Three Spheres

Chapter 115 - Invasion

Anxious and distressed, Sayuri climbs out of the carriage at an unknown station. Between her paws, she carries a small bag full of chopsticks, incenses, matches, and other amulets that might be useful for her upcoming mission. In the distance, she sees a woman with light brown hair offending a short boy in sign language. "I know it was you who gave us away that day, you rascal raven!!" is the only sentence Sayuri can understand before she gets close enough to hear the answer:

_ It wasn't me, Dijana! I swear!

_ E-Excuse me... _ The otter interrupts, shyly _ You are Dijana Belinda and Fumio Tomio, I assume? Sorry for disturbing... I'm Sayuri Teru; I don't think we have met before.

The three shake hands. It is really the first time they've met. Their only connections so far were Keisha and Johan. Once the formalities are completed, the Kawauso delivers a small oval metallic device to each one of them. Then, she explains that they must keep it in their ears at all times. Dijana and Fumio obey and, at the same moment, hear Keisha's voice: "So what? Can 'ya hear me?". Their eyes light up like beacons of excitement. Sayuri laughs.

Keisha completes her speech: "These communicators will make sure I help you guys out from here. It has a 1.2 second delay, so pay attention to what I say. Sasa, did you bring the butterflies?"

With a skip, the otter pulls a bottle from her bag. From inside it, she gets out white butterflies that are so small they look like snowflakes. Through the communicator, Keisha explains: "Nice! Now I can see ya', hehe! These fellas will be my eyes, so dontcha crush them, 'kay?!"

_ Really, it's impossible to be better prepared. _ Fumio says

He approaches the Space Distortion booth, and proceeds:

 _ Excuse me. _ He smiles at the attendant _ I apologize for the inconvenience, but my friends and I are in big trouble. We need an urgent trip to these coordinates, please.

The attendant looks at the paper and prepares to refuse, but... Fumio rests his chin on his fist over the counter, revealing a dagger between his fingers. He still smiles. The attendant freezes. The boy concludes:

_ A trip to a place without a secondary station is 2.000 Croix, right? So 10.000 should be enough for the three of us, yes? _ He puts several bills in the table _ There are many ways for us to solve problems. You choose.

Without delay, the attendant prepares the trip. Most SD displacements require two gates to be activated at the same instant, but with an extraordinary expenditure of energy, it is possible to force an opening to a specific location.

In an instant, the three go through the portal.

To their surprise, they come across a large open field in the south of Nigrum. Apart from the trees, there is nothing as far as the eye can see. Keisha orders them to go forward for another few meters. It's not long before they spot a figure dressed in red, lying in the shade of a canopy, with a small bat sleeping on his shoulder. Dijana laughs, as does Sayuri.

The group finally gathers, and those who have not yet met in person exchange greetings. Johan doesn't say a word. Fumio notices black lines on the back of his hand and at the base of his neck. Keisha asks Penan to explain how she found this place. The Vampire, still in the form of a little creature, says:

_ Actually, it was quite easy. Some black smoke pop out of nowhere and I started to follow it. Then, while I was flying, BAM☆⌒(＞__◎), I hit a thing! It seems to be a glass dome, Idk, surrounded by a "timeless spell", like those in cities of eternal night!

Dijana signals: "So they wanted us to find this place. Brave Witches". Keisha agrees through the communicator, and relays some more details of the plan: "Well, as far as we know, there must be at least 2 Witches in this place, but who knows how many monsters and Golems and Gangers are there. Don't fight who you don't need to fight! Got it, Jonathan?!". Johan crosses his arms and the others smile. Keisha resumes: "Our goal today is to find... eer... what's the name of that again?"