Witchers of Nifelheim - Part 5

"I see." Twilight says with a scowl. "I suppose that means we have to round up every male here and give the word to write their mothers. If we knew when to search, or a name to go by, it might have gone more smoothly. I suppose the hard way it is."

"Let's get the word out then, the sooner those letters are written the sooner we can continue our missions." She folded her arms. Something that was said did not sit well with her, at all.

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Everyone)


"Shortly after humanity's Exile to Nifelheim, there lived a humble woman named Lady Nightingale" Milana began, her entire face lighting up:

"So troubled by violence, constant strife and warfare, she wanted to find a place for humanity, where they could live free of all that. Free of violence and fear.

She wandered Nifelheim until she found the perfect place. Right here, she settled with her followers. The Grand Cathedral was the first thing they built, and the village grew around it.

Our only wish is to live with nature in harmony and to follow the teachings of Lady Nightingale" Milana brightly smiled to Rogue, then looked at Twilight:

"I'm surprised more people don't know about this place. If these trees really work as you say, it might be an idea to try and cultivate them elsewhere" Rogue remarks,

"And by the way, what about the Great Migration? Will you be accompanying the rest of the population on their return to Earth?"

Rain nods to ursula, taking a seat next to her, "Light, your more like your mechanica mother then I could have imagined. Your mother was also a drunkard, however im pretty sure she was also a vampire." She squints in thought, "Your mother back home is an intresting woman. She did what she wanted not a care in the world about what we thought of her but she still stuck around." She crosses her legs, drumming her fingers on her knees, "she always wanted to act like a criminal, like she was a professional and career criminal." She looks up at Light, "...But in truth, she was good hearted." She looks to Ursula, "her mothers done some pretty amazing things while piss drunk, im sure that drunken luck follows her daughter." She smiles, "It's bound to get us into trouble though. Im sure even if she weren't drunk though, she'd still get us into trouble." She chuckles. Rain looks down a moment, then her gaze turns forward into the town, "I've noticed you've been talking to Ryu alot more. Might I ask? Whats your plan to impress?" She smiles, "Whatever it is I know your capable of it. Your capable of alot more things then I am here. You were named the archangle after all." She glances back up at light, "...and I overheard you putting down my daughter. Give Ursula some credit, she got my brawn and my wifes smarts, shes already capable of amazing things, What've you accomplished you drunkard?" She raises her brow with a smile.

Circi looks to Twilight a moment, it seems she feels the same unease, her gaze returns and she nods, "I see. What kind of activitys do you have planned for the fetival? do you see more folks passing through around this time? Surely some folks have caused ruckus among your people. How do you go about policing your peaceful hovel?" Circi leans forward, her spiderlegs shifting and tapping against the wood behind her, she rests her chin on her knuckles, resting her elbows on the table.

"Mm, perhaps not every male.." Ryu quietly said and sat closer to the table with a serious expression:

"You said you know everyone in the village by face, correct?" His stoic gaze fell on Milana:

"Which means, we can significantly narrow the search, to young men, who arrived here, from Aldris, less than a month ago, with a mother living in Aldris.

From what I've seen, less than a hundred people live in the village.


New faces should be extremely vivid and out of place for you, considering you lived here since Exile. You should be able to identify them quite easily"




"Of course" Milana smiled and tapped her cheek, falling in thought: "Lets see... I think, 7 Initiates joined us this month. 3 of them fit your description. I think they're all here at the dinning hall actually, if you want to talk to them" she said, looking around the tables.



"We are thinking about opening another village, closer to the center of the continent" Milana nodded to Rogue:
"We're working on ways on how to plant more trees like ours, when we go there.

As for the Migration" Milana looked down in thought:
"We.. haven't decided yet...
We're set up so well up here, and the parasites don't bother us. We can live here as long as we want, but what will happen to us when we Migrate?

