No Need for a Core?

After the initial panic, Kazue found herself unable to maintain the state of fearfulness she’d expected and instead found herself in the strange position of helping Moriko to stay calm. She'd have thought that with Moriko’s direct communication with the dungeon cores, she'd be the calm one. After all, she would be able to know the dungeon’s defenses in moment-to-moment detail, as well as having the speed and training to, even from this distance, be able to arrive as backup if the worst were to happen.

Kazue, on the other hand, would disappear as though she had never existed, which should have her terrified, as well as lose all she loved so much. And she knew her own tendency to react strongly, so her relative calmness seemed so out of place to herself. However, this calmness had been very handy in finding ways to occupy them both, especially Moriko.

Moriko might be better at keeping control of her anger and worry, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. So after they had dealt with bringing the guard captain up to speed, Kazue took the lead in finding and negotiating for Moriko some appropriate areas that needed demolition work; and then a few 'playmates' to spar with once she had achieved control over that weird black lightning.

Once she had Moriko settled, Kazue decided to focus on some practice of her own: Having to depend on Moriko for direct communication with the cores was limiting, so she decided to turn her focus elsewhere. She liked Mordecai's idea with the earring for distance communication, but she needed crystals to experiment with and learn from. Thankfully a port city like this had need of jewelers as part of the ongoing trade, and Kazue was able to work out a deal with one of them. She got to experiment with less expensive crystalline gems, mostly quartz, and a little tourmaline, and the results of her enchantments would be the property of the store to resell. Given that Kazue fully expected to break more than a few, this seemed a fair bargain to her; especially since the jeweler assured her that they could re-cut the more interesting of her experiments. It wasn't like the successful versions of these enchantments were the ones she was going to want in the long run, so it did not feel like a loss for her.

So the days passed, each practicing during the day to keep themselves occupied and then taking comfort in each other at night. It was perhaps not the ideal solution to stress over a long period, but it worked for them for the duration of the assault.

It was during this time of waiting that Kazue’s reflection on why she was so calm bore fruit: Her core self had only briefly panicked over the imminent attack. Given what Moriko had been telling her, that undoubtedly was because of Mordecai's confidence and plan. While her wife might be the one able to communicate with the cores in detail and feel all the fine points of their emotions, Kazue's connection to her core was a connection to her soul, and it was hard to panic over the danger to her core when that very core was not panicking.

This was the first time she'd ever felt her emotions as an avatar be so clearly influenced by her core's emotions while not inside the dungeon's territory. And she wasn't sure it would apply to much of anything else. It was just that worrying about her core when her core wasn't so worried was too dissonant to hold up.

Which was strange and more than a little surreal, a reminder that she was an extension of her 'true' self. But that unshakable connection, however thin, was also a sort of comfort. She knew where her home was and how her core was doing and feeling, even if that connection provided nothing else directly. Which didn't mean that she wasn't stressed at all, but that feeling of stability helped a lot.

Once the assault was done, Mordecai bid them to stay in place for a bit as he had some presents to send their way, plus the mysterious Elyon said that Lady Yuriko was sending someone else to accompany them as per their request. So for a few days more they continued their routine to let them wind down from the previous worry, which would let them enjoy their travels more. It also gave Kazue more time to work on her enchantments and creating networks of precious metals, which she used her liminal spirit to move along with trace minerals, through the gems to create potent patterns, which she awakened with a brief charge, courtesy of the lightning spirit. She found herself enjoying the strange moods and powers of these two spirits, both becoming stronger in each other.

On her way back to the inn one evening, after she had finished her daily routine at the jewelry store, Kazue felt a flash of irritation as she realized she'd made a mistake. It wasn't the sort of thing she'd ever have had to worry about in the clan, but this was a larger city and she'd been working regularly in the back room of a jeweler, which made her a bit more of a tempting target than a shrine maiden. She'd settled into a predictable routine while hiding two of her tails to keep from drawing attention. That last part she'd failed at anyway.

The group of six people had chosen a good place to set up a trap; the area wasn't so poor as to make Kazue avoid it entirely when just passing through, but it was always a little low on traffic this late in the day, and today it was uncannily quiet, causing most people with good sense to vanish. Long shadows were cast by the buildings as well, making it easier to hide until the last moment.

A tall, well-muscled woman with slightly bluish skin was clearly their leader, and she grinned unpleasantly at Kazue. "Make it easy and we won't rough ya up too much. Hand over your goods and coins, and no funny business." Three small crossbows were leveled at her menacingly.

Kazue felt her good mood disappear like a breeze, and the last of her temper, delicate from stress, beginning to fray. "Oh woe, woe is me. