The Kingdom of Eonis

[Bloodedge]

The pair continued to enjoy their meal, but they would soon find that humans from Eonis were not the only ones keeping an eye on them. A small group of hooded Lizardmen wandered into the kingdom, and they happened to be looking for these two for some time now. Upon finding them at last, the Lizardmen crowded around the table at which they ate, and knelt before them. "Saviors who ride the Cat of Ancestors!" spoke the largest of the Lizardmen. "The Adventurer couple who quelled the Lizardman assault on Dwargon. It is you, yes?" Kou looked up from his final few bites, viewing these Lizardmen with some amount of distaste. "Ugh," he murmured, looking away to take another bite.

[Apollymi]

Miki was happily sipping wine and had reclined into her chair while Kou finished his ribs. She'd been happily considering her own thoughts on their adventure, and doing some mental planning and spending of her own funding in order to start a potential business properly. But as she pondered these points the movements of some Lizardmen made her eyes widen just a bit then narrow. What was more, unlike the others who simply gawked in passing, these particular individuals approached the pair directly. There was a strange mention of their mount, recently named Xerxes, such a mention made Miki choke on her drink. "What?! Cat of Ancestors?" she muttered thinking about it, she supposed Lizardmen probably thought themselves descended from dragons so it made a bit of sense. Kou seemed content not to answer these creatures, and once again, seemed to have taken some sort of dislike to them. Which meant Miki had to directly address what was being said. "Hm, we are a pair of Adventurers, who have recently seen Dwargon..." Miki said tentatively. Something about admitting to slaying a bunch of Lizardmen to Lizardmen didn't seem like a good thing to do without knowing what they wanted. 'Start of a quest or start of a fight?' she aimed this question at Kou across from her, something about this interaction felt strange.

[Bloodedge]

Yet another bite, and Kou was chewing his last bit of ribs. He did this while Miki spoke to the Lizardmen, and sighed again when they looked as if they were seeking more of an answer thereafter. 'They're kneeling. Nobody kneels when they want to fight, unless they're into Sumo.' This was Kou's only response to Miki, and his attention then fell upon the leader of this Lizardman group. "None of them lived. What are you here for?" he asked of the reptile, prompting the latter to raise his head. "Then... we would like to request your assistance. We did not wish to interrupt your date, but it is an urgent matter that we had to find you for immediately."

[Apollymi]

'I don't know about that... I'd kneel if I thought it'd give me a better angle on killing someone...' Miki mused. That being said it was very true that they didn't seem to be the sort who'd do that type of thing. In fact, they seemed to be looking for more of an answer than what Miki provided them. She sipped her wine, content to see what would happen and Kou went ahead and answered in a more direct way. Prompting the leader of this group to mention that he'd not wanted to interrupt their date but that they were needed for a matter of utmost urgency. "DATE?!" the word fell out of Miki's face, as it turned an intense shade of red which challenged the sip of wine left in her glass. 'I've never been on a date before! Why do they think it's a date? We're just having dinner right? It isn't a date...' she had a mental tirade for several seconds only to look over at Kou and feel more heat rush to her face so that she diverted her attention once again. She should have realized from an outside perspective, two young people, eating alone both of them seemingly happy, probably looked like a date. But there was likely more than this at play to create such a thought in the minds of the Lizardmen.

[Bloodedge]

"... Our what now?" Kou blurted out. His eyes had widened, and he was lost as to how this assumption could even be made by the Lizardmen. However, the answer to both Adventurers' reactions gave some amount of insight. "But... you are the Saviors. You're the same as the Adventurer couple who saved Dwarf King Gowther," the primary Lizardman spoke. Kou thought about what he could possibly mean by this, and then... he remembered the events of Dwargon which occurred after they fought against the horde. He reddened immediately from his neck to his cheeks. "Oh... that's why," he said. Obviously, the Dwarves were rather... chatty. Perhaps the same could be said of even the Fairies. The primary Lizardman stood at last, choosing to address the issue directly. "If I may, Adventurers. We do not represent the attack on Dwargon. Our Chieftain is in danger by the very same people of our race who you defeated. We have reason to believe their leader lives, and will soon attack our homeland."

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Kou was just as surprised as Miki about the status of their 'relationship'. It seemed that the Dwarves had taken quite a few liberties when explaining the situation that the pair had helped them out with. Given the personality of the Fairy Queen Dakini, she wouldn't be surprised if that woman had something to do with this image as well. Miki's gaze was eventually drawn back to the now standing Lizardman who chose to directly address the issue that they were currently being faced with. According to this man, they didn't stand with the Lizardmen who'd attacked Dwargon. And were instead here on behalf of their Chieftain who was in danger of being deposed by the same group they'd slayed in Dwargon. "Sou ka..." Miki said aloud. Such a thing was more in line with the sort of quest-line she'd expected when they'd first discussed dealing with the Lizardmen in the first place. There were obvious pros involved to taking part in such a thing, and most of them couldn't be understated. Still she looked to Kou.

