Kitsune of the Blue Sun

Chapter 77- Prelude to a Big Event

[Keeno POV]

A week passed since the small incident that Freya and I refuse to talk about, and we finally could see the border to Nidavellir.  In this time, there hasn’t been much of note that happened.  If anything, it was kind of suspicious with how little happened.  Aside from the two caravans we passed, there was literally nothing.  No animals, no monsters, no more people, just us and the empty road.  It’s honestly kind of concerning.

“Ok, Ama, is there something going on here?  It can’t be natural that there is nothing around here.  I’ve been holding off asking, but I can’t take it anymore.” (Keeno)

{Maybe a monster hoard is forming?}

“What’s that?” (Pram)

{It’s something that happens sometimes when an area gets overhunted.  The monsters in that area all start congregating near each other while looking for food, run into other groups of monsters in the same predicament, and start fighting.  When a lot of said groups do this at the same time, a hoard forms and then it rampages through the area.}

“Isn’t that really bad for Nidavellir?  I mean, a large group of adventurers just left the country.” (Keeno)

{Sure, it was a large group, but that doesn’t mean it was every single adventurer.  And even then, there are also soldiers from the country’s army, mercenaries, and others that protect places.  It’s not like things like this haven’t happened before, though I suspect that those two caravans are the reason this is happening.}

“That would make sense.  That many people traveling through an area, you can’t expect them to not hunt for food.” (Freya)

“Then maybe we should hurry and get to the nearest city.  I don’t really like the idea of getting caught up in something like a hoard of monsters with nothing but our own magic to defend ourselves.  Not saying we can’t probably handle it, but I’d feel much better if we had somewhere we could retreat to.” (Keeno)

“I second that notion.” (Pram)

“And I third it.” (Freya)

“Huginn, Muninn, scouting time.” (Keeno)

At my words, Huginn and Muninn flapped out of my tails and onto my shoulders before taking off.  They flew off for a ways until all I could see of them were tiny black specs in the sky.  We continued to walk along the road while they flew and about an hour later, they came back.  Both landed on one of my shoulders and started squawking.

“So, she does understand them, right?  I mean, I know it’s a bit late to ask this, but you’re really sure she isn’t just playing along and guessing what they are trying to convey, right?” (Freya)

“She understands them perfectly.  I’m doing my best to try as well, though progress is slow.” (Pram)

“…Well, I won’t lie and say it’s not something interesting to try.  I mean, they both look super smart, so I guess it won’t hurt for me to try and learn as well.” (Freya)

“Oh?  Then how about we work on it together?” (Pram)

“…I-I like that idea.” (Freya)

{…}

‘And the best part about that, Ama, is that I don’t think Pram realizes it yet.’ (Keeno)

{She’s naturally flirting with Freya, and she doesn’t even realize it.  And Freya’s reactions are great as well.}

‘I agree.’ (Keeno)

I then turned to the others.

“Huginn and Muninn saw a wall nearby, so we’re close to civilization.  Next fork we need to go left, and we’ll be there.  Let’s pick up the pace.” (Keeno)

“Impending monster hoard aside, I’m ready to sleep in an actual bed again.” (Pram)

“Yeah, while camping out is surprisingly more fun than I initially thought, a real bed would be nice.” (Freya)

“Onward, to real beds!” (Keeno)

““YEAH!!!”” (Pram and Freya)

We sped up our pace and after about an hour of walking more, we hit the fork in the road.  We went left and, after another hour, the wall of a city appeared.  We sped up even more since the suns were about to start setting and we didn’t want to get locked out of a city for a night.  By the time we got in sight of the guards, they were already closing the gate, just to stop as we reached them.  One of them quickly checked our identification and waved us in, a bit annoyed at being kept out longer than he was probably wishing to be.

It took a bit, but we managed to find a good inn and got a big room.  After going and getting something to eat, we all went back to the room to discuss our next move.

“So, tomorrow we go to the Guild branch here and report a possible hoard if it hasn’t already been reported and see what needs to be done from there.  Any objections?” (Keeno)

“None from me.” (Pram)

“None here either.” (Freya)

“Then it’s settled.” (Keeno)

{Well, with that figured out, it’s Red’s turn.}

“Red is with you now?” (Keeno)

“Red…is here.  And…Red has…news.” (Red)

“What’s up, Red?” (Keeno)

“Families here…are self-destructing……Leader of…Salviento…killed by traitors…turning into…all out war again.  From what Red…could find out…blame the Dead Zone…disappearing…on the ones…normally in control.” (Red)

“…So, what we were trying to mostly avoid happened.” (Keeno)

“Don’t…worry…Not as bad…as it sounds……Just less…order?  Red is…managing to…disrupt…any major…developments.” (Red)

“Good job, Red.” (Keeno)

“Red will…accept any pats…through proxy.” (Red)

“Ama.” (Keeno)

{On it.}

“Red is…feeling patting…bliss.” (Red)

“Jealousy.” (Keeno)

“Next time I see Red, I’m giving her all the pats.” (Pram)

“Yes…I will too.” (Freya)

“Red will…accept all…the pats.” (Red)

{And we will gladly give them.  Now, are you going to visit your mother, or did you just want to talk with us?}

“Red will…go see mother and Aunt Fu.” (Red)

{Alright.  See you later, Red.}

“…What is this feeling of…emptiness?” (Keeno)

{They move on so fast, don’t they?}

“Why does it sound like you’re watching Red get married and move away?” (Pram)

“Because it’s funny?” (Keeno)

“There is a certain humor to it.” (Freya)

“I guess I can see it.” (Pram)

We all continued talking about these random things until we grew tired and finally went to sleep, thankful for having real beds after a while.

Chaos Realm:

Luna: Ah.  I remember the first hoard I encountered.  Feels like it was yesterday.

Velvet: Wasn’t that the time with the Fiend cult leader?

Yep.  It was quite interesting, seeing as Luna still had a chance to struggle then.

Luna: Really?  I mean, the biggest struggle of that time would have been protecting people, not defeating enemies, or am I misremembering things?

Tamamo: I think it was more you just trying not to absolutely decimate everything.

Luna: Meh.  It happened and it ended well for all of us.  Anyway, I’m looking forward to how Keeno handles this.

Velvet: Same, though I wish you would have invited me and the others here earlier.

Luna: Sorry.  It kind of just slipped my mind.  And it’s not like none of you aren’t busy.

Velvet: Sure, we’re busy, but even we would like a break.

Got it, feel free to go get Soleil.  Luna, invite Skadi and Ophidia.  Tamamo, get Mio and Fenrir.

Luna: We’ll be back.

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