets of their conversation about the current problem and how they intend on dealing with it. "So... option 1: it seems like they want to bring in Paulis alongside Shugo's family and the rabbit girl's too in order to help us bail out of this trial. Sure thing but what if we can't meet up with them? Even if we do our best to defend ourselves, there needs to be some people present to help us with this debate, let alone trust. Since there isn't anyone that matches out criteria, we need to at least build up trust which is not my forte for sure. What Alex said about being careful about giving our info, it sounds just like Sword Coast's most notorious gangs that we had to beat up, doesn't it?" I hear Alex saying we should stick to the route to Paulis and come back later, though this made me lose my thoughts for a few seconds before I resume. "As for the second option, the route to Paulis would be more straightforward, but how to deal with this is up to us. The third option which was suggested is capturing Adelaide, but Stupid Rixi is here. Um..." I notice Okaa-san being confused and point to outside. "That... fire boy outside. He's Stupid Rixi. If their using money as a weapon we have to find some way to make sure that it cannot always be the saviour of everything. Remember what you once said to me: "Money can't buy us happiness"? There has to be something that we can use to take their focus outside of money; Shift their mindsets to something else and remind them that being wealthy doesn't make you strong or all-powerful in anyway. Or don't. Maybe capture them for ransom and pretending to go with their system would be another option, but that seems totally unreasonable. Putting her, the Adelaide woman, in jail would be all but meaningless. And no, before you ask, I'm not opting for a full-on assault if it mean having the world turned against us just for that. The last thing we need is to make more enemies than we already have."

Okaa-san though seems like she doesn't have anything to say. I hope I haven't said anything misleading this time, because I don't usually take care in the word I choose. There were also times I had to snap my fingers to bring Okaa-san back to reality, considering her clasped hands and her near silent chants and all, but I hope she had been taking everything I had said so far whilst we're out of everyone else's earshot. "There are a lot of options listed down, but at least we're not rigid, right? We both can take last minute changes well in a way. And that's when I will think of backup options no matter where we go. But to do so, I need your help again please. Whilst I still do get annoyed with you fantasizing about stuff that won't happen, if we need to secure the safety of this unstable group, make it reasonable, please. If you have anything to suggest, I still need to hear your side for once... Okaa-san."

The elf feels a slight pang of guilt for being slow to trust the bunny girl. She clearly is being genuine, but still this is personal, and well he doesn't really want to think about it right now. "Heheh, it's all right. It's actually kind of nice to have someone concerned for me, I don't get much of that at home. But yeah, I don't really want to talk about all that. Honestly I don't even want to think about it right now. I'd rather focus on one thing at a time ya know? First get through the trial and maybe talk to Paulis, then worry about the rest."

He falls silent as the others talk, "Heh, honestly I don't really care for Elmars either. He's just another manipulative noble. Though don't get me wrong, I don't want him as an enemy either." He rubs his chin, "I'm not sure how I feel about asking your family for help with our trial thing, you really have no obligation to helping us yourself. Are you sure you really want to be tangled up with us? I mean, yeah Adalaides goons kidnapped you, so you have plenty of reason to want to get back at her, but do you really want to get involved with all the political stuff that goes along with the trial?"

He laughs loudly as Mira gawks at the number of his siblings, "Yep, I'm number seven when it comes male heirs, lucky me." He grins, "That's not counting any of my sisters. Hahah, we elves live a very very long time. So it only makes sense that many of us have large families." He doesn't mention that his mother, and his father's wife before her had already passed away. So if his father marries again, he'd be on his third wife. ...which could mean even more siblings. He certainly hopes he doesn't end up with a step mother....but for all he knows he could go back and find his father married again. More stuff that he'd rather not think about. "Hehe, please. An honor to meet me? Nah. I'm just an elf. No need to treat me as anything else." He waves his hands at Mira when she mentions it being an honor to meet him. Then he squints over at Renar and Maya, "Well....they certainly have the right accent to be from Priheyh, so that's where I've been assuming they are from. Though I personally hadn't met them before coming to Perkhunwos. But that's not really surprising to me, I've been gone from home for a while, and when I was home I had limited time to mingle with anyone outside my clan."

As her son might have predicted, this kind of talk did cause Maya to phase and in and out as time passed, especially considering how tired she is at the moment. Even so, the last thing she needed was for her son to call her out for being so disrespectful to him. In fact, she's happy that her son is finally speaking in a language she actually understands, even if it isn't Japanese. Well, her son has already called the shots; She should've seen this coming. Her fox ears droop upon being reminded about her impracticality when it comes to fleshing out-

Wait... he said what? All of a sudden, her ears perk up. "Uh? Come... again?" She replies in her son's second language. When she hears him repeat his words, Maya couldn't help but flush as her face turns red. Her son is actually willing to listen to what she has to say for once? Usually people would never listen to what she says when it comes to things like this. To actually hear a change of heart from one of the coldest people she has ever known. But never mind that. She shouldn't keep her son waiting as she clears her throat for a brief second.

