Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

The news of rival heroes from another land docking at the city's bay, traveled far and wide and eventually made it into the ears of a curious trader. Rushing through the jammed streets, pushing everyone around to carve herself a path, the red-hatted madame took to her crimson wings at first sight of the ship.

It had been a day of waiting since the ship had landed and nobody had deboarded as of yet, making the crowd grow angst and the trader was no different. Tired of waiting around, she fluttered her astral fairy wings and with a trail of glitter being left behind made her way to the deck and landed gracefully on top.

Instantly as her body straightened, she was surrounded by blades, pointed arrows, conjured weapons and a whiff of illusion ready to mask her perception of reality. Even so, looking around with a smile on her face, she locked eyes with the person closest to her.

"Who the hell are you?" Asked the leader of the group, but the response the woman gave wasn't exactly what he'd expected.

"Am' Est'anadi Ca'oia Endra Tai." Nobody knew what she'd just said, thus the moment she reached for something inside her pocket, the blades grew closer and the arrows were tightened along the bowstring.

Stopping midway to take something out of her leather bag, the red-haired woman raised her hand back up and even let down the crimson aura around her body that masked her in a translucent film mimicking a fairy.

"She's a damned warlock, I can feel it!" Being a warlock herself, Regalia stepped forward. Giving her room to get even closer, everyone subsided but kept their weapons trained at the woman. "What are you hiding in that bag, eh? Didn't you see a hundred weapons drawn on your neck, princess?"

Standing before the girl, Regalia quickly eyed her up and down. Wearing a flashy golden brown suit with floral patterns and a wooden sceptre topped with tri-colored glass flowers, the girl wasn't hiding her trade, and as Regalia looked inside her eyes it became even more apparent. Hiding within those chocolate-tone pupils was the sight of gold clutched within the pincers of a fairy.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

'Her patron?' She wondered, however without being able to see it completely, her assumption remained a guess.

Slowly reaching for the pouch that the girl was reaching for while also keeping their eyes locked on each other, Regalia took it off the trader's belt and drawing it back, reached inside it herself. Feeling something moving inside, her first instinct was to throw it, but the familiar sensation of tentacles soothed her into accepting the feeling.

"I know what this is…" Taking a few steps back with the pouch still in hand, Regalia took out what appeared like a living collar with tentacles for straps. "Al'Trusu Magenes', the living tongue."

Looking at Raven, she slipped one over her neck, and although the way the tentacles wrapped around her terrified everyone for a moment, as things settled and the creature turned into a belt, their worries eased up at least a little.

"It's a translation tool, the girl's probably a trader from the looks of it," handing the pouch to Raven and turning to face the girl again, Regalia decided to test the tool before others put them on. "Say something."

Folding her hands and rolling her eyes, the girl's golden eyes landed back on the wolf-girl with a hefty sigh leaving her lips.

"Last time I did something good, I just wanted to show you Lululalian hospitality!" Shaking her head for a moment before turning to the confused look in everyone's eyes, the trader scoffed at the rest of the party as they were finally coming to realize that she was there to help.

It wasn't that they understood what she'd said just yet, but the fact that somehow Regalia was speaking the same tongue as the girl and the two were seen conversing was what convinced them. Reluctant as can be, the group began placing the apparatus on their neck and in a matter of very awkward seconds, the tentacles turned into belts holding a silver sigil that rested right under their necks. Explore more stories at empire

"That was…unpleasant to say the least," Mel was the first to voice her revulsion for the experience.

"Well it's a one-time thing, sweetheart, the sigil will eventually drop off and you won't need to use it ever again to understand foreign languages," hearing and understanding the trader as clearly as if she was speaking their tongue, everyone in the party was beyond surprised. But for the trader, it was a common sight from visitors, although this time the visitors were people she wanted on her side from the very start.

"Moving on, since you guys haven't stepped out, I'm guessing you're not too sure if you wish to deboard the ship, am I right?" Flipping the glass sceptre in her hand, the woman turned her gaze to Raven and quickly eyed him up and down. Holding back the urge to bite her lower lips, she smiled and then chuckled while flailing lightly on the spot before adding. "Why not let me be your guide? I'll even give you a few rooms in the inn I'm currently renting out completely!"

Uncertainty was the word since yesterday, nobody was sure what they were supposed to feel after what had been revealed by the goddess. From their parent's origin to the dead hero's soul still being inside Raven–none of it made sense and coming to terms with it was bound to take a while.

"Alright," that's why when Raven stepped forward with a smile on his face, seemingly ready to shake hands with the woman, everyone was shocked. "Why don't we shake on it then? As a sign of trust?"

Tilting her head to the side with a curious look in her eyes, the trader smiled back at Raven. Quickly taking off her stuffy white glove, she reached forward and shook his hand, unaware of the fact that he was judging her from the inside with that touch.

'Nothing nefarious but I can't see much, could be the patron blocking my sight…' Forced to be content with what he got, Raven pulled away from the handshake and gestured for the woman to lead the path.

"I'm Mercedes by the way," tipping her feathered hat, Mercedes smiled at everyone. "And you're welcome to Lululalia, the city of baked goods and joys!"

And thus began yet another arc in the heroes' journey.