Episode 21: Birds of bad omen

After finding the goal basket, Nagye and Sidra made a smooth return to the training start point, Thanks to Nagye’s remote bird vision, they were able to avoid all ambushes since the instructors were busy with other teams

guild master: a way more different result than yesterday, excellently done, you may take a rest, but do not leave yet, there’s an important announcement that needs everybody present

Shizuka and Taro had just finished attending their lectures, and were heading to rest where most people were

Shizuka: (hmm, I can’t bring up the topic here, there’s too many people), hey Taro, guess what time it is? its guild matters ti—

Nagye: Taro!, it worked!, the techniques y-you helped me with yesterday really worked!

Sidra: I have never seen anything quite like it, she was a whole magician out there

Taro: oh! Nagye, Sidra, how, training?

Sidra: it was very enlightening, in more ways than one

Shizuka (ugh, I lost my chance again) hmmm? Sidra rarely smiles so much; I wonder what happened out there hehe

Sidra: What could you mean by that?, we just discovered new things about ourselves

Shizuka: “new things” you say? hmmm?

Ari: the one that has to get her mind out of the gutter is you Shizuka

Taro: Ari, goomornin, how, uh, monster training?

Ari: very tiring, on top of that, these two ladies made it so much harder for me, I didn’t expect them to be that good at patrolling and fighting. now I feel more jealous, everyone is developing new skills while I’m stuck being one of the monsters

Sidra: you were a very formidable foe; I sincerely thank you

Ari: thank me? for what?, oh well, thank you too, it was fun, no hard feelings alright?. also, the instructors told me to apologize to you two

Nagye: its f-fine, I think. We didn't get hurt too much this time

Ari: they are actually apologizing for being so bad-mouthed and rude back there, they said they wanted to get a reaction out of you guys so you could feel motivated and justified to fight.

Sidra: they really did it properly, I totally fell for it

Sidra blushed in embarrassment upon remembering

Nagye: th-the instructors and the g-guild master, they really had us in the palm of their hand

Ari: my father? you mean when he says things and then says “I want you to remember that”? that's so annoying, because he hits the spot so often

bells ringing interrupted all the chatter and focused everyone’s attention to the guild master and the bald priest who had arrived

guild master: please lend us your ears, we have an important announcement

bald priest: first of all I want to thank you and congratulate you all for all the hard work you’ve been doing these past days, I’m confident this town will be ready to face any threat that may come its way.

the crowd cheered and whistled in celebration

bald priest: you do well in celebrating these small victories, and it is celebration the announcement we bring to you. As you may know, the season of the bruo is coming to an end, giving way to the season of the raneh, the dry grass and the thirsty soil will be revitalized with youth brought by the gentle rains of the sky. We must prepare the festival to welcome these blessings with open arms

the crowd cheered once more, they seemed very excited about the news

Taro: (so they do have festivals in this world?, I guess it's obvious, but could this be… one of those classic anime festival episodes? I'm curious to see how they are here.)

guild master: even though it's important we continue preparing, it's crucial that we partake in the celebration, for we don't prepare to die, but to live. From this point onward, I declare the training activities to continue for 2 more days before we commence the preparations for the festival. After the celebration, we shall see how the Horde is advancing, and we will plan accordingly. That's all for the announcement, thank you for your attention, you may go rest now.

Taro and the girls walked to the church, excited about the festival

Nagye: I-I didn’t go out of my ho-house often, so I can’t say I was at last year’s festival, b-but I did see with my bird from afar. I didn't wanna get closer because people would get scared and attack it like if it was some sort of evil s-spirit

Sidra: last year, I was in another town, I helped with the festival preparations there. it was hectic, but blessed was the sight when it all came together

Ari: I wouldn't say I dislike the festival, but I just don't like when people get drunk, it’s so annoying, can't they just drink water and have fun?

Shizuka: last year I was hmm oh wait, I almost forgot I can’t remember anything hehehe

Ari: how could you forget you forgot?, I really don’t wanna see the things you come up with if you get drunk

Shizuka: You underestimate my power, I don't need to be drunk to be silly, besides, alcohol is bad for… (huh? weird, for some reason I remember that alcohol is bad for gymnastics) it’s bad for my style, hehe

Taro: festivals, very fun, I like uhh (oh wait, grilled sausages probably don't exist in this world, and I’m sure takoyaki doesn't either) yea

Sidra: seems like I gotta teach you more words Taro, just like back then

Taro blushed in embarrassment, it really did feel like he was a kid being taught the language

Taro: yez but, I’m big, not kid

Sidra: should I teach you words for grownups then?