"Ahem... well... Anata ga itte ita yō ni... (あなたが言っていたように, As you were saying)" She speaks quietly as she moves in to let her son rest on her shoulder if he chooses to. "Um... Porio... Kan'en... you know, right? You... feru... sick... Nihon de byōki ni natta (日本で病気になった, ...fell sick in Japan)." She still has these terrible memories of Renar falling ill for a month to these two diseases before; She thought she was going to die. "I was uh... thinking... Muzuko... Shitte iru watashitachiha ekibyō o torinozoku koto wa dekimasen, shikashi, boku wa... (知っている 私たちは疫病を取り除くことはできません, しかし, 僕 わ, I know we can't get rid of the plague, but, I...)" She trails off and frowns. What she wanted to say to Renar had suddenly vanished from her head in an instant. Other than her own, unachievable intentions, there isn't much she could offer. "Um... Gomen nasai... Teian suru koto wa nani mo arimasen. I meanu... tabun, Okanede wa e rarenai mono o karera ni miseru koto ga dekirudeshou ka? Yasashi-sa toka? Machi o kirei ni suru hōhō o mitsukemasen ka? Shikashi, bugai-sha to shite karera o settoku suru ni wa dōsureba yoideshou ka? (ごめんなさい... 提案することは何もありません. I mean... 多分... お金では得られないものを彼らに見せることができるでしょうか？優しさとか? 街をきれいにする方法を見つけませんか? しかし、部外者として彼らを説得するにはどうすればよいでしょうか? , Sorry... I have nothing to suggest. I mean, maybe... We can show them what money cannot buy, such as kindness? Find some way to help clean up the city?)" She doesn't know how the group is even able to capture that woman she cannot pronounce, let alone steal her money and not be branded as criminals again. Whilst she's doing her best to try and contribute to helping the group, when it comes to actually mapping out the basics of things, she's hopeless. And whilst her son might not mean it, she's already feeling some immense pressure from him in a way. Having already imagined a wasteland city full of vapours that could poison her and the one person she loves, the kitsune hopes that they can at least reduce the chances of the group contracting the disease (she didn't bring her face masks), or better yet, not go there at all. Maybe go to another place where she can feel at home. Maybe to Paulis. Or towards another city where she'll remain silent, such as the city in which the trial would take place.

When Renar brings up the fire genasi, Maya shudders. In a way, this reminded her of her son's friend, Rixi. Only more violent and less compassionate in her visions. It's as if she might see him end up like that unconscious jerk one day should she ever return to face him... But also it reminded her of the people that have discriminated her just because of her race. Just because she's a monster, even as she behaves the opposite to what people, especially the ones here, think. "Kono hito-tachi wa… yūkō-tekide wa arimasen... Kowaidesu. (この人たちは… 友好的ではありません... 怖いです, These people... they seem unfriendly. I'm scared)" She quivers with a fox-like whimper, moving her clawed arms around his waist in the process.

Quote from PyromaniIsDeadThankGod >>

"That... fire boy outside. He's Stupid Rixi. If their using money as a weapon we have to find some way to make sure that it cannot always be the saviour of everything. Remember what you once said to me: "Money can't buy us happiness"? There has to be something that we can use to take their focus outside of money; Shift their mindsets to something else and remind them that being wealthy doesn't make you strong or all-powerful in anyway. Or don't. Maybe capture them for ransom and pretending to go with their system would be another option, but that seems totally unreasonable. Putting her, the Adelaide woman, in jail would be all but meaningless. And no, before you ask, I'm not opting for a full-on assault if it mean having the world turned against us just for that. The last thing we need is to make more enemies than we already have."

"You know... that's not a bad idea, but why do you keep calling Cezars 'Stupid Rixi'?" Simo comments and the rest of his team look at Renar.

After a few moments of staring, Simo brushes it off. "Whatever. After rains like this, everyone needs food and medicine more than ever, the only problem is you'll need lots of them. Aleneskalns isn't a small city, around 86,000 people live there, and that's a lot of mouths to feed, and you'll need a caravan to transport all of that too." There is one thing you notice—Lancea is very, very populous compared to Sword Coast and Toril in general. The largest city in Faerun has 1.2 million people (which is Waterdeep), the capital of Kerwos has 1.9 million and it's not even in the top 50 largest cities on the planet. Even Perkwunos itself already has more population than Faerun and it's the second least populated region on Lancea.

Simo starts rummaging through his backpack and takes out a sleeping bag, "Anyways, you should get some sleep. We'll part ways tomorrow."

Elsa frowns, her ears drooping "Aww, that sucks, I barely had any time to spend with Alex! Guess we'll see you in Madura, then. Make sure to visit us!" She turns her frown back to a smile.

And with that, you set up your bedrolls too, and once your head hits the floor, you fall asleep immediately. Today was a very long day... but you couldn't help but question—why didn't Simo talk about the Myconids from earlier at all?

You gain the benefits of a long rest.

You level up to Level 4, adjust your stats accordingly.

7th April -1C 4983 CY

You wake up in a field with the rest of your friends beside you, Muphrid shines bright in the blue sky with some clouds, no rain, no dampness. All around you are seas of blooming sunflowers, stretching beyond the horizon itself. No matter where you look, there are sunflowers everywhere. 

Then, the ground begins to shake—you can feel the shaking, but all the sunflowers don't seem to be affected by it; all of them continue to sway in the wind as if nothing happened. In the distance, you see a silhouette on the horizon—then the figure gets closer.

Brown scales, multiple spikes on his back, large claws, and several rows of teeth. That is the Tarrasque, perhaps the biggest creature that is bound to a planet in the Milky Way—unlike other realms, the Tarrasque in Lancean legend isn't a rampaging monster who consumes and destroys everything he comes across, but a silent guardian who hibernates for most of his life, only waking up to protect Lancea from invaders.

Tarrasque stops in front of you, he is so massive that you struggle to see his face even when looking up. The entire area turns dark because his body is blocking the sun.

Then, he speaks with a booming voice that shakes your insides. "Would you rather save your friend or save the world?"

