It was another pretty fine and early morning when Vicious, who had been up on the city walls early in the morning, happened to take a look out into the distance, and froze at the sight.
Now she wasn't the brightest spark in the bunch---Liberi had the reputation of being bird brained sometimes, and it was true she sometimes did things without thinking about it, but...
She was pretty sure there hadn't been an entire mountain in the extreme distance the previous day, and as she rubbed at her eyes, the girl discovered that it wasn't an illusion. From the height of the walls, and the sharpness of her sight, she just just about make out the peak that was grasping at the sky.
I don't know why, but I want to go take a look. Might as well snag a quest from the guild as well, since it's on the way.
And so, the girl left the city with quest in hand, a spring in her steps mere minutes after dawn broke, and took off laughing.
*****
As it turned out, it was a good idea to pack light, because Vicious had a hunch that this would take quite a while and by the third day she had started to prove her hunches true. The distance towards the strange mountain and herself didn't seem to have shrunk by anything more than one-third of the way, and that was considering she was keeping up with a horse's galloping pace constantly. And she wasn't even stopping for regular meals, instead opting to snag berries from bushes as she passed, wade through rivers as makeshift baths, and climb a tree to rest during the night. In fact, the only reason she stopped for anything...
*
Chirp*
The white coloured hatchling in her arms warbled happily as Vicious fed it some duck. She'd been feeding it duck for a while now, and it was quite safe to say that the chick had definitely imprinted on her.
After those feeding sessions, Vicious would hold Sanguine close to her chest and take off once more, running towards her destination. The first two days weren't that remarkable, taking her past the plains and rock she'd read in reports, but on the third day she had crossed into a landscape similar to a savannah, and now that she was gradually crossing into the seventh day, the girl could spot the mountain getting closer, but before that, there was a forest right at the edge of her vision.
Does the forest last all the way to the mountainside? It seems to stretch to both sides as far as I can tell, but if it makes a complete loop around the mountain...holy f***.
Vicious stared at the sky, gauging the number of daylight hours she had left. The sun hadn't yet crested, so it was still early morning. With a horse's galloping speed and taking into account mealtime breaks, it should take about three more days for her to reach the mountain foot.
"So, the challenge is to get there in half the time. Sanguine, better hold on now, because if I lose you at that speed there's no way I'll find you again."
Grinning in anticipation, Vicious put power into her legs and started running seriously, bolting into the forest that would leave behind even a well-built stallion.
*****
She was somewhat unsure about spending a night in a forest she'd never been to before, but as it turned out, she needn't have bothered. Mere minutes after dusk had fallen, draping the lands in a purplish shadow, the girl ran into what felt like a thin veil of invisible liquid, cold but not unpleasantly so, and screeched to a halt in astonishment.
The air smelled different once she had that weird sensation, clearer, more fresher, but that was not what caused her to stop. Rather, it was the small town that suddenly appeared before her eyes.
And it's inhabitants, similarly staring back at her. All of a sudden she felt rather defensive, clutching Sanguine protectively as she performed cursory inspections. That's when she realised many of them had animalistic features, and arrived at a reasonable conclusion. Beastmen.
Similarly, a young man approached her cautiously, and sniffed her a few times before breaking into a small smile. He then looked back at the others and announced.
"Not to worry, she's one of us!"
At that most of the onlookers sighed in relief and went back on their business, a few of which even smiled and waved towards her as they passed. The young man then turned back to face her.
"You must have a few questions. Not to worry, I'll answer them to the best of my ability. Before that, you should come in and have a rest. Ah, I'm Boris, by the way. Nice to meet you."
"Ah. Likewise. I'm Vicious."
As she took the young man's hand and shook it, Vicious was surprised by his strength. Of course, she was still stronger, but what seemed like a lean young man in her eyes had the grip strength of a muscular human adult. Yet his eyes held no enmity as far as she could tell, and he just seemed like a large puppy...
*
Swish*
Correction: He
was a large puppy. The tail was brushing against the floor in excitement, causing the swishing sounds she was hearing.
"You look like you've not slept or eaten properly in ages. Runaway? No. You have another air about you. Traveller, then."
"That'll be an accurate way of putting it, yes."
"Great! I would be honoured if you would join my family to partake in a meal, then. If you're here, I'm guessing that your destination is the mountain?"
"Yeah. It appeared overnight, so I thought I'd come here and take a look. Did any of you see it exactly how it happened?"
Boris laughed.
"Miss Vicious, we came here along with the mountain."
"Oh, so you did---uhhh?! This town came here with the mountain?!"
"Not only us. Further in, right at the foot of the mountain there is a city, and up on the mountain itself there's another city. There's also small villages and towns like us scattered about in the forest."
"Really? Tell me more!"
*****
In the end, Vicious ended up staying the night at Boris' house. It was a simple and humble home, not nearly as grand or detailed as the houses she'd seen in Gelderholm, but the material had been very comforting to her.
Bamboo...it's been a while since I saw that. And to think that this whole place is inhabited by practically nothing but animal beastmen...Still. The fact that this place popped out overnight is concerning.
According to Boris' grandfather, an elderly dog beastman who needed a cane to get around, they had noticed the difference the same morning she herself did, but the shrine maiden had told them not to worry.
There's a shrine on that mountain?
Yes, girl. It's where our miko lives. You should pay her a visit, or rather, by now she'd have felt your presence. You're one of our first guests from outside, so even if you weren't planning to go take a closer look, I think she would have sent someone to invite you up. But no need to be nervous. Just enjoy the experience.
The family even generously allowed her to use the baths, and she enjoyed a long soak while chatting with Boris' sisters. Just some idle chatter, but the girl was surprised at how contented she felt after.
Now she was approaching the city at the mountain's foot that the old hound had spoken of, and even before she could marvel at the walls or pass through the gates, someone was already waiting for her. A muscular tiger beastkin with a massive sword strapped to his back. Before she could even say anything he had already grasped her hand and shook firmly.
"You must be Miss Vicious. Our miko sent me to receive you and invite you to the city above."
Rubbing her hand, Vicious decided to try something, just to be sure.
"I'm honoured and all, but what if I don't want to meet this miko of yours? What then, Mister...?"
She watched for the reaction. Something as simple as an expression would tell her how much caution she should take...yet the tiger merely laughed, crude but not unpleasant-sounding.
"If that's the case, miss Vicious is more than welcome to take her time exploring Fuyu Machi. I'm sure the residents here will be quite welcoming to you as well. However, our miko has told us to pass on a message."
"Go on."
"She said, and so I quote: Welcome to our homeland! I'm sure you're eager to explore this place, and I understand the feeling. However, if you've went to the trouble to come all the way here, then surely you must have some sort of goal, correct? If so, wouldn't it be easier to meet me directly? I'd be glad to answer any queries you might have."
"Alright, when are we leaving? It seems like a three day climb at the shortest, to be honest."
"True, if we were to go the regular way."
"And the not-regular way would be?"
"Here, miss Vicious. Forgive my disrespect, but I hope you and the little one aren't afraid of flying. Also, feel free to refer to me simply as Tai'Ge."
Vicious rolled her eyes.
Tai'Ge. Tiger. Seriously.
*****
When she woke up again, the girl first thought she was dreaming. She was in a rather cozy room, furnished with varying pieces of furniture of bright tones. Sanguine was snoozing by her side and there was someone walking into the room...huh?
"How are you feeling? Must have been rough, throwing up all your breakfast."
Vicious suddenly noted how small her stomach was feeling. "What..."
"Shhh, don't think about it."
Naturally, she thought about it. The sun was rising through the windows, and she was very sure it had been early noon when she had met the tiger. After that....after that...she'd agreed to go up the mountain to meet the miko, and then---
and then---
"HE FIRED ME OUT OF A CATAPULT!"
Sanguine woke with a panicked chirp, causing the girl to stroke it's feathers soothingly. She turned to glare at the other girl who had just entered.
"If the aiming was off by the slightest, I would have splattered all across the mountain! That tiger bastard! I'll make him eat his stripes the next time I see him...well, now I'm here! Where's the miko I'm to meet? I'm gonna lodge a complaint about that stupid tiger."
Blinking as if surprised, the much shorter girl dressed in what she later noticed as traditional robes giggled, and bowed.
"I'm sorry, but if you want to complain about Tai'Ge, you'll have to take it to the shogun, not me. She's the one employment him, after all. Although I'm sure he didn't mean anything about it, since we do this all the time. But I'm going off the rails here. Once again, I'm Sora, Miko of the Yato Machi. It's nice to meet you, Vicious!"