Will there be a place for us in the Machine world? Will they allows us to settle there and live by our own rules? I don't know... I don't know"

Milana sighed: "High Priestess De Luca hasn't reached a decision yet."




Her eyes narrowed again, as she looked at Circi:
"We're not a hovel, okay? We are a beautiful village. The people who live here, usually don't cause a ruckus. The forest pushes away all those with impure hearts.. usually." Her gaze remained on Circi for a moment:
"Only those with pure hearts reach the village, so we usually don't have any trouble. But if someone becomes too unruly, High Priestess De Luca usually talks them down. She has a real way with people. You'll understand when you meet her"


Her expression softened: "
"Tomorrows festival marks the wanderful time of the year, when all three moons become full. We begin with the Initiation ritual, when all the newcomers who wish to join Sanctuary, don the ceremonial robes and stand with us, as we recite the teachings of Lady Nightingale in the Grand Cathedral.

We sing the hymn, congratulate the new Initiates and walk into the village, where we celebrate the three full moons with song, dance and wanderful food" Milana smiled:

"You are welcome to join, by the way, both the ceremony and the celebration tomorrow. We have free lodgings where you can sleep overnight and rest before the festival tomorrow."


"Oh I'd love to see the Cathedral during the ceremony!" Tim beamed from ear to ear.
Milana happily smiled in turn.
















(Rain)


"Wha' is this? Some sorta reverse psychology thing?" Light drunkenly said:
"Mah mom used ta drink so I should stop 'n all??"

"I think you should stop, period." Ursula narrowed her eyes at her: "You're doing a number on your kidney's"

"Whatever, I'll regenerate" Lightning shrugged.

"Ugh" Ursula groaned, then listened to Rain. After a while, her expression turned horrified and she grabbed Rain by the sleeve:



"Mom, mom you have to help! I HAVE NO PLAN! I dunno what I'm doing!!!
I thought if I impresses him with my unique cooking recepies and struck a casual conversation, he'd notice me, but a week past and he only sees me as a comrade in arms!!!"


Lightning broke into laughter: "Senpai doesn't notice you?"


"..Shut up!" Ursula began blushing with a scowl, then looked back at you:
"Mom what do I doooo??? Nothings working!! Its a catastrophe!!!" She looks at you in hopeless desperation.

Kaylee Brown wrote:"We are thinking about opening another village, closer to the center of the continent" Milana nodded to Rogue:
"We're working on ways on how to plant more trees like ours, when we go there.

As for the Migration" Milana looked down in thought:
"We.. haven't decided yet...
We're set up so well up here, and the parasites don't bother us. We can live here as long as we want, but what will happen to us when we Migrate?

Will there be a place for us in the Machine world? Will they allows us to settle there and live by our own rules? I don't know... I don't know"

Milana sighed: "High Priestess De Luca hasn't reached a decision yet."

"If you were to stay, that'd leave you as the only Humans left on Nifelheim, perhaps even the only non-Glystaria too - I know a lot of the other spirits're planning on coming along with us to the Machine World" Rogue reflects, "Your arrangement here seems to have worked so far, but what if the loss of their entire food supply drives the Glystaria into desperate exploration? They could stumble upon you by sheer luck, and there'd be no hope of backup with everyone else gone?"

"And as for the Machine World itself, well I can assure you that whatever happens, the Kings and ourselves're doing our utmost to ensure it all goes peacefully."

Kaylee Brown wrote:"From what I've seen, less than a hundred people live in the village.


New faces should be extremely vivid and out of place for you, considering you lived here since Exile. You should be able to identify them quite easily"




"Of course" Milana smiled and tapped her cheek, falling in thought: "Lets see... I think, 7 Initiates joined us this month."

Twilight eyebrow raised itself at the mentioned numbers. When it lowered, it seems like something terrible dawned to her.

She spoke in a flat tone. "Seven people joined you in living in Sanctum this month, you say? Is that a normal amount, or is it usually less people that choose to stay to live here?"