Mira

Mira's bunny ears fold slightly as she attempts to imagine Shugo's family in full; Minus the countless adopted children alongside her mother's biological ones, she can't even fathom her mother siring that many children in her lifetime (ironically, a single rabbit mother would be able to produce a litter larger than Shugo's current bloodline in a year). Sensing even more unease from him, she decides not to press him on. "Even so, I ain't a judger, if you see me as that. Whilst I can be nosy, I just don't like seeing people unhappy, that's all." Mira says. She then attempts to change the subject to divert Shugo's nerves, maybe not bring up her assumed "love affair" about the oddballs just so she doesn't ignite a bomb in them. "We technically don't have to head straight to that filth-ridden place the minute we all wake up, right? I doubt we'd currently be properly equipped to handle a mass epidemic with our current equipment. Besides, going to capture Adelaide would just be as foolish as it sounds right now." She then overhears Simo remarking about 'Stupid Rixi' and raises an eyebrow. No this hoodie boy has to be crazy... she thinks. A friend who save him that died? Was he that stupid too? His friend I mean? I know this hoodie guy isn't for sure, if he can just casually lay out a plan on the spot without changing his sour expression... Eh. Whatever. No use in draining her energy over something trivial any more. Besides, it's getting late. The group needs a well-earned rest after this madness.

"We should... get some rest. No point staying up and consuming- ACHOO! Bless me! Sorry... Let's just sleep. Yeah, my mom's gonna kill me if she see me in this state." She groans as she tucks into her bedroll and passes out for the night.

The next day, the trembling ground was enough to make the bunny girl jump out of her bedroll with a yelp. "Wait... where are we? How come we're not in the badger hole?!" She gasps... only to notice the gargantuan hunk that towers over her. She shivers. "Uh... good... morning? I guess?" She yells out questionably. Only to hear his question...

"Huh? Save your friend... or save the world? You talking about Paulis? Or that fire boy?" Mira asks confused. She turns to the rest including the oddball pair, hoping they might have something to deduce. "Guys? Help?"

Renar

I jolt when that fake kitsune boy points out my nickname for that fire guy I mistook at the start. Crap. Was I talking that loud? "Uh... sorry... he..." I stutter. How do I put this... "Um... he reminds me of a friend... who passed away trying to save me. He was a fire genasi too... What about him?" I wished I could tell him that wasn't true though, even though I was fine with the lack of response; Rixi's still alive, I know. I then overhear him talking about caravans. We did have the people's bakas transport one across didn't they? I wonder where they are right now. Maybe we can convince them to help transport this cargo to this wretched city to increase out chances of survival or aid. And then I hear someone I know whimpering...

Okaa-san said she doesn't have anything of offer. Minus her suggestion of course. That's still a good start, nonetheless. Better than having nothing as I would've predicted. I notice her quivering. Her raspy breathing. The way she spoke too. Whilst I'm not a reassurer, I can she's afraid. And I can relate to her in a way, being an outsider in all three worlds too. I need to clarify to her then, about this approach. "We're not gonna face something like this head on in fact. We might end up going back to that place and we need to prep ahead. Even though it's not our thing, obviously." I blink, wondering as to why she's unchanged in her expression. And then she hits me; she says she's scared. Of everyone here. Of Stupid Rixi. The tears coming down her closed eyes, it's clear by daylight that she wants to go home... she wants to take me home, yet if we do so we might experience defeat anyways...

My stomach couldn't help itself from lurching. Unintentional or not, she just reminded me of my past, as in, the past life I had before I met her. Before I met Rixi, Ethan and everyone else. "Sigh... Okaa-san... please. Stop saying that you're scared. I'm scared too. I don't know if these people on this planet can be trusted, but right now, we need to go with the flow here. These people are at least willing to help us. The least we could do is show them our respect." I then feel her soft, clawed palms caressing my waist and blush. Whilst I wouldn't mind her doing that to me, we're literally in full view off everyone else who hasn't fallen asleep yet. But whatever. If hey want to judge us, so be it. We're not gonna let them stop us. "Daijoubu, Okaa-san. I know. I want go back too. But we're tougher than this aren't we? I promise... this time, I won't leav you... I'll be the one... to help you..." I stir, before I then quietly pass out in her arms, just like what I imagined ever since I was a little kit, before I close my eyes and get some sleep, with my last thought being, well... As kitsunes, we're both tougher than the forces of nature. If we can survive this long, we can get through this, for both of us. For Yuri. For Rixi. Maybe for these people too.We'll save Lancea, save the Sword Coast and make it back alive to tell the tale. After all, pain is unavoidable. It's what pushes living beings to grow and learn.

Well, that's what I thought. Because the first thing I immediately see with my golden eyes as I wake up is... "WHAT THE-?!" I jolt with start and feel my right hand on my sheath. What is that?! A giant?! And... he's asking us what again? I blink twice in confusion."Save your friend... or save the world?" I whisper as I look at the others confused. What is this massive hunk of a beast talking about? I didn't dare say anything else. The last thing we need is to provoke him into destroying us all.

Shrugging off Mira's first comment, he lays back against the wall with his hands behind his head. "Well said Mira. There's no need to rush into this Adalaide issue." With that, he drifts off into his meditation.

Jolting out of his trance with a violent sneeze, likely because to the flowers. He barely has time to think about how he and the rest of the party ended up in this field of flowers before the ground starts to shake. He Reflexively grabs his pack with the egg inside to keep it from getting to rattled up as the Tarrasque makes it's way over. How the heck did he end up here? Are they all in some sort of shared dream? Or did someone teleport them? Where's Simo's group? And Mr Hothead? That's it, this has to be some weird dream.