*****
"So, a week or so ago, this entire mountain got plucked out of where it was supposed to be, and ended up here? That's...really wild. And it's really---Achoo!"
"Ah, I'm sorry about the cold. This place has quite the view, but the downside is the weather. We are above cloud level, after all."
The two girls sat on a stone bench, Sanguine tucked between them---Vicious insisted that the hatchling stayed warm even if she didn't---and talked.
"Still, the shrine's lively even though it's so cold. Religious bunch, aren't they?"
"Hehe...well, if it keeps the donations going and my belly full, then I'm not complaining! Still, it's your first visit so I get your curiosity. The two Machi at the crest and the foot must have both been fascinating, right?"
"I'll admit I was very curious, though I never got the chance to explore much...the works were fine, though. Possibly better than dwarven works, at least from my perspective, and I've noticed that the grounds smell particularly nice...say, what does machi mean, anyway?"
"It's our way of saying town or city. The two have been already pretty long, but the mountain is older still, and it's plenty saturated with powerful energies. And it's what protects us from outside. You're seen the folk, right? We're fit, but most of the civilians don't know how to fight. The shogun's guards are basically the only group with ample combat experience, and Tai'Ge leads them. We call him the shogun's Right Hand, hehe."
"Huh, so that's how the hierarchy works here...what's the shogun like?"
"Frightening. She's proud and has well-intentions, but she's still very scary. But the citizens trust her, and so do I. But we're still facing a problem."
"What do you mean? This place seems like a little corner of paradise."
"Ehehe, that's high praise and it makes me happy. But still, someone like you made it here...I'm not insulting you, by the way. What I'm saying is, it's unheard of for an outsider to just waltz in here and be able to see past the barrier. It's not a good sign."
Vicious thought about the cold sensation she briefly experienced before seeing the village. Was that the barrier the miko was talking about?
"Sora, by barrier, did you mean the mountain's protection? If so, it's just a hunch, but since the mountain's no longer where it used to be..."
"The barrier got weaker? It's possible. This place was always a place of worship to our patron Kami, and if it's true, then we've been cut off from her protection and it's not great news...the villages in the forest need to be evacuated to Fuyu Machi immediately. We can't risk dangerous creatures entering and causing casualties to them. I'd better go find the shogun immediately. Sorry, Vicious. I know you have more questions, and I would love to stay and chat, but I have to get this to her. Will you and Sanguine be staying for a while more?"
"Sorry, Sora. I have to go back and turn in my report as well. I'm sure this place will be of great interest to the guild, and the return journey takes almost eight days with me running at top speed. And I've already stayed here for two whole days, jeez! Talk about time flying!"
"Hehe...say, Vicious, the adventurer guild you speak of is capable of fighting off monsters, right?"
"Yeah, although sometimes we end up doing odd jobs as well, but yes, if you have the coin, we'll probably accept the job."
"Then, when you're turning in your report, could you mention that we're willing to negotiate about hiring some adventurers?"
"Wouldn't your shogun mind? It is a rather big decision, after all."
"If it's to keep the place safe, she wouldn't hesitate about this either. I'm putting my trust in you, Vicious, so please!"
"Alright, I'll make a note of it...still, it takes me a little over a week to get back to Scribel city, though. And a trip back will be another 8 days at best. That's a little over two weeks, in the best case scenario. Will you guys be okay?"
"You're right...then, I know. I'll help you reduce that travel time to less than a day."
Vicious stared at the miko, not understanding for the first few moments...then the implication set in and she paled.
"Sora, no. I'm not flying back from a catapult, no matter how fast it is."
"Then, I'll carry you back. My name isn't for show, you know."
Carry? What sort of---oh.
Before her stood an oriental dragon instead of the girl she had been talking to only a few seconds ago. Vicious blinked, thinking about her list of choices, and came up short. It was the dragon, or the catapult.
I'm going to regret this, aren't I?
As she climbed the dragon's back, Sanguine tucked into a sling around her chest, Vicious was already regretting it.
"Actually, Sora, I think I can shorten the duration to six days if----Whaaaaaaaaa! Not so fast! I can't grab onnnnnn!"
And so, thanks to the dragon cheat, Vicious ended back in Scribel on the eleventh day after she set out.