Rain raises her brow, and lets out a warm chuckle, "honey, this is far from a disaster. Let me tell you something. Your mother back home used to be a masked assassin, me and my friends there, we had to stop a vengeful madman from destroying all races but batponys, your mother was a political slave to some madman trying to keep a country under his thumb. He kept her masked and hidden, hiding her identity, treating her like some kind of object." Rain spits venom, like she hates speaking about the artimis commander, "From the moment I saw her I was struck, she was quick, efficent, her outfit was unnerving but still pretty. Harle was a force to be reckoned with, and we kept bumping into eachother, the man lsending her off to kill us once more until... well... she tragicly fails" She closes her eyes, "The masked mare I had been chasing had been princess of the bat ponys. With her at our mercy, I think she genuinely believed we were going to kill her. Instead I offered my friendship, and she gave me hers, and as unsure as she was at the time we stood together through the worst of it, and I did everything in my power to help support her. It didn't take her very long to end up falling right into my arms after that, and since then, we've only been seperated when the worst is to come." She sighs and looks to the sky, "God I miss her." A tear rolls down the side of her cheek but she quickly wipes it away, keeping her cool, "Ryu is like his mother. Stoic, and stern, but I think the act he puts on now is but a mask of his true feelings and intentions, whatever those might be, I doubt he'll actually tell us, but whats important is that you dont give up, he sees you as a comrade, someone who can support him in a fight, and hold their own. Wonderful, fantastic job!" She smiles, "If he is intrested in you he isn't going to show it off in front of everybody, think about it he's the white flame, he's going to act cool and calm all the time. I overheard you say there was a tournament that might involve you having to impress him." She sets her hand on ursulas shoulder, "Ursula, you are honorable, you are loyal, and you are kind. Your smart, smarter then I could hope to be for sure." She chuckles, "When you enter, I think if you give it your all, you'll win. You know what else I believe? I think you've already done enough to impress Ryu."

Circi raises her brow, "Hovel wasn't an insult. Its just a small village." She waves her hand, metaphorically clearing the subject from the table, "I would prefer to sleep away from other people due to my condition yes? I tend to drool alot in my sleep and the ammounts can very, I wouldn't want to ruin your beds or worse, have my sickness drip down through the floorboards, dropping onto some poor soul, Do you perhaps have a campground or someplace spacious and outdoors?"

Anastasia, deciding that that she had gathered enough information had made her way back to the group waiting outside. From their perspective it looked like she simply stepped out from behind a tree as she returned to her corporeal form.

"I mean cool and calm aren't exactly how I'd describe Ryu but I'm not the one crushing on him," Ana just kind of inserts herself into the conversation that she had caught Rain's last remarks about "Is there really any harm in the blunt and direct approach? Everything Rain said about you is true plus your also attractive so you've got the entire package deal going on with you."

She opens her mouth to add more but seems to interrupt herself

"The village is safe by the way. A bit weird but all together safe for us to go in. Not sure if you guys want to wait for the others or not"

(Rogue, Twilight, Circi)


Milana caught a strange, sad smile, while looking at Rogue: "It would be nice.. if we could all Migrate, and live peacefully in the new world. Unfortunately, it was my experience that people tend to fear and ostracize, even vilify, those that are different from them, those they do not understand.

It is not an easy decision and we haven't reached consensus. Priestess De Luca is still reflecting on the subject but, thank you, for the offer" Milana smiled again, with that sad smile that held a lot of unspoken thoughts behind it.



She listened to Twilight and fell into thought: "Mmm... I suppose more people have been joining us recently, than usual. But you must remember, not every member of Sanctum is present in the village right now.

We periodically send wandering Priests to neighboring lands, to search for places where we can open another Sanctuary, and to bring the guidance of Lady Nightingale to those willing to listen.

Some from the Sanctuary seek a time of enlightenment, a time they wish to spend alone in the wild, to reflect on themselves and the world. Such is also, our way" she pleasantly smiled and emptied her cut of tea.