He squints up at the creatures head, then glances from Mira to Renar when they both react to the question. Turning his gaze skyward once more, he tilts his head. Well if it's a dream might as well just roll with it. "Well that's a bit of a silly question if you ask me." He speaks up. Raising a finger he continues, "First off, well ignoring the vagueness of the question, you are assuming everyone here only has one friend. And well that's just not the case for most people. Secondly, without saying what exactly is threatening the world, I'm going to assume that this is a world ending catastrophe. In that case, saving the one friend would be pretty pointless since they wouldn't have a world to return to...thus meaning unless we could miraculously find a new planet to live on, both me and my friend would die anyway." He shrugs smiling, "Plus with how vague that is saving the world could also save my friend. And if not, well I'd choose both. I'd happily take the place of my friend should some sacrifice be required to save the world." Crossing his arms, he nods in satisfaction. "How's that for an answer?"

"I'm sure we'll see each other again soon," Alex says to Elsa. Then he looks to Simo and says, "Thanks for all your help, I hope we didn't just ruin... uh... well, anything for you just by getting you involved in all this stuff." He looks a little guilty, but quickly reverts to his usual cheerful self as he reminds himself that Simo is smart and will get through no matter what. He can tell the other team needs sleep though, so he won't ask anymore questions, even though he would like to ask about the Myconids. Oh well, maybe he'll ask tomorrow.  After a long time of laying awake, he falls asleep. 

When he wakes up, he looks around in surprise, "Huh? How did we get here?" He looks up at the creature before them with wide eyes. At the question he says simply, "I would find a way to save both!" The statement could be naive, especially since it isn't even as thought out as Shugo's, but that's his honest answer. "I would find a way to save everyone." 

To the disguised kitsune, Renar seems incredibly soft for someone who appears to be cold and isolative. She smiles back at him, moving her clawed hands to stroke his hoodie.  Letting him rest on her in peace and feel his soft breathing, Maya sheds small tears as she drifts off to sleep too and imagine her son, now a little kit in her dreams, rest on her the same way as he is doing so now. To feel her son in her arms for the first time ever since their separation means a lot more than everyone else thinks. 

The next day, Maya was the last to wake up; Not even the trembling ground and the booming voice of the Tarrasque coerced her to do anything other to stand up and rub her (still closed) eyes groggily. That is... until she hears her son repeating...

Wait... save the world or save your friend... She then immediately jumps to the wrong conclusion and shudders. Kono sekai wa... horobi iru no ka?! (この世界は滅びるのか?!, Is this world going to die?!) She panics, unaware that her son was thinking the exact same thing when his journey on this world started. 

She attempts to speak... "I... safu... the warudo...! Safu warudo!" She responds with a rather dry tone. And then she immediately locks her mouth shut in embarrassment after hearing herself, hoping her son would be able to help her with this language issue, let alone getting him to understand what she meant.

Mira

After hearing Alex and Shugo's responses... well... Mira's most amazed by Shugo's reasoning. Alex though wants to save both. But what if he can't? And also, besides Miranda and her biological siblings, who else is there that she considers her friend with out in this world? Yet? Other than these misfits, really? "I mean... Regardless of what I say, I'm already bracing for some kind of criticism..." She scratches her ear and clears her throat. "But... I stand with Shugo. I mean... Sure saving your friend would be nice, but like he said, neither of us have the ability to conjure portals to escape. If disaster strikes Lancea, then we'd all die nonetheless. Everything we would have poured for would've been for nothing. At least that's what I can make out from saving a friend. Saving the world on the other hand would also mean saving tons of lives, including my most loved ones. Unless... well... I can't really make out any longer but... I don't really uh, have a choice do I? I guess saving the world would make more sense...? And besides, when you mean friend, who are you mentioning exactly? Or is it just anyone that we can encounter at some point in the future?" There was a lot of hesitation in her Welsh voice, coupled with the fact that her paws are tightly cupped towards her chest. And then she notices the oddball pair staring in silence...

"Hey!" She whispers anxiously to the two. "I think he's waiting for your answers too! Don't make him wait!" To her, it seemed that Maya struggled to communicate, seeing that the hoodie boy is standing up for her. But then she notices Renar's eyes turning wide in shock when he finishes and he turns away from the rest. "Uh... you ok?!"

 Renar

It took me a while to process what I'm going to say even as I remove my hand off my sheath. I didn't either hear Shugo-kun and Alex-kun voice their responses or I probably misheard, but to me they sounded like muffles when I was asked. I mean, I know my answer, but to actually convert my thoughts into my own words isn't something I can do easily, let alone for Okaa-san. "Ahem... well, in response to what you said... Ok, ok stop!" I hiss to the bunny girl for that distraction before I take a deep breath and reset, even though I continue to shudder. "Well... At first I was gonna say, save my friend. I mean, who wouldn't want to, let's be honest?" Me... Just because I don't trust easily... "But... I then realised... if that meant the destruction of the world, well, unless if anyone here has the ability to actually evacuate citizens to other potential places as the bunny girl said..." Hang on... that's me and Okaa-san. We can conjure portals. That's how we got here from the Sword Coast. But what's with that reasoning? "Unless if there are dimension travellers to help us, saving a friend would mean nothing if the world becomes obliterated anyways; The last thing we need is for our efforts to be in vain. Unless..." Since you didn't specify... "...if both options are doable at once, I'm more inclined to save this entire world if it means saving billions of lives, no matter who they are." Unless if I  also find that this world is unjust and miserable as I had assumed... no don't say it. "Besides, even if we don't survive, there will be others out there, who need to live. Who..." My heart is pounding the edges of my chest like crazy. I had to close my eye for a bit and eat my words before I become too confusing. My forehead is covered in my sweat all the way to my tail. I hope I haven't said anything wrong so far. "But, there's one thing I don't understand: You said a friend. Who is it though? Is that someone we have met right now or before? Or is it someone we might meet in the future? This word, friend, it can mean many things besides that. Because that would also determine the course of what we need to do later on." No... yamete (やめて, Enough). That's enough. No more.

I then gesture to Okaa-san, who's doing her best to speak in Lancean despite the fact that she sounds almost incoherent and dry like an actual old lady. I don't think we've ever been this nervous in our extreme lives before. "Before you ask her, this lady here, whilst she can't say it, she wants to save the world too. If you're trying to understand what she's saying." But then, some awful feeling strikes me as the bunny girl's words get to me. Her words about conjuring portals, about... saving the world... Has our cover as Sword Coast agents been blown?

I then flashback to my first meeting with Alex-kun where I got the Gyoza and openly voiced about if the world was going to end and widen my eyes out of sight from that colossus. Could it be... is that what he's talking about...?! Save the world or save our friend... Travelling between worlds... Oh shoot... I hope it's not relating to us two...

It might not make sense for a creature that doesn't require sleep like an elf or Warforged to dream, but it can happen rarely. If someone meditates long enough, they may start to see a vision. It is very similar to a dream, except visions can be remembered clearly like normal memory, a dream won't enter someone's long-term memory if it isn't significant.

You can't read Tarrasque's facial expression because he's so tall you can't even make eye contact with him, but you know for sure that he is disappointed, especially Alex.

He raises his foot and stops on the young Aasimar, the ground doesn't rumble nor do the sunflowers get crushed. When Tarrasque lifts his foot up, Alex isn't there anymore, he's replaced with another sunflower. "You cannot save both, you will never save both."

He shifts his attention to Renar, "Those interdimensional savages are the reason why I awake, I can sense them in the air, more of them are coming, and they will destroy us all. One of your kind had already bowed down to them and betrayed our civilisation, what is stopping more from doing the same?" It's Adelaide, Laine/Samanta mentioned that she had a connection with the Pathfinder Society from Golarion. Tarrasque might have a point, if she is this unapologetically evil, then what about the actual Golarians? 

"Those interdimensional savages never play by our rules. They kill when given the chance, and they do not feel even remorseful about it. They even tried to kill me once in a distant past, just because I look like a 'monster' to them." Tarrasque rumbles, "Even if they are here to save us, we must destroy them, they are still a murderer, and murderers do not deserve to be forgiven." As insane as this might sound, this is just how Lancean pacifism works. Their obsession with nonkilling is almost fanatical, but it also makes Lancea an incredibly safe place with no wars too. 

Tarrasque changes the subject, "It is good that you choose others before yourself, but we will see if you will keep your words or not. We will meet again before the Space Elevator."

You wake up.

After two nights of not getting enough sleep, you finally have the chance to sleep for real, and combined with the dream/vision, it turns out you wake up a little bit late. The badger and Simo's team aren't here with you now, but you see a note on the ground reading:

"Sorry we weren't there to say a proper farewell, we have to catch a wagon early. See you in Madura, by the way!

P.S. We got into a little fight with Cezars, he woke up in the middle of the night and decided to choose violence. Don't worry, we knocked him out again, but somehow you guys managed to sleep through all of that."

—Elsa

And with that, you quietly gather your stuff and depart for Paulis.

One hour of walking later, Paulis’ tower comes closer into view, and so does the town of Menkalde.

The town is built on top of a hill, right beside the river you saw yesterday. You don’t see that many people outside because it’s still cloudy and the groud is still wet. The building here isn’t as colourful as in other towns you’ve been to, most of them are made out of wood with the ground floor made out of bricks. The minority of houses have grass roofs, something that’s unique to the Perkwunos region, some even have small gardens in the back, which were unfortunately damaged by a storm last night.

You arrive at the town square, mostly alone, with two or three strangers present. There is a map of the town and a headless statue. The plaque under the statue seems to be scrubbed off, the names and the original description are faded to the point where you cannot read it, and beside it is another inscription that reads:

THIS IS A REBEL GENERAL WHO KILLED THOUSANDS OF USL SOLDIERS.

HE MIGHT HAVE FOUGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM, BUT MURDER IS MURDER, NO MATTER HOW NOBLE THE CAUSE MAY BE.

This is just an example of many defiled statues in Lancea. After the Lancean pacifism philosophy was born, any statue of a war ‘hero’ or a general is all defiled as a protest against their murder in the past. Their names are scrubbed off and their head are cut to make people forget who they are.

Just beside the statue is a map of the town--there is a blacksmith, a tavern, a mill, a general store, a local museum, and a guard station. To the northwest of the town is a forked path which leads to a mansion and Paulis’ tower too. Now, where to go?

Alex immediately senses that he messed up in some way, but clearly doesn't know why or how. All he can do is stand there with wide eyes as the giant foot comes down on him... unfortunately, he can't help but let out a bit of a scream as this happens, much to his embarrassment. But come on, who wouldn't get scared if a tarrasque was about to step on them? To his credit, he didn't try to run away, all he did was raise his arms reflexively... as if that would help anything. 

He wakes up with a stifled yelp, then rubs his head as if just realizing that he woke up. Sighing he glances at his comrades... did they see the vision too? Or was it just him? "Hey... uh... did anyone else have a weird dream... vision... thing... with a tarrasque?" 

