“Hiek!” Masa gasped once she saw who their rescuers were. “No, no…”

Did she escape from them just to fall back into their hands? What was the point of that endless fall? What was the point of meeting that odd human girl?

Even as she watched them come closer, Yuriko looked as cold and uncaring as she did when they saw the Seven-headed Serpent King!

Oh.

Well, these dozen men and women wouldn’t be a match for that dire beast at all! Er, did Yuriko defeat the serpent? Didn’t that mean that this group isn’t a match for her at all?

From despair blossomed hope.

No, no! She couldn’t let another determine her fate! But was she any better at taking care of herself? Dark whispers at the back of her mind.

Her hands grasped at the longsword sheathed at her side, but her act spurred the others into hostility.

“Remove your hand from your weapon!” One of the Ahas clanners, a female by the shape of her face. The Ahas raised a crossbow and pointed it at Masa.

Yuriko stepped in front of her, blocking the woman’s aim. The fiery aura the girl normally sported was banked. Masa could barely see the thin layer surrounding the young teen’s skin. It looked like the girl’s skin was glowing and she could see some of the opposing men and women were inadvertently mesmerised.

Masa had to pinch the skin between her thumb and forefinger to focus and that was after she’d been exposed for a while now.

The Ahas woman shook her head a few moments later even as eyes narrowed into slits. The humans behind her, the Reviled, were still bedazzled but Masa could see the men’s faces slowly twist with lust.

‘Oh, great Ancestors.’ Masa thought.

Yuriko’s face was calm and impassive. No, it was set in a coldly arrogant look. She could see it in how the girl’s face was tilted slightly up so she was looking down on the others. The Ahas and L’tik clanners, snake-kin and lizard-kin, were all taller, but they shrunk back as though the girl was three or four paces tall.

From the looks of things, there would be a fight. And Masa wasn’t confident in surviving it. Behind and below, more of the Fire Hounds gathered. They barked up the wall and occasionally shot their fire bolts up. They ultimately failed, splashing against the battlements, but if they had a better angle, they could hit Masa and the others.

The battlements were five paces wide. The crenellations reached up to Masa’s chest. Either way this went, it would be bloody. But if she gave up, what then? She would be taken prisoner? Would they give her to those beastly humans too? Maybe they would just kill her. What would be the difference between dying to the Ahas and dying to the beasts? If they did kill her, they’d probably throw her corpse to the Beast Tide. No evidence then.

‘Oh, great Ancestor, save me...’

She could do nothing but pray. Her leg and side still bled, and she was rapidly losing feeling in her limbs. She collapsed to her knees and could only stare dumbly at the others. Yuriko glanced back at her, concern melting the ice from her eyes. Masa took her hands off her weapon. She couldn’t do anything.

The pain of that thought exceeded everything else.

______

Thud!

Yuriko glanced back and saw Masa had fallen on her knees. She frowned at the snake-kin. She wasn’t sure if it was a man or woman. The armour concealed its body shape, and the voice was rather androgynous. For that matter, she wasn’t sure what the other had said.

“You speak Wojan?” Yuriko ventured. That seemed to jolt them out of whatever daze they’d fallen into.

“Yes,” the same snake-kin said.

He or she was quite tall, about five inches taller than Yuriko. About Kato’s height, actually, so she was leaning towards the speaker being a male of the species. She was also sure that he was snakekin.

His head was covered in fine scales, green for the most part, highlighted with grey. The head was oddly shaped as if one squished a viper’s face and widened the forehead. There was a bit of a snout, and they only had slits for nostrils. No ears too. The rest of the head was more humanoid in shape than anything else. Yuriko noticed his tongue was forked too.

As for the lizardkin, they looked like typical humanoids with the head of a sand lizard grafted on as a head.

Hmm, no, that wasn’t right.

