As Desyra was pre-occupied with Astra; Menor, Sors, and Igno encountered more trouble. At the rendezvous point, they found a small warp in space. It might not seem like anything to the untrained eyes but, to the three who could peer pass falsehood, they saw a giant bubble of distorted space.

With a finger tapping a cheek, Igno asked, “It’s time dilation correct?”

“Yes,” Sors answered, “The ratio is one minute to one hour. Seeing that Desyra would not arrive here anytime soon, we should enter. Also, do you really have that large of a grudge against Excalibur?”

Stashing away his spear, Menor sighed, “Please, you don’t understand the core idea of that world. ‘Let’s called this the legendary sword name.’ ‘Oh, they called that that, so let’s do the same.’ ‘We can make tons of money if we called it this.’ such a horrible ideology.”

“Ha-ha… I can see that” Igno spoke, entering the distorted bubble.

Following after Igno, they disappeared into the hidden world. Once they entered the first thing they saw was bamboo and tons of it. From their location the bamboo forest looked endless; it was as if it would go on for miles. Although it might be true, in reality, it was an illusion that was created by the fog that was floating about. With the floor covered in water, going up to their ankles, it reflected the misty light hiding the ground under the reflected fog.

When looking off into the distance, they could barely make out the flickering of a red flame. Disliking the feeling of having their feet soaked they took a step up and walked the water’s surface. Things such as surface tension and air bubbles were not very important with the ability to alter reality. Walking towards the light they stayed quiet. Their instincts told them that they were being watched.

“5...6...7…25 of them,” Sors counted.

“Hm? Isn’t this the place that one of the secrets spoke of?” Igno asked, recalling the events from yesterday.”

“Of course,” Menor shrugged, ‘You even licked your lips when you read about it.”

“Well, of course, it isn’t always you find something so salty you can drink a sea.”

“You said it wrong,” Sors corrected, “It's ‘you are so thirsty you can drink a sea’. Well even if you did drink the sea you would end up wanting to drink more.” Sors retorted.

“Of course drinking a sea won’t fill my stomach, well nothing could, but a few large oceans might do,” Igno replied.

“Nothing can fill your stomach with your see-food diet.”

“I take pride in that!”

Returning to their usual squabble, the idea of keeping quiet slipped their minds. As they kept walking the twenty-five or so people had tightened their encirclement. With quick and quiet steps the water under their feet was left undisturbed. Not knowing that they were discovered the twenty-five sneaky individuals prepared their tools. Smoke bombs, nets, knives, and spells were all at the ready to be thrown at a moment’s notice. When their preparations were ready one of them stepped in front of the intruders three.

Attempting to deploy an intimidating aura, the person demanded, “Who are you two and how did you get here.”

Giggling, Igno walked passed the person while waving a hand saying “later”. With Igno going off alone who knew what would happen. With bitter expressions, Sors and Menor could not do the same. Looking at the person who stopped them the only word that could describe them was, shadow crawler- err -ninja. The person was robbed in black with a mask with a snake symbol covering their face.

“We don’t know how we got here, we were walking and ended up here,” Menor spoke.

Throwing a dagger past Menor’s head, the person retorted, “Lies, the only people who could enter this place are people of our own blood.”

“Then would that mean we have the same blood as you lot? Right?” Menor asked, turning to Sors.

“If you could go far enough you could be related to anything, then yes,” Sors replied.

With a complicated face, the ninja thought the words were reasonable. Through their history, there were many branch families and most of them had disappeared. It would not be odd if descendants of those branch families existed. Not only that the ninja could not detect the presence of the two standing in front of them, a sign that they were their kin. The only problem with the assumption was that it was a bit too convenient.

“Very well, follow us,” the ninja spoke.

Following behind, Menor and Sors could only give a conflicted smile. They had avoided the question completely by spouting nonsense. Never did they did not predict that the person was so easy going, or that their words of the whim would actually work. All they could do was let out a sigh, there was a chance they would be walking into a trap, but what was the harm of going along? They were never in the wrong in the first place. While they move forward Sors began to ponder something, the presence of the ninjas felt familiar but she could not put her finger on it.