He gets up quickly, noticing that Simo, Elsa, and the others are gone. He looks around for a moment, then realizes they probably left. He sighs again, then yawns before finding the note on the floor. "Looks like the others left early... wait we slept through them beating up Cezars?!" He rubs his head, still trying to get the sleepiness out of his system. This is not going to be a fun trip, dragging the oathbreaker along with them...

As they enter Menkalde Alex looks up at the headless statue. It's a real shame, that these people saw fit to ruin a piece of history. It shouldn't matter whether or not you agreed with the heroes of the past or their methods. History is history, without it the world wouldn't be what it is today. Even if the only purpose of keeping the monument would be to learn from the past mistakes of the ones who came before, tearing it down doesn't do anything but help everyone forget what happened... which is never a good thing. 

When he sees the museum on the map, his eyes light up and he points at it, opening his mouth as if to say something before he ultimately deflates, realizing that they don't have time for something like that. Sighing, he moves his finger to where the guard station is, "Hey... maybe we should see if the guards would be willing to keep Cezars for us while we talk to Paulis. ...Hopefully word has spread that he is... you know, a bad guy. Otherwise explaining why he's in chains could get a little sticky. But, it would probably be a lot easier to leave him in their custody until we are done talking to Paulis... plus I'm not really comfortable bringing him to the place he was trying to get to in the first place. How does that sound to you all? Or... do we not want to trust them with him...?" He almost didn't say the last part, but after what happened in the under dark, he's not sure how comfortable any of them will be with letting the genasi out of their own sight and custody. The last thing they need is to come back only for him to have escaped... or to learn that he was let go. 

The elf only blinks when Alex is crushed by the giant beast. It is only a dream after all, he'll be fine. When he breaks from his trance for real this time, he stretches his arms and yawns. "Well that was the weirdest dream I've had in a long time. Heh, not that I dream often anyway." He rubs the back of his neck, "Huh? What's that Alex?" He says after registering that the young paladin had said something before the elf had fully woken up. "Wait what? You're saying that you had that dream too? Huh, my life just keeps getting weirder and weirder." He looks down, finding the pack with the egg in it now in his lap. He must have actually picked it up when he grabbed it in the dream.

Shaking his head, he stands up, slinging the pack back over his shoulder where it should be, then tying his sword back on his belt. He doesn't say much in regards to the letter from Simo's team. At least they stopped Cezars from escaping, but it does make him a little uncomfortable at the thought that he 'slept' through that.

When the party enter the small town, he looks around, taking in as much as he can. He hopes they can get this Paulis thing over with quickly. When his gaze lands on the headless statue, he has similar thoughts to Alex. Defiling statues, making people forget the past, all of that is just a way for the higher ups to rewrite history in a way that paints people like whoever that statue was of, in whatever light they want. Yet another way nobility and anyone in a government position bend people beliefs to whatever best fits their interests. With those thoughts in his head, he glances back at the museum wondering how many relics in there may be defiled like this statue. Driving away those depressing thoughts, he listens to Alex. "Yeah, you have a good point. Hopefully the guards who were holding us made it out before we did. If that's the case then handing him over shouldn't be an issue. However, we may still have an issue if they decide ALL of us need to be held under their custody until the trial." He sighs, "It's to bad Simo and his group didn't just take that Jerk with them when they knocked him out. That would have made our lives easier."

He looks back at the town, "I do want to see what the store here has. I've been meaning to buy myself a longbow since I got to this country....though I suppose that can wait until after we talk to Paulis."

Mira

Mira stares at the colossus in disbelief, esepcailly when he stomps on Alex. Did he just...?! She didn't even care what the colossus said beyond that. "WHAT- WHAT THE HELL! WHY WOULD YOU-?!" Before she could even scream though, something stirred her into snapping back into reality, if it even was reality in the first place. The next thing she knows is... she had woken from a dream with a yelp similar to Alex's. Only louder for everyone else to hear.

"Oh my gosh... What did I..." She gasps as her bunny eyes dilate by a factor of five especially when Alex asks the entire group about the nightmare. So she wasn't delusional, huh. "I saw you, noble guy. I saw everyone. Saying they want to save the world. I saw you getting... crushed, when you said save both. I saw hoodie boy paranoid with fear. One of your kind has betrayed us... is it Adelaide he's talking about? Because unless if we have other enemies... Wait... is she not from Lancea?" She sits up and pounds her head with her feet to erase this thought, almost like how a bunny grooms itself except more forceful. And then she jumps up so high she hits the roof of the hole with her head, all from Renar and Maya's simultaneous screeches presumably from the same imaginary hell. "OW... FOR CRYING OUT LOUD WHAT WAS THAT FOR?! Thanks a lot!" She yells out to them, only to see the note left by Alex and squints.

"They knocked out the fire guy? Crap... was Venet not enough to stop him or something? Where are they off to with that guy anyways?" She mutters. Well, despite their sudden disappearance, at least their target has been contained. Sort of. "Sigh... Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul... Anyways, I think we need to move. No point moping about this for the next hour or so."

 Mira doesn't say much on the walk. Usually the long amount of silence would proc her into starting a conversation with other people. But this time she's gonna let it slide, considering that everyone must have gone through the same thing. The only time when she spoke was when she decided to read the plaque out loud to herself. She grits. The fact that her relatives are or have been part of the rebellion in a way mean something to her, so having to read something like this is enough to sour her for a minute, but thankfully not for long. Murder is murder. Tell that to the stupid USL you jerks... She thinks. "Hmm... I mean one of us would need to keep full watch on that idiot. But at some point we might need to take turns. By the way, you think we need to stock up on supplies and food? Or are we good to keep moving?" She asks as her stomach growls.