They had high foreheads, too, like humans. They had elongated snouts, and they had finned ear lobes. They had red crests on top of their heads, showing through their steel barbut helms. Or maybe that was part of the helm’s decoration? She wasn’t sure. They were shorter than the snake-kin though, and the lot of them wore leather and chain mail, with the metal protecting their torsos and hardened leather, their limbs.

“Who are you, stranger?” the snakekin continued. “You are not familiar to me and from the looks on my associates, not to them either.” He smiled sardonically. “Trust me, they would remember someone who looks like you do.”

“Just a traveller who’s lost her way,” Yuriko said slowly. “I seek to return to my home.”

“I find that hard to believe…” The snakeman was about to continue but before he could say more, one of the human men, one of the Reviled, interjected.

“You’ve got a strange accent,” he said. He had an odd expression on his face. He was smiling but it didn't reach his eyes. Those eyes, an intense brown, bore into her eyes. “You’re not from Tiath, are you?”

“I just said that.”

“Hah, then where are you from? You’re not from Grieford either, your accent isn’t from there. It’s close but distinctly different.”

“Killian Kress, let me handle this,” the snakeman said placidly.

Killian, the Reviled man, grunted.

“No, this one’s human. Unlike that half-breed over there, she’s rightly our responsibility.”

“I’m no one's responsibility,” Yuriko cut in. “I’m responsible for myself. I give your group thanks for your aid, but we’d like to continue on our ascent now.”

“You’re mistaken,” Killian growled. “All humans who venture in the Labyrinth answer to the Grieford or Tiath.”

Yuriko’s eyes narrowed. “And how do you intend to enforce this…authority?”

The coldness in her voice made him rear back, but only for a moment. He snarled.

“You’re outnumbered. Surrender to our authority. We’ll bring you back to the surface after the Tide. After some…examinations.”

The glint in his eye and the way he licked his lips right after he said it immediately reminded Yuriko of that barbarian pervert. She narrowed her eyes and was just about to teach him why he held no power or authority over her when the snakeman grabbed Killian’s shoulder and pulled him back.

“You overstep.” The snakeman’s tone was even colder than Yuriko’s. “You and your men are subservient to the Lucenti in this endeavour and I am the commanding officer. Stand down.”

“But…!”

“Don’t push your luck, softskin,” one of the lizard kin growled.

Killian sputtered but ultimately backed down. Of the other members of the Reviled, two were women and another two were actually not human at all. They were some kind of catkin but unlike Masa, their heads looked more like humanoid felines rather than human with extra features. The only other man actually looked askance at Killian when he said his piece. None of them voiced any protest though, so that didn’t absolve them in Yuriko’s eyes.

“Pardon my subordinate’s outburst.” The snakeman turned to Yuriko. “But he is right in one sense. You aren’t part of the Delver’s Guildhall, though if you are, please present your badge.”

“Lies!” Masa yelled. “I’m a Delver and you attacked my group!”

“Oh?” the snakeman blinked at Masa. It was a strange blink, Yuriko thought, as if he blinked but didn’t at the same time. “So you’re part of a delver’s group? My apologies, but my orders are to apprehend Delvers if they approach our territory.”

“No! The Labyrinth belongs to the Delvers’ Guildhall!”

“An arrogant posture,” the snakeman declared. “The Labyrinth exists throughout the entire underworld of the Bella plane. It just so happens that most of the entrances are in the territory controlled by Vizugmon City.”

“It’s in the treaty!”

“An unfair and onerous treaty forced upon our ancestors.” The snakeman shook his head. “But I’m not going to debate that at the moment. Now, are you from the Delvers’ Guildhall?”

“No.” Yuriko answered. “As I’ve said, I’m but a traveller.”

“Hmm, someone who wound up inside a restricted area. You must tell us how you wound up here. Either way, duty compels me to bring you and your…companion, to my commanding officer.”

Yuriko tapped her lips in deep thought. Honestly, she didn’t really want to get embroiled in the local politics. She would rather just find a way home. But there was no point in trying to avoid people altogether.