Walking through the mist they eventually arrived at a vast pagoda complex overgrown with lily pads and bamboo. The red flame they saw earlier was a large collection of small red crystals connected by a few golden strings. Remembering the thing he did a few days ago, Menor gave a silent apology. If he was lucky enough there would be a chance that other crystals of different colors existing.

Nudging Menor with her elbow, Sors teased, “Don’t worry I’ll take care of it.”

“As if you could solve the problem,” Menor laminated.

Entering the pagoda’s courtyard, their feet gracefully touched dry land. Not being clothed in completely black wear, they stood out. Ignoring the fact that they had also received bizarre looks back in the first town they visited. Being lead to the main hall, the two of them were brought in front of an important looking person. The person was garbed in a long red-violet robe, with a mask painted with an image of a dragon. They sat on a wooden throne made of reddish colored wood situated on the top of a large staircase.

“Five rare drops from the next RPG we play, if the person is a woman,” Sors whispered.

“Make it ten then it’s a deal,” Manor suggested.

Nodding in agreement they stood at the foot of the stairs. They waited for the important looking person to speak. As they stood in silence the other party did not utter a single word. Because Menor and Sors did not know that they were supposed to introduce themselves first, the important looking person stayed silent. Due to the long silence, the chance for someone to speak up had passed resulting in an awkward atmosphere.

Through telepathy, Menor told Sors, “You speak first, in most cases females don’t get into too much trouble.”

“No, in this case, you should,” Sors replied through telepathy, “From the looks of it, due to males being the ’supposed’ best gender if they speak up it will give you bold points. Everyone likes a bold person.”

“No, no, I insist. If your conjecture is correct, that the person is a woman, then you should be able to relate to them.”

“I don’t think I’m right in the first place. It’s best if you do it. Men showing respect holds a lot of power, even if you hold no true respect.”

“I plea, you should be the one to talk. I believe your luck is the best of the two of us. If things come to the worst, you should be able to talk your way out of it. Because you know all those lines from those games.”

“Please, I concur, you also have amazing persuasive skills. You even convinced a legion of female divinity, that has an unhealthy obsession with keeping their perfect body flawless, to have a bit of ‘fun’ for a night.”

“Ah, during that time I was just returning your favor. You were the one who came up with the brilliant idea. I have to say, it was executed perfectly. Your plans are flawless.”

“You speak too kindly. If it wasn’t for your brilliant skills that plan would have never worked. You even caused that legion to be out of commission for a few years.”

“Recalling past experiences you won a game of chess using only a king. With an amazing ability in psychological warfare and being a tactical genius, you shouldn’t run into trouble.”

“How nice of you, I believe you hold and retain more experiences than I do. I full-heartily believe that you are more suited to take the task…”

With the unheard conversation going back and forth, Menor and Sors restrained themselves from slapping each other silly. With beautiful smiles they gave generously sarcastic, compliments attempting to persuade the other party to break the silence. Neither one desired to speak. If one of them did then that person would become the target of interest. From experience, nothing good would come out of it when you spoke first. If Desyra was there they would push the spot to her.

On the other hand, the dragon-masked person was running out of patience. Due to tradition, guests were required to introduce themselves. It was a form of respect for the one of lower standing to speak first. Due to this the head of the clan or its elders were unable to speak until the other party did so. Unfortunately, the two ignorant fools had not a single clue about such tradition as the silence continued. To make the matter worse, the servants or kin of the ninja clan were unable to speak out and they had forgotten to inform the two fools about such tradition. So unless an outsider interrupts, no one would speak.

Due to the absence of windows and time telling devices no one knew how long the idle atmosphere continued. To Menor’s and Sors’ relief, Igno, who was eating a bowl of noodles, had stumbled into the main hall. Noticing them Igno waved his hands, before quickly realizing the horrible atmosphere. Quickly turning around Igno left the room, but forgot to softly close the door. With a bang, the door closed and saved the day.

“WHO DARES ENTER!” yelled the dragon-masked person.

Receiving no response, the dragon-mask commanded one of the servants to go check around. To the dragon mask’s relief, they were all allowed to speak.