She listened to Circi and was about to answer something on autopilot, but stopped herself at the last moment and went silent, then fell into thought:
"...mmm... yes, I understand. Perhaps.. we could set up a tent outdoors? Near the residential area?"


"We do not wish to impose on your people" Ryu evenly said.

"It is no trouble" Milana smiled: "Sanctuary welcomes all. Now, shall I speak to the 3 individuals you mentioned? Asked them if they wish to speak with you, regarding the matter?"

"Please" Ryu nodded.


Milana smiled and drifted away like a nymph, radiating sunshine as she went along.

When she was out of earshot, Ryu slightly leaned closer to you and whispered:
"We introduced ourselves as the White Lotus, the honor guard of the crown in Rakshata, so everything we do and say here, will reflect on the crown. Lets try to be respectful, even if we suspect something amiss. Accusations without evidence can lead to disaster."


"Accusations??" Tim looked genuinely taken aback: "You don't honestly suspect foul play among these good folk?"

Ryu squinted at Milana, that spoke to a few villagers at the other end of the mess hall:

"..I do not have enough data to form a conclusion yet. I would prefer not to voice my thoughts at the moment."









(Ana, Rain)


"Thanks mom" Ursula smiled to Rain, then looked down: "I can't believe you guys lived through all that, in the Machine World.. you guys are like-" she smiled: "My personal super-heroes"

She brightly smiled, looking at Rain: "I'm really proud to be your daughter"


"Hey, since I'm one of the Lost Children, stranded on this planet-" Lightning seamlessly inserted herself into the conversation, hugging Ursula and looking up at Rain:
"I'm basically Ursula's sister right? Can I call you 'Mom' too? Haha" she stuck her tongue out.

"Light, get off! You smell of alcohol!" Ursula started trying to push her off, but Lighting just giggled and continued to hold her in a death grip, until Ursula gave up.

"Ugh, anyway" Ursula rolled her eyes for a bit then fell into thought: "I dunno, I just.. Impressing Ryu in a tournament is the logical thing to do, if I score a high place, it will show that I'm strong or smart and will earn a high military rank.
But I can't help but feeling he's not actually interested in how strong a person is, or what rank he holds.. and I don't know how to show him, what kind of person I am inside, under the rank and swords and scary armor."


"Listen kid-" Lighting released a knowing smile.

"I'm your age" Ursula narrowed her eyes.

"-you just gotta be yourself. And either he likes you, or not" Lightning said calmly: "Life's too short to be dwelling on stuff like that. Loosen up a little. If he notices you and likes you, good, if not, you just gotta move on. For all we know, a stray fireball might smack us in the face tomorrow and end it all. Don't get stuck in the past, and know when to act and when to move on"


"You're right... YOU'RE RIGHT!" Ursula collected her fist with fire in her eyes: "I will ask him out on a date!"

"... usually.. the men are the ones who're expected t-" Light began.

"I don't caaare!" Ursula waved her hand: "He is totally cool and calm and I'm doing this!!"

"...train wreck incoming" Lightning quietly whispered with a smirk.

"Shut!-.." Ursula looked back at her and noticed Kaylee and Johan coming out of the woods.


"..you know, if you guys raise your voices any higher, I think they'll hear you on the south pole" Johan quietly said.

Ursula covered her mouth with both hands in horror: "Oh my god I'm so sorry"


"I don't know about all of us returning to the village" Kaylee said, thinking: "It might be good to have a hidden reserve force, waiting in the forest. If push comes to shove, we can ambush them from behind, in case you get in trouble.

Ursula, Johan, Light and myself should stay hidden in the woods I think. We're setting up some useful pentagrams in the meantime, to give us a good edge if a fight starts.

You guys should head back to the village I think, gather more info" She looked at Ana: "Oh, by the way, what did you find?"

"Indeed, I find the information given most suspicious." Twilight interejects softly. "There are many things I find that don't exactly add up, or not in a way they have a pleasant ending."

She holds her chin. "Also, if the man we're looking for is not in this set, we should extend it to people that joined up to 6 months ago. And if he's not here after all, then I think we have our confirmation."

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Rogue, Twilight, Circi)Milana smiled and drifted away like a nymph, radiating sunshine as she went along.

When she was out of earshot, Ryu slightly leaned closer to you and whispered:
"We introduced ourselves as the White Lotus, the honor guard of the crown in Rakshata, so everything we do and say here, will reflect on the crown. Lets try to be respectful, even if we suspect something amiss. Accusations without evidence can lead to disaster."

"Sorry for dropping that name by the way, I just figured that you'd know how to act the part, and that'd help ease the situation" Rogue said, "Do let us know of any norms we should be following, now that we're in the employ of the Crown."

"Their leader Deluca seems to be on the level for now at least. Seems a few people are worried about Circi, but Deluca is keeping them in their place. She also has connection with a group called the Overseers. They scanned Lightning earlier and seem to recognize her. There is a deeper part into the Cathedral but I wasn't going to risk getting caught down their and starting something bad.

A few people were also communicating in Sinner sign language regarding Circi. I couldn't understand most of it but I memorized the gestures just incase. One of them brought up his doubt about Circi to Deluca but she seemed to intimidate him without actually doing it.

There is also intent to invite is to join their festival. One of the tailors has already made robes for us just incase. Interestingly enough that simple decisions was doubted by another one of the villagers. The people who are 'accepting' of us seem to have some deeper knowledge of what is actually going down.

And finally, I found no mention of our missing person or Zlobec."

Rain raises her brow at Ursula, "I hate to break it to you hun, but sisters in arms and all that. We aren't getting rid of mist anytime soon. She taps her boot against the ground, "Am I just Mama Rain now, to everybody?" She looks up at kaylee and johan as they approach, "chances are they already have eyes on us." Rain says a little quieter.

As ana begins explaining what she saw Rain gives her a confused look, "I'm not sure what all ofbthat is supposed to mean?"

Circi looks to Twilight, Rogue, and Ryu, "I urge you to join me in camping outside. I suspect should we use their inn, we are giving them a big home advantage. They have keys to our doors, who knows if theres even windows? If there are im sure their locked." She leans in close to everyone, her voiced hushed, "This place makes me uncomfortable, "Not just because everyones happy. That woman knew my name before we got here, she had next to no intrest speaking to me at all." She squints, "Sleeping indoors here is a mistake, and a trap."

C̷O̴N̴S̶U̸M̵E̵ wrote:Circi looks to Twilight, Rogue, and Ryu, "I urge you to join me in camping outside. I suspect should we use their inn, we are giving them a big home advantage. They have keys to our doors, who knows if theres even windows? If there are im sure their locked." She leans in close to everyone, her voiced hushed, "This place makes me uncomfortable, "Not just because everyones happy. That woman knew my name before we got here, she had next to no intrest speaking to me at all." She squints, "Sleeping indoors here is a mistake, and a trap."

"Do you have kind of street cred we should be aware of?" Rogue asks Circi.

"No meaning. Just telling what I saw." she gives Rain a casual shrug

Rogue Fire wrote:

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Rogue, Twilight, Circi)Milana smiled and drifted away like a nymph, radiating sunshine as she went along.

When she was out of earshot, Ryu slightly leaned closer to you and whispered:
"We introduced ourselves as the White Lotus, the honor guard of the crown in Rakshata, so everything we do and say here, will reflect on the crown. Lets try to be respectful, even if we suspect something amiss. Accusations without evidence can lead to disaster."

"Sorry for dropping that name by the way, I just figured that you'd know how to act the part, and that'd help ease the situation" Rogue said, "Do let us know of any norms we should be following, now that we're in the employ of the Crown."

"And on the subject of that, you should probably introduce yourself under a false name" Rogue suggests to Ryu, "I've no idea how common the name Ryu is here, but coincedence raises attention."