However, she does see a woman that particularly stands out from the group. A hooded tabaxi, maybe. Almost reminds her of hoodie boy. Except he isn't feline in appearance. Maybe she might have some info about the Paulis or Cezars or... whatever this group even is searching for. The artefact, maybe. Because that seems like the only thing that has been keeping them in place for now. Without that end goal, she's sure the group would have dissolved long before it started. Oh well, it wouldn't hurt to ask her if she can.

"Hey there. Are you... um..." Mira was about to ask her as she approaches her... only to trail off as she feel this menacing aura radiating from the hooded tabaxi. Suddenly, Mira's headstrong confidence evaporates and had been replaced with... fear. Wait... what's up with her? Did I ask the wrong person? Yikes... she's scarier than I thought. 

 Renar

"GAH!" I woke up with a massive start as I felt a jolt of electricity coursing through my veins. What did I just see... what did i just dream of?! The bunny girl is screaming at me but I was too distracted to notice; It was a dream. A nightmare. Yet everything, from the colossus' booming voice to Alex getting stomped on to... what he said to me... it sounded so real. Yet at the same time, almost unbelievable to the ordinary ear. But... everyone was here in that nightmare. I mean, even as Alex asks... well... I can't really boice it. "I..." I stutter to Alex. I never got the answers I needed to hear in that nightmare. What did that colossus mean? I need to process this all by myself. I hear Okaa-san shuddering breaths. It must have traumatised too, huh? I go over to comfort her by rubbing her shoulders. In fact, that meeting where I first met Alex with the gyoza... where I thought this world is going to die... I can't believe he had to revive that speculation. Whatever. As I silently move I heard Stupid Rixi woke up in the middle of the night, but got crushed nonetheless. I was worried, honestly. I thought one of us would fall under his wrath if that's so. 

Even so though, I couldn't help but ask myself: what's with this combined dream? And who did this? What's their reasoning for doing so? Just because we're trying to find the artefact? Seriously? Also I heard a piece of Loveless act 2 from bunny girl. How does she know that game? Let alone that poem? I need to know some time or later.

 "They tried to kill me once in a distant past. Just because I look like a monster to them. Murderers aren't to be forgiven, but we each have the capacity to commit it as so. Aren't we all the same, in a way?" I mutter out loud whilst we walk to I-don't-know-where. I noticed all eyes on me as I shudder. "That wasn't directed at you! Beat it!" I snap, hoping to deter them again to avoid the wrong impression. Stiffness filled my body all the way to my tail and my ears as Okaa-san brings me uncomfortably close to her chest. Those words aren't any stranger to me or Okaa-san; Just because I look like a monster. Just because we, as kitsunes, look like monsters in the Sword Coast. And in Japan too. I kind of sympathize with him, but the fact that he assumes that we fit what he said and kill without remorse angers me. I only killed because they tried to kill me first. And even then, the ones that didn't deserve to die under my own paws, I feel so much regret for them, especially when Rixi helped me se the world a little differently under his guidance. I honestly find it hard to believe that people on this dystopia can abstain from murder too. And once, again, the world ending, crumbling to ashes... this vision has been hampering my ability to think straight for the walk for some time now. Even as we finally reach that place... I stopped trying to pronounce it but still, my hidden fox ears twitch rapidly when we grind to a halt. Gazing at the statue was already becoming unnerving for me, but to read its message? Sigh... this world is so messed up... I think. Far more messed up than Sword Coast for sure, even with the war against Tiamat raging on.

Right now, though, I just don't have anything to say about the current situation, not that I can wrap my head around this anymore for the time being. All these things swirling in my head, it's as if I'm struggling to bring myself back into the real world just like last night... "You all decide. I've... I..." I again shudder, whilst straightening myself and detaching from Okaa-san. Seriously whilst this might have affected the rest in some way, me and Okaa-san might have been the most affected particularly since we're from the Sword Coast, as the colossus had feared. "...I'll go with whatever you all decide. I can adjust. All that awaits us is a somber morrow, no matter where the winds may blow." The next thing I see however is the bunny talking to... who? I can't make out the lady's face, but it seems... feline. Is that a snow leopard? Even so, I could feel this uneasiness coming from her, like some kind of dread aura even though our eyes aren't even meeting. I turn back to Okaa-san just in case I attract her attention by mistake. Maybe I should go with her to restock somewhere else before we get lost any further...

"AIYAAAAHH!" Maya wakes up with loudest scream she has ever made alongside her son. Clutching her large chest in panic, she whips her head around to look for her only child, only to notice him in a similar trance as she is. That was a nightmare. Having to watch her son's best friend get crushed underneath that... thing... 

Reaching a clawed hand to him, the kitsune briefly latches onto the disguised boy and draws his chest towards her own as her pants remain heavy and frightened. No... remain calm. She's already lost her daughter. The last thing she needs to see is herself making a mistake that would cost the life of her next child. Or the other way around. Either way, she doesn't want to take any chances. But... what that giant said... she understands his pain. Being framed as a monster, a murderer when she never was, a spirit that symbolizes bad luck wherever she goes... why does this world have to be so twisted underneath its facade?