“I apologize for the sudden outburst, but it is a tradition that we shall not be interrupted under any normal circumstances. Also, I might add, it is a custom for the guests to introduce themselves first. It may seem that we had failed to inform you of such matter,” spoke the dragon-mask.

Hearing words of the ever important person, Menor and Sors sighed in relief. The argument they had reached the point of them reminiscing things regarding long-buried memories. Luckily they had unparalleled restraint, allowing them to not murder the other, just yet. The only thoughts that Menor and Sors had left were pondering thoughts on Igno’s location. Due to Igno’s personality, it was unlikely that trouble would be stirred, but with the habit of touching things that should not be touched, who knows what would happen.

Introducing himself, Menor waved, “I’m Menor, nothing more and nothing less,”

Following suit, Sors curtsied, “Sors, the one of irrationality.”

“Hypocrite,” Menor muttered.

“I am Lord Enad, the head of the Taush Clan,” spoke the dragon-mask with a surprised expression.

Leaving formalities behind Enad brought the two of them to a dining hall, as apparently, it was time for lunch. Accepting the kind gesture the two ponder what kind of cuisine they would be provided with. Entering the dining hall they did not see any elegant tables or any fancy. Instead, they saw a fairly crowded canteen.

“Ah, so it’s this type of dining,” Sors spoke.

“I see, you understand our intent,” Enad nodded, “Instead of setting borders between the tiers of our clan, be believe that creating such a social atmosphere would benefit everyone. For the elder’s it allows them to interact with the youngsters of our clans and keep up with social changes and the world around them. For the youngsters, they are given an opportunity to interact with anyone from all standings. Not only that, this system is entirely optional, anyone could receive their food and leave if they are busy. Also please note that you should keep a fairly respectful manner when interacting with people of high standing.”

“What a nice system,” praised Menor, he wanted to point out a few problems but refrained from doing so.

Giving their thanks to the cooks, they went and sat down near a group of older looking people. Now that they knew the formalities of place, they acted accordingly. The moment they took their seats they were bombarded by questions from the folks around them. It was not unusual for people to crowd around a new person, especially if they looked different. The odd part was that instead of being overwhelmed the two guests somehow managed to reply to every single question. The only problem was that the comments they gave avoided definite answers making things confusing. They even went as far as shaming the elders of the clan in philosophical ideologies.

While they were eating, the two notice a peculiar taste. Not giving the taste a second thought they ignored it. There was nothing bad about the flavor to the both of them in the first place; they had tasted basil, some spices, a bit of mint and something else. When they went to retrieve a second helping of food, Enad carefully watched as they disappeared around the corner. The moment the two disappeared around the corner, he asked the nearest servant.

“Did you put ‘it’ in their food?”

Receiving a nod, Enad became doubtful. He even asked the servant if they were sure if they had done it. Noticing the servant’s honest words, Enad did not know what to think. Seeing the clan head in doubt, the servant boldly picked up one of the drinking cups and gulped it down. Not a second after the liquid touched their tongue they immediately lost consciousness.

Seeing the servant fall to the ground like a rock, everyone understood that the two guests held a high resistance against drugs. Even the elders had cold sweat running down their back. The drugs they used were able to cause anyone to go out cold. Because they were cautious they used a large dose of strong sleeping pills. They suspected the two were not part of their bloodline yet held great ability. Just passing through the barrier was difficult enough without the Taush blood flowing through their veins. To make their standing more elevated and stranger still they even embarrassed the long-lived elders. The two were easily able to outwit the elders in any argument. Yet the biggest alarm was their names. Hearing such sacred names, Enad could not help but become suspicious.

Silently looking around Enad received everyone’s nod; they had to step with care when faced with the unknown. Enad had arranged for people to monitor their guests 24/7. Because the guards reported the two not having a presence, they had to have a person constantly monitor them.

“Lord Enad,” called a youngster who was running in a panic.

“Yes?” asked Enad.

“The pantry has been emptied!”

Hearing such words Enad became puzzled; just yesterday they had filled it with fresh meat, herbs, and spices. Having the food disappear within a day was unlikely to happen, not only that there was not a single person who could eat so much in the clan. Thinking for a minute Enad requested for information on the current guests. Within moments he learned that both Menor and Sors were waiting patiently in line. They both were talking about something in a foreign language, but from the way they acted, they were not too happy with the shortage of food.