(Twilight, Rogue, Circi)


"Mm. 6 months might be too wide a net, we might get a lot of false positives" Ryu said, thinking:
"Maybe.. we could narrow it down to 2 or 3 months.

Speaking to the most newly arrivals also presents another opportunity. They may not have spent enough time here to completely join the local believes, so they may answer truthfully when we ask, are they generally allowed to contact the outside world?"


He thought for a moment, then looked at Rogue:
"Announcing ourselves as the White Lotus does carry certain advantages. Enemies will think twice about oppositing us directly, as it would mean a direct opposition to the crown. An innevitable retaliation will be unleashed upon them, so they will tread carefully.

If they attack us now, it will mean they're strong enough, or fanatical enough, to oppose the crown directly. That will spell real trouble, as they outnumber us quite heavily."


He looked at Circi:
"I understand your reasons for wanting to stay in the tent overnight, however, it will place us at an even greater danger I think. We will be isolated from the rest of their population. One carefully aimed meteor will kill us all, in one fell swoop, while avoiding collateral damage to them and their buildings.

While, if we stay at their inn, among their people, their attack options will be limited, and a closed room and narrow corridors will provide a good defensible position."


He looked at everyone:
"The White Lotus is basically an elite, well disciplined military unit. That's the gist of it really. I served as a member, before becoming a king.. the unit had a different name back then, me and my sister renamed it, after we assumed control of the city."


"Why did you rename it, your grac-.. err.. my comrade in arms?" Tim asked, correcting himself halfway and guiltily smiling.

Ryu seriously nodded: "Yes, there's no need to tip our hand. They don't know my face. Lets keep it that way.
We renamed the unit because.." Ryu momentarily looked down and averted his gaze. His stoic expression didn't change, but, his reaction was still a bit out of character. Perhaps that is the way he expressed mild embarrasment?

"Its something of a calling card we invented." He looked at you: "My sister and I discovered a way to use a different chemical reaction, to cast the same Fire spell. Our Fire is colored pale white, as opposed to the usual orange you see.

We invented it during our study at the Witcher academy and kept the spell formula a secret. For this discovery, the academy's Dean nicknamed us - The White Flames.

The name White Lotus, was a personalizes renaming of our honor guard. Anyway-" Ryu shifted in his seat:


"You remember traveling with two White Lotus members, on the ship to this continent. Thats about the norms the White Lotus follows. Quiet, calm, a disciplined military.

If we become too rowdy or too vocal with accusations, without clear evidence, it will be viewed as out of character and suspicious. They may call out our bluff then, and stop cooperaring entirely.

At any rate, we must be careful. The villagers may not be soldiers or Witchers, but they outnumber us greatly and if they're fanatical, they may charge at us with reckless abandon, if we provoke them, or if they are enemies.

We must be careful how we proceed, even if we do spot something bad or suspicious"




He thought for a moment, then looked at Circi: "It does seem like the villagers were spooked by you, but it could've been just a general overblown, inappropriate reaction to a Sinner.
Why do you believe that Milana knew your name, before you introduced yourself?"








A few minutes after Ryu spoke, three young men approached your table, with Milana in tow. They were all human, strong looking, possibly accumulated their muscle mass by working in the farm fields for most of their life.

They all seemed a little confused and out of place here, still looking around at everything as if it was strange and new.

"Witchers" they nodded with respect.

"Its an honor to be visited by White Lotus" the second man replied.

"..we're not in trouble are we?" The third nervously rubbed his palms.




















(Rain, Ana)


"The Overseers?" Lightning cocked her head in confusion: "Who the heck are the Overseers? I've never heard that name before."


"Light!!!" Ursula exclaimed, frowning at her: "I knew it! I knew your drinking would get you in trouble! You were so drunk someone scanned you and you didn't even notice!?
That's it! I see you with another bottle, I'm hurling it off a cliff and kicking your ass!!!"