Considering that she could just as easily leave, she didn’t need to surrender. Ah, but what about Masa? She was confident in escaping but not while dragging the cat-kin along with her. And… it didn’t look like they’d let Masa leave either.

‘Oh, Ancestors!

She was smack in the middle of a struggle for power and resources. What to do?

Well, aside from Masa, she hadn't met the other side. Also, they probably knew a better way on how to get out of here. The catkin hadn’t exactly been the best of travel guides.

“Are you asking me to surrender to you?” Yuriko asked idly.

Her poncho covered her waist, hence concealing her Plasma Lancet and combat knife. Not that she needed them to fight right now.

Perhaps the way she asked took the snakeman aback. He looked at the other members of his team then shook his head.

“No. At least not you. I’ll need her to surrender or we will be forced to bind her,” he said, pointing at Masa.

Yuriko looked at the catkin. She had a desperate look in her eye and Yuriko just knew that the other woman would rather die than surrender. From the way Masa’s hands suddenly clenched, it looked like she was preparing to take as many of them down as she could.

“What will you do with her?”

“We’ll take her to our camp, with you as well, and contain her with the other prisoners.” The snakeman said. “They will be ransomed back after the Beast Tide.”

“Ah!” Masa gasped. All of the fight within her disappeared as soon as she heard that last bit. “Is my team imprisoned?”

“I cannot say.”

Yuriko coughed. “It’s your choice then.”

“Why are you acting as if we’re mud under your feet?” Killian growled. “You’re not in control here!”

“Oh?” Yuriko glared. “I’m not in control?”

Anger and annoyance. The fires of her Anima flared wide, carrying with it her turbulent emotions. The snakeman and the others reared back, and Killian fell on his bottom. From the stench and the wetness, it looked like he had soiled himself.

“I’m very much in control.”

“Please!” the snakeman gasped, his face contorted with fear.

With a sigh, Yuriko reined back her Anima, returning it to its barely visible state. It took a minute for the others to regain their composure, and even then, the other warriors couldn’t look directly at her. Except for Killian, who kept his face down but glared at her from under his hair.

“What now?” Yuriko asked mildly.

“You tell me,” the snakeman leader said.

“Masa?”

“I…uh, I’d like to be brought to my team,” the catkin woman replied. Her knees were shaking, Yuriko noted.

The rest of them were shaking, too. That was unusual. Sure, the beast ran away from her when she flared her Anima…but…oh. Hmmm, well, she’ll think about it later.

“Then we’ll go to your base camp.”

The snakeman shook his head. “I’m afraid I’ll still need the Kutin clanner’s surrender. I cannot bring her there otherwise.”

Huh. Well, that was fine. Actually, that was quite admirable. Despite how scared he was, he still stuck with his duty.

“Masa?”

“Very well. I give it,” the Kutin clanner said.

She unstrapped her longsword and its sheath from her belt, held it across her hands and gave a short bow. Then she uttered words in her native tongue that Yuriko couldn’t follow. But from the expression on the snakeman’s face, what Masa said was more than acceptable on their end. He took the longsword, flipped it around and offered it back, though she spoke at length. Masa nodded and accepted the weapon.

The snakeman turned to Yuriko and gave a small bow.

“I will be honoured to bring you to our base camp if you give your word that you will not commit any aggression.”

Yuriko nodded and said, “I will, but only if no aggression is committed to me.”

“Very well. I am Rhox of the Ahas clan.”

“I am Yuriko Mishala Davar.” She hesitated for a moment, then said, “From the Rumiga Plane.”

Rhox frowned. “Rumiga plane…?” He shook his head. “I don’t recognize it. You’ll have to tell us how you came here. It must be quite interesting.”

Yuriko just nodded. Inside, she was screaming in frustration though. For someone to have not even heard of Rumiga would mean that she had been whisked quite the distance away by the Chaos Storm. Perhaps only the Ancestors knew how much effort she’d need in order to return.

But, one step at a time. At least she was no longer alone.