Before Enad could check the pantry himself, another person ran into the canteen. With a face full of devastation, he said the treasury was emptied. All the gold and money collected over the entire existence of the Taush bloodline had vanished. With blood draining from his face Enad dashed to the treasury but before he could he was stopped by an elder.

“Head!” cried the elder, “All the books in the library had been open, especially the sealed and cursed ones!”

“What! Who would be dumb enough to open those!?” questioned Enad with cold sweat running down his body.

“Lord Enad!” another person came running, “The monsters that were sealed, for the reason of disobedience, are now obedient!”

“Wait isn’t that good?” Enad spoke while running to the treasury.

“It is,” spoke the person, “But they now know no shame!”

Nearly tripping, Enad ran into another servant, “Lord the heirloom is crying in agony!” said the servant.

Changing his route, Enad headed to the sealed garden where the Taush heirloom was stored. The heirloom was gifted to them by the founder of the clan. Within the heirloom resided an ancient arrogant soul of a god, if the soul was in agony then only trouble waited. The moment Enad turned to run to the heirloom more people ran to him.

“Master Enad! The guardian deities have lost their will to live!”

“Lord! The Shrine Maiden is in a lustful daze!”

“Master, your wife had found your stashed manuals regarding your preferences! She’s attempting to commit suicide!”

Under the bombardment of messages of catastrophe after catastrophe, Enad’s hair had begun to turn grey as anxiety attacked his very being. All the grace he had earlier had vanished under the chaos. Running to his wife Enad had passed by Menor and Sors who were leisurely conversing. The look on their faces held no worry, which made Enad envious of their freedom.

“We didn’t do anything,” Menor spoke, “You guys have people watching us ever since we arrived.”

Hearing such words, Enad could cough blood. The timing of such disasters correlated with their arrival. Their act of ignorance was an obvious lie and Enad’s gut was telling him that they held knowledge of the source of the events. Although he wanted to question them, he had no time to speak before more people arrived carrying the flags of disaster.

“Lord Enad! The Founder has descended!”

“Head! Someone had forcibly broken through the distorted barrier!”

Wanting to escape reality, Enad quickly pulled out a glass whistle from his sleeves and blew into it. With a clear and brilliant sound, the whistle rang out. Not after a single moment, everyone in the Taush clan began to run somewhere. As Menor and Sors did not know what it indicated they casually took their time. Following the crowd, they found themselves in a large open plaza.

When Enad used the whistles it had notified all the people of the Taush clan to gather. Due to the sudden avalanche of problems the best course of action was to group up and discuss ways to fix the sudden situation. Especially since someone had broken through the barrier around the Taush’s territory. Also as the founder had descended, it would also be conducted as a greeting.

The Taush Founder was descending through the clouds under a vast ray of light. The appearance of the Founder was similar to Astra’s but instead of a dress, she wore a suit of silver armor. Under the beaming lights, the person’s short brown hair and deep green eyes shined.

Seeing the Taush Founder floating in the air, Menor and Sors looked at each other and silently nodded. They took a few steps back and disappeared into the shadows of a nearby building. They knew Igno had caused too many problems putting the nosy nose where it doesn’t belong and they did not want to be involved. Not only that, the chances that they would end up getting pulled into trouble was also increased. There was Desyra too; in fact, they did not know why she forced her way through the barrier. Even if they did not see Desyra conducting the act, they were sure that she did.

Running through the empty building the two of them searched for Igno. They didn’t really care for Igno’s safety instead they wanted an excuse to flee from the scene. There was a high chance that problem would get out of hand with the arrival of Desyra, and it was definitely not the bad omen that Menor and Sors felt from the founder.

After running around for a while, they found Igno having tea with a woman garbed in a white and red dress. The woman had aniridia, indicating that she could be blind. Igno, who was sitting across from her, had a complex expression as he sipped a bit of tea. Quietly standing at the door Menor and Sors held back their laughter. The moment they saw the atmosphere they understood that Igno messed up.