"Awwww, I love you tooo" Lightning drunkenly hugged Ursula.

"Get off you crazy miscreant!" Ursula yelled to no avail.



"Hm, looks like Lightning made one friend already" Kaylee said with a sigh.

"Ha ha! Sister~, sister~" Lightning started rocking Ursula back and forth, Ursula is ignoring her, or tolerating her perhaps.




"Someone was communicating using Sinner sign language?" Johan asked: "That's.. odd... Why did they use sign language?"

"Didn't want to be overheard maybe?" Kaylee proposed.



"I'm more interested in this festival" Ursula said: "Do all villagers wear special robes for it? What does the festival consist of?"


"I wander why they're worried about Circi" Johan fell into thought: "Is it because they're afraid of Sinners?"


"Alright, good work Ana" Kaylee nodded: "That's a lot of intel we wouldn't get otherwise."



"Do you think someone is really watching us, right now?" Johan wearily asked Rain, looking around the forest: "We haven't seen anyone so far"

"Anyone got Heightened Senses equipped?" Lightning drunkenly asked: "You'll spot them if you activate it. Unless they're Shadows like Anaaa."

"No way" Kaylee shook her head: "Ryu said its a secret technique. Only members of his order know it"

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Twilight, Rogue, Circi)

A few minutes after Ryu spoke, three young men approached your table, with Milana in tow. They were all human, strong looking, possibly accumulated their muscle mass by working in the farm fields for most of their life.

They all seemed a little confused and out of place here, still looking around at everything as if it was strange and new.

"Witchers" they nodded with respect.

"Its an honor to be visited by White Lotus" the second man replied.

"..we're not in trouble are we?" The third nervously rubbed his palms.

"Not at all, we're just performing a routine check-up" Rogue reassures the three men, "You're the newest inhabitants here in this village, yes?"

(Twilight, Rogue, Circi)


"Yes sir" the second replied with a small smile: "Settled here just a few weeks back. Its nice, peaceful. Don't have to worry about parasites anymore"

"You're.. not here to draft us into the military, right?" The third one asked with worry: "The White Flame declared it to be voluntary only"

Ryu's eye slightly twitched in annoyance but he didn't reply.

"Then we better be on our best behaviour incase we are being watched secretly. And isn't like high level scan near impossible to detect?" Ana asks while prying Lightning off of Ursula in a friendly but still assertive manner

(Rain, Ana)


"Nah, you'll detect it" Ursula said, grimacing: "Actually, you'll detect it even more. A high scan drills into the depths of your soul, revealing your stats, spell list and Limit Break. Trust me, you'll know, you wont mistake that feeling for anything..
Unless you're drunk off-" she shot Light a glare as she got pried off of Ursula.


"Aaaaaah, where're we goiing" Lightning called as Ana dragged her off.



"Wait... did you say Scanned?" Kaylee suddenly caught a heavy expression:
"I thought everyone in the village were human... they can't use magic. Then who the hell scanned Light?"


"..the Overseers?" Ursula proposed, then slamed herself on the forehead:
"Light you goof, you have Heightened Senses equipped! You used it on us when we were fighting remember?"


"Oh right, haha. Whoops" Light giggled, slipped my mind, I'm sorry."
She started drawing a sign in the air with her finger tips. Then closed her eyes and listened.

Her expression changed, became serious and she stared off, misty eyed, into the depths of the forest.
"...five humans. Just bolted, ran outside of my detection range, just now. That way" she pointed into the forest, in the direction that ran parallel to the village and her eyes returned to normal.

I doubt they heard us talking from that distance, but they had a clear line of sight."


She looked at you, surprisingly sobber like:
"...Ana, they knew what a Witcher sign for Heightened Senses looked like. They bolted before I finished drawing the sign.

But, they're human. Average humans don't usually posses such knowledge."