'Hm, it looks like our third bit of approval just found us. Making good with the Lizardmen is a pretty good strategy...' she directed this thought to Kou, cementing the idea that she didn't mind participating in such a set of actions. Now that she'd eaten she even had enough energy that she didn't really mind it. And they had plenty of time to think of prizes and such to request from the Lizardman Chieftain once they helped him out. Not to mention whatever prize was to be taken from the 'evil' faction in this case.

[Bloodedge]

Kou expected some sort of quest to come from this reptilian group, but he did not expect it to be the sort of thing they were currently requesting. Miki had a good point that these Lizardmen could be their third approval toward starting their own guild, and even more importantly was the fact that their original intention was to visit the Marshlands. All in all, doing this task for the Lizardmen now would only be going through with the original plan. 'You're right. Lizardmen are strong, and they usually have numbers to go with it. Besides, we were going there anyway, before all this other stuff happened,' he replied to Miki via their shared mental bond. With that, his gaze returned to the Lizardman. "Alright. Guess we'll do it, but we'll need to get some information from this Chieftain of yours." Hearing this, the Lizardmen's leader figure bowed, prompting the rise of his associates. "Of course. If you're done with your date, we can escort you to the Marsh Kingdom immediately."

[Apollymi]

It seemed that the pair was in agreement about taking on the quest line offered by the Lizardmen. It had been their original plan to do something different from what they'd started with when they played the actual game. Given this, Miki simply nodded her agreement with the lad about visiting the Chieftain and asking all necessary questions. Not much to her surprise there was an immediate agreement from the Lizardmen who claimed they would lead them onwards if they were done with their date. Once again Miki's eyes widened because she didn't know why they kept referring to such a casual outing as a date. "Uh... yeah. I'm good..." Miki mentioned still seeming to be embarrassed. The thing was, she didn't have any negative feelings towards Kou so she wouldn't have seen anything wrong with them as a couple, except for the fact that there was this weird assumption on hand about it. Strangely, she didn't think they needed anything else, and would leave under the assumption that the Kingdom of Eonis would be able to sustain itself with their tiny bit of interference earlier.

[Bloodedge]

"Uh... yeah. Me too," Kou added. Whatever these Lizardmen thought of the two Adventurers was certainly brought about by someone else, and Kou couldn't be sure exactly who was at fault. Perhaps they would know for sure one day, but today was one of adventure... again. The male had a glass of water next to his plate, which was now covered in bones. He picked up said glass to down its contents in one tilt. "Let's go," he said, rising from his seat. "Very well then, my Saviors. If you would follow us..." The Lizardman in charge of the others nodded to his group, prompting all of them to fall in line behind him and the Adventurers. He would then lead the journey toward the Marsh Kingdom, while his underlings ensured the safety of the Adventurers.

Continue the Adventure Here.

[Apollymi]

After their trip to the Marsh Kingdom, a blonde haired lass would return to the Kingdom of Eonis with a few people in tow. She looked around the place for signs of negativity, as they'd found on their previous trip, but it seemed at least on this end that there weren't any problems to be found. 'Sou ka, seems like the old farmer has done a good job. At the very least no one looks hungry...' the actual truth of the matter was a bit more complex. Multiple people they passed were well-dressed and the entirety of the Kingdom seemed to be bustling with trade. Food was being shipped off in large amounts and even the rest of the kingdom seemed to be benefiting from the surplus. "This place doesn't look as down as it did when we first came back from Dwargon and the Fairy Forest..." she mentioned as she floated along on her mottled pillow feet dangling gently off the ground.

But up near the palace, there was a young lightly armored girl with a sword staring at the gates. She'd been run off a few moments prior to this one and she was visibly upset. She'd wanted to become a Knight, but hadn't been allowed even to take a test. Something about Eonis not caring for her presence here. The girl was completely normal, a brunette with locks curling around her shoulders and a completely innocent face and disposition. She looked a bit shy of teens but her eyes showed an above average intelligence, the only thing slightly off about her, was the presence of a small set of ears atop her head, and a fluffy tail with rings on it like that of a raccoon. 'I'm going to be a Knight. Just wait!' she thought knowing eventually she'd be able to get around this. So she'd made a decision to wait here, and appeal to every Knight who crossed her path until she found one who'd have her as an apprentice.

[Bloodedge]

A pair of male figures accompanied the lass Miki, one being the very same Royal Knight who'd previously left with her. The other, however, was another ashen-haired male of a less honorable-looking persuasion. Kou was able to observe the difference in the kingdom's structure as well, while the other male - Karna - had no input to offer besides an open-mouth exaggerated yawn. "It's definitely a lot better. Now it seems like an ideal kingdom for a player hub," Kou said, setting his sights on the castle. "I guess that princess was actually good for something. Maybe. Either way, now that we're here again... I've got a promise to keep!" Kou's expression became a bit more serious as he began taking his path toward the Eonis Kingdom's castle, regardless of what the others intended to do whilst here in the kingdom. His intention was to locate Princess Madoka again, or even her less-personable sister or the King, all for the sake of keeping his promise to become a Holy Knight on his next visit.