On the walk, Maya's breathing softens a little near the back of the pack, but every once in a while her son can her shuddering pants as her hidden fox tail stiffens. Her eyes, whilst still shut despite everything, are leaking tears from that. Her red lips are partially stained as she chokes to try and comfort Renar when in fact she's the one who needs to be. She then jolts when her son suddenly snaps for no reason, even though it was clear he wasn't directing it to her. Geez. Way to give mama fox a heart attack there. Even when reaching the new town she can't even say out loud, her eyes darted towards the unconscious genasi when the former told her that the latter had tried to kill them in their sleep. Her stomach then growls. Maybe this could be a time to get some food first before they continue. Hm... a new town though, well, she think she could keep up the 'finding her son' facade for a little while now but... she's not really sure, especially when he suddenly turns his paranoid head towards her for no reason at all.

Amongst the few out in Menkalde today is a lone figure in grey. Her cloak is a dark grey, and clearly made for her, as it is cut for her feline ears to protrude.  The heavy cloak is soaked, as is most of what you can see of her.  As she walks, a bare arm is revealed showing spotted grey fur, light in color but covered with darker spots. For a moment she hesitates, looking about.  As she turns, a Tabaxi face with similarly spotted fur is revealed, though there are a few almost white markings around her nose and beneath her chin.  Yellowish-grey eyes peer about, intense as they look about at her surroundings. 

Entering the town, her mind is occupied with the last few days. When she set off it had been with a sense of certainty in her actions. But now, her doubts were growing. Sleep had been difficult to come by when caught by the storm. She could deal with being wet, but it was certainly not her first choice. As she found herself in the town square, her attention is drawn to the beheaded statue.  Yet another. How sad. She gives a brief sigh. This does nothing but trouble the spirts of our ancestors. How can they be so blind to that which we owe them? Her feet lead her over closer, to where she can see the original plaque has been erased and a new sign put up. He fought for freedom and now he is to be erased? How the spirits will decry this treatment! How many might have died without his deeds? What would...

Her thoughts are suddenly disturbed by a voice near-at-hand.  She turns her attentions to the sounds and sees a rabbit-woman, whose voice starts to falter. As her cloak flares, the poorly concealed great sword is now obvious. The Tabaxi may not be tall or large, but she is clearly solidly build and well-muscled beneath her slightly bedraggled fur. "I'm sorry," she replies in a soft feminine voice. She sounds a little apologetic. "I take it you must have mistaken me for someone else? Though I would certainly offer my help if I could be of use." 

Mira

The lady's voice... it sounds so... soft? Whilst there isn't any trace of hostility sensed in the bunny girl, it wasn't enough to reassure her that the person might be hostile. "Sorry um... I mean..." She falters. usually she can just approach strangers without breaking a sweat. Not this one though, for some reason. "Yeah uh... I thought you were one of those friendly guards patrolling the place. I mean, you clearly look like one though with that giant sword of yours, heheh. You're from around here right? We're not really familiar with this place. Or least, maybe those guys aren't but they're looking for some things." Yikes. That massive sword on her back... She again shivers as she points to whoever the group. If she can't even take on close quarters combat, then for sure she will fall to one single swing. "Anyways, um... sorry if I sound blunt but... do you happen to know something about this... artefact thingy? Or are interested in it? Apparently I've got four others wanting to pursue that strange thing and I was wondering if you'd know or want to know anything about it. Um..." She pauses as she hesitates. "...Well... they're apparently meeting Paulis first. And they've uh..." She really wants to mention Cezars to the Tabaxi but decides to hold it off in case it deters her. "Yeah, well... I got comingled with them because they rescued me. But now we came here to maybe find more info before we set off and i thought you'd be a great person to come up and talk to. Um... Maybe you could help this team for me, if you don't mind?" Not wanting to cause any misunderstanding, She waves over to the group to grab their attention.

"Hey Shugo! Alex!" Mira calls out, though her voice cracks upon voicing the latter; She deliberately didn't call out the oddball pair because... well... she knows Maya's name  but actually forgot about Renar's. Plus his current attitude right now already made her think twice. "You two wanting to get some supplies? I found a lady that can help you get to where you need!" 

Whilst she waits for them, Mira notices Liivi staring at the statue with mild annoyance. "So uh... what do you think? I noticed you've been staring at that... headless sculpture for a while, just like me. What do you think about it?" She again replies awkwardly, maintaining her distance in case. There is a truckload of tension as Mira feels, but it seems that judging from her writhed face and twitching whiskers, she might be thinking something similar to what Mira's thinking now. "You look really wet. Were you affected by the storm too?" She resumes in hopes she could maintain some common ground with her as they wait.

(Welcome again, Culuril!)

The Tabaxi watches this rabbit-woman closely, not quite sure what to make of her at first. It takes her a moment to realize that armed as she is, she might look a bit intimidating. And what is she saying? From around here? And the artefact? They are looking for the artefact? She can hardly contain her excitement as she hears the words. And likely she does not hide it. Suddenly her doubts vanish from her mind.  It seems she is on the right path. And Menkalde was just the place she needed to be at this moment. 

By now, the woman has moved on to speak about the statue.  She fixes her gaze on the woman and replies. "The spirits of our ancestors will be greatly disturbed by the mistreatment of this monument. "A Rebel General" the sign says, the man's name erased!"  She can feel the indignity of the situation raising her ire, so she stops talking, wrapping up her thoughts. "It is not a choice I would have made. And, I'm sorry again but I must correct your misperception. I am not from this place and in fact came originally from rather far away. I am however looking to know more about this artefact."  Her voice becomes hesitant, not sure how much to share with these people.  

When asked about her wet condition, the Tabaxi nods. "Caught out in the storm, yes. It was my fault for thinking I could outrun it. What shelter I could find did not keep me very dry. But it's all right, I certainly can deal with a bit of dampness."