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Twilight, Rogue, Circi)

"Yes sir" the second replied with a small smile: "Settled here just a few weeks back. Its nice, peaceful. Don't have to worry about parasites anymore"

"You're.. not here to draft us into the military, right?" The third one asked with worry: "The White Flame declared it to be voluntary only"

Ryu's eye slightly twitched in annoyance but he didn't reply.

"You have nothing to worry about, we just want to ask a few questions, a bit of administrative catch-up" Rogue explains, "Please feel free to sit if that would make you more comfortable.

You see, what with the Great Migration coming up and all, and the possibility being open for your community to be staying behind when we leave, we'd like to if possible avoid any incidents of double-counting in our records, so that you aren't accidentally included on our departure lists as missing. Things are understandably going to be complicated enough as it is, without searching for people who don't need to be there.

Now, being recent arrivals here, do any of you have families outside of this community, and are they aware of your location and decision?"

"Also stuff can be stolen or lost. I mean Tequila Sunrise here was in possession of the Shadow Limit break before it was reclaimed by Ryu. Who's to say these Overseer's didn't either find a way to get their hands on it or that being impossible where Shadow's first before coming here"

she withdraws the telescope from her bag and looks through it in the direction the mysterious beings had run

Rain hums quitely, "Well. We should probably get circi to translate that conversation you oversaw." She says to Ana. At the alert of others she quickly rises to her feet, "Should we chase Them?" She asks quitely drawing her bow in percausion.

Circi nods slowly at Ryu, "Indeed. That is good reasoning." She takes a long deep breath leaning in close to Ryu, she barely speaks under her breath, "We need a private place to discuss the cathedral, we need to investigate it and its caved in underside." As the men approach Circi raises to her feet, "Various farm work I presume? Could I ask what your schedule looks like? What you do in your free time and thd likes?"

(Twilight, Rogue, Circi)


"Oh, thank you" the three began to sit down in front of you, together with Milana who seemed cheery as always.

"Yeah, my dad's in Aldris" one of them said.

"Mom, Aldris" the second replied.

"Mom, dad and grandparents, in Aldris" the third nodded: "Yeah, they know know where we are, we talk a lot over mail, but.." he looked down: "We.. haven't actually decided yet, if we want to stay here, when the Migration takes place. Seems a bit too much, you know?
Our folks will move to the Machine World and we'll stay here? We won't be able to talk anymore.

I don't know, still thinking about it" he sighed, looking down.


"Work schedule?" the first one scratched his head in thought or confusion: "I dunno, we just kinda, wake up, world the fields, eat, work some more, eat, work till the sun goes down, eat dinner, sing around the camp fire, party for a bit, dance, the like, pretty cool really.
No scary parasites or Witchers breathing down your neck... uhh... no offense" he gingerly raised his palms.


Ryu slightly leaned closer to Circi: "...3 o'clock this night. Most will be asleep by then, less chance of running into someone while we explore"


"All good?" Milana asked, tilting her head with a smile: "I can show you to your rooms, if you wonna rest after your triiiip. Walking through our forest when it doesn't like you, can be quite taxing."









(Rain, Ana)


"Overseers having a Shadow Limit Break? No, I doubt it" Ursula shook her head: "That Limit Break was such an outrageous legend, no one even believes it exists. I spent my whole life never seeing it used even once.
I believe its safe to say, running into someone who has it, is almost impossible. Its incredibly rare. No, we should focus on more conventional explanations."


As you peer through the telescope, into the forest, you believe you just saw a gray piece of somebodies clothing, just before it vanished from sight. There were too many densely growing trees, that far away and the people who were there, had faded from sight.


"Chase them..?..." Lightning thought for a moment and had a hiccup: "Well... it depends on what'cha wonna do with them, after we catch them. And what will be the consequences of that, if they're loved in the village.
I mean, I donnnn' care either way, just, the villagers might hammer us on the head, if we pester someone they like, ya know? 'specially if they have the uh... pla- pll... plausible deniabilityy.. ye, that.."