[Apollymi]

Miki had to agree with Kou's assessment that this place was much better as a player hub, while not being full of starving people. "Hai hai," she mentioned about the place itself. It seemed that Kou at least thought their encounter with the princesses previously had been worth while, though she knew the lad hadn't really liked the player princess they'd found in this country. "Hm, maybe..." she said, knowing that she found something to be a bit off about the princess, and she couldn't figure out whether it was age or not. Still she followed along with the lad, and was going to leave when they got to the palace, knowing he intended to become a Holy Knight, she knew it wasn't absolutely necessary for her to tag along officially. But before she could express this something strange would take place.

The small girl in light armor would look up, hearing the steps of a couple of people approaching. She assumed any approaching the palace would be Knights and because of this she immediately moved to meet them. Most wouldn't have looked her way. "Oh! Ohayou gouzaimasu!~ Are any of you a Knight of the Kingdom?" she asked of the group. She looked a bit down-trodden, but mostly there was fire in the dark pink eyes possessed by the girl. Seeing such a thing outside of the palace made a tiny bit of concern prickle along the back of Miki's neck. Such a young girl being outside of the palace alone apparently seeking a Knight did not bode well. Unless this was simply the sort of quest which was marked by the return of any high level Knight. She'd never bothered with such an upscale title, so she wouldn't know how such a thing worked. As far as she knew, the only one who counted as a Knight in the group was likely Kou, and that meant this was his diversion to deal with. Even so, Miki would stick around for a few moments just to make sure her presence wasn't needed.

[Bloodedge]

The path toward the castle was fated to see at least one brief interruption this day, as the journey was along a route which led to another individual in the vicinity. The humanoid girl moved toward the group as they made their way, stopping to question whether any of the Adventurers were Knights of the Kingdom. Kou paused and looked at this girl, experiencing a moment of shock as he caught a glimpse of her eyes. He hesitated with his mouth slightly agape. As such, he produced no answer before Karna decided to have a bit of fun... which he did by pushing his way past Kou and stepping out ahead, meeting this girl head-on with a sly grin. "Of course! I'm probably the strongest Knight around! Can I help you with something?"

[Apollymi]

Miki watched as this small demi-human girl stopped all of them, asking if any were a Knight of the Kingdom. She looked to Kou and found him to be shocked by something, this was strange to Miki. She'd never seen such an expression on the lad's face, and decided it was in her best interest to stick around. With that as an aside, the plea of the young demi-human lass was one she was at least curious about in the moment because Karna took enough interest to make a claim which made Miki scoff aloud. She'd known this lad for the last few days, and he rarely took interest in doing anything just for the good of it. Knowing this, she doubted his reasoning behind speaking with the lass.

The little demi-human girl perked up just a bit when Karna walked up. He claimed that he was probably the strongest Knight around, and at present she had no reason not to believe him. Her tail wagged just a bit as she stared at his face. "Oh? Your eyes are a little scary. It's surprising you'd be a Knight but... I can get over that," she said with the honesty of someone who was used to telling the absolute truth about things. This statement made Miki have to stifle a snicker which led her to an instant appreciation of this demi-human girl, aside from finding her to be kind of adorable. The young girl with the raccoon-features looked around herself and moved a bit closer to the group to explain her circumstance. "I want to be a Knight's Apprentice because the King wouldn't let me take the test to be a Knight. When I asked why he claimed my kind wasn't welcome here," she said with a sad light suddenly appearing in her eyes only to be replaced by rage. A rage which Miki had only seen properly in Kou on their last trip here. "Who is he to say I can't be a Knight. But... I'm not strong enough yet to just show them anything... and none of the other Knights will let me be their apprentice because they are scared of the King," she explained the situation. It sounded a bit like an NPC sort of thing of thing to say, but the emotion of the plea and the way it was said, made Miki realize this girl was probably a player. And being discriminated against for being a demi-human. It was strange to Miki that they'd fix one problem in this Kingdom for another one to pop up, but she had faith in something else at this point, regardless of whatever Karna was to say in response to this girl's plea.

[Bloodedge]

Kou remained speechless. There was a certain familiarity in the eyes of the demi-human girl, but it surely had to be his imagination. Karna clearly didn't have this sense of familiarity, but he had something else driving him to continue his chat with the lass. What this was would remain undisclosed, and perhaps wasn't even something which mattered beyond Karna's own personal amusement. However, he gave her the reply she sought nonetheless... as well as the reply she likely didn't want. "You, not allowed to be a Knight? Probably because you're weak. Weak people aren't welcome in a lot of places. Or... probably because you're a raccoon. Could be that. Anyway, you can be my apprentice as long as you're willing to do everything I ever tell you to do, exactly when I tell you to do it~. What say you, Tanuki-chan?"