“D-did you… forget to hide your sounds again?” Sors asked, restraining herself.

With a dark expression, Igno nodded, “Who would have thought to meet a blind person in a world full of magic?”

“Pff, infinite possibilities,” Menor answered, holding his mouth, “Oh, It, how you never learn.”

Noticing Igno’s companions, the woman turned her head to them. Standing up she gracefully bowed, showing respect to the two. Taking the chance the women went to pour two more cups of tea. Even if she could not see, she did not spill a drop of liquid nor did she make the slightest error. Her movements showed that her body was accustomed to such actions, as they held no hesitation in any of her movements.

Sitting down next to Igno, Menor and Sors received their tea. With a quick sip, they tasted poison. Looking at the tea leaves they used and the fingers of the woman they understood the situation. The tea leaves that she used were leaves from plants similar to poison ivy. Thinking back to the many problems that came up, they realized that the trouble Igno had fallen into could be outstanding.

With a quick question, Menor asked, “Are you a shrine maiden?”

“Yes,” the woman replied in a gentle voice.

With the single question they verified their guess, they burst into laughter. Tears were streaming down their eyes. They know that Igno had the ability to avoid everything. Such an ability allowed Igno to avoid the trouble Desyra brought, but being caught by someone with such lower power was a sight to behold.

“Oh, oh, oh my Igno, you messed up Igno. You messed up big time,” cried Sors.

“You seem to know my beloved Igno? Would you care to explain?” the Shrine Maiden asked.

Hearing the words coming out of the woman’s mouth, Menor and Sors could not help but burst into uncontrollable laughter once again. Not understanding the situation the woman pushed her question further which in turn caused the two hyenas to laugh harder. Hearing the laughter of the two beside him Igno could only moan. Originally Igno was supposed to be able to sneak pass anything, but to be caught by a blind person didn’t sit too well with Igno.

Menor and Sors had noticed there was a large pot of poison ivy leaves that was half full, probably due to tradition. Because they saw the woman casually reach into the pot without care, they knew something was wrong. On closer inspection, looking at her hands revealed a fresh rash on once her pale smooth skin. Putting two and two together, it was obvious that Igno healed the woman’s hand. When Igno did so, he was caught. The words they heard earlier, about a shrine maiden in a lustful daze with the identity of the woman revealed, all was clear.

“We’re, we’re just old friends,” Sors spoke, after calming down a bit, “Igno’s all yours if you want him.”

“Yes, we had known him for quite a while. He has a tendency to disappear. So you better keep an eye out.” spoke Menor, avoiding Igno’s punch.

Knowing it was useless to fight against the two, Igno gave up, “Please, laugh some more so the astral plane will eventually even out.”

Rolling his eyes, Menor turned to look at the room’s door. Within seconds of glancing over, Desyra walked in while stretching her arms. With a bright expression, she sat down at one of the open chairs. Receiving a tea from the Shrine Maiden, Desyra took a sip of the tea before falling into a laughing fit. After calming down she pestered Menor about the chances the Taush Founder was someone they knew. With a sigh, Menor reminded her to add more details.

“Oh, by the way,” Desyra spoke, “I made that female hero take the blame.”

“You did?” Sors asked.

“Yes, for her to follow me she boldly broke the barrier. So right now, she’s confronting all the people here.”

Hearing such things the Shrine Maiden held a curious expression. She did not know what was happening outside, but she was sure there was a major event going off. As a shrine maiden, she was to be isolated from the world outside, due to tradition. Because she was refined to a single room and only a hand full of servants were attending her, she would notice any change in the room. So the only reason Igno got caught, was out of pure luck as the Shrine Maiden felt something was off.

“AH!” Sors spoke, remembering something, “The Taush founder? Isn’t she the fanatic that tried to create a religion about us during the last adventure we went on?”

With blood draining from their faces, Igno, Menor, and Desyra froze. They suddenly recalled a young girl they granted powers to for the fun of it. Igno gave her the ability to mend into shadows, Desyra had sharpened the girl’s hunting instincts, Menor passed down techniques of countering and disarming, and Sors gave her tips of surviving and psychological manipulation. They all had never expected the girl to become someone so insane.