Shizuka: “grown up words” hmmm?, you’re on the loose Sidra, first Nagye, now Taro?

Sidra: What could you be talking about? I’m talking about words like taxes and documents, goddess gracious

the 5 friends chatted and laughed until it was dark and everyone had to rest

the next morning felt different, people were no longer stressed, they were busy but also talking about the festival, the mood changed ever since the announcement, from dreadful to hopeful

Sidra: good morning Taro

Taro: goomornin Sidra, uhh, sister Sunny, where?, I no see, lot days

Sidra: I heard she’s not feeling well today either, I’m starting to get worried, perhaps we should go check

Turt: I'm looking for Taro and Sidra!, are they here?!

Sidra: well, I guess we can go check after we return

Taro: yez (she wasn’t looking well ever since the announcement, no, even before. I’m having a bad feeling)

Taro and Sidra went to the guild office, Nagye, Shizuka and Ari were already there

guild master: today we’ll train to move in bigger groups, you can choose your teammates if you have people in mind, this is important for team harmony, which is crucial for quick decisions. The teams ideally have to be of 4, 6 at the maximum

Taro and the girls looked and smiled at each other

guild master: you will wear this white cloth on your left arm, there won't be any ambushes, you just have to get used to moving as a group. Any questions?

Taro: Ari, you, with us, good

Ari: finally, but don’t think I’ll go easy on you, you still gotta follow the protocols you brute

Sidra: I could use a bit of protocol rehearsing, I shall be under your care

Ari you can count on me, I will be very thorough, so prepare yourselves

Shizuka: “yourselves”? But I didn’t say anything, let me relax and cook some food out in the field to enjoy this nice day, kidding! just kidding hehehe

Nagye: th-that would be nice, that we prepared food outside and w-we ate t-together

Ari: first thing’s first!, today we must train, but, yeah, I like the idea

Ari could barely contain her excitement at finally being in a team with her friends

guild master: if there’s no more questions, you may all commence

The teams started moving at their own pace. Taro’s team walked while listening to Ari’s instructions and planning what their cookout would be like, until Shizuka found something on the floor

Shizuka: woah, look at the size of this feather!, let me try it on. how does it look, does it fit my hair color?

Sidra: goddess gracious, I recognize that kind of feathers, may the goddess protect us and the town

Shizuka: huh? why?, is it bad? will I be ok? I touched it, eek!

Sidra: that must be a bruo feather

Taro: bruo?, like season?

Ari: yeah, they call it the season of the bruo because it's when bruos are most active. they are huge birds, I heard they are sometimes the size of houses.

Shizuka: the size of entire houses?!

Ari: they also fly very silently, so it's very easy to pick up victims and fly away, that's why we always say to never travel at night, especially during bruo season. fortunately I’ve never seen one, I’d probably be dead

Sidra: when I was sent to a town to the east of the capital, I remember there was a bruo stalking the town, we were not allowed to go out or even step where the moonlight could touch us, because the bruo could swoop in

Nagye: I-I saw a bruo from very close, I m-mean, I saw it with one of my birds, I was curious to see how it was to fly at night, so I was flying my bird, but then I felt something brush off my mana threads, and when I looked up, a bruo destroyed my bird with its claws. it was my favorite bird too, it was so pretty

Shizuka: goddess gracious that’s terrifying

Sidra: I agree, goddess gracious

Taro: scary (to see such a small bird, and at night. bruos sound like top tier predators)

Ari: last time we had a bruo incident was around 3 years ago, I don’t know the exact details, but a guard from the other town went missing, all that was found of him was his weapon on the floor and some bruo feathers. his body was never found, so they just put a tomb on the place where he left his halberd

Taro: (so that’s the tomb I saw on my first adventure… as the girls say:) godes gracious, very scary

Shizuka: let’s get moving before the night falls, I may be a genius, but I don’t wanna fight a bruo if they’re the size of an entire house

The team took the rest of their training more seriously after that conversation, and they safely returned to the guild office.

guild master: a bruo feather, just when the bruo season is about to end… thanks for reporting this, I’ll give word to the others, you may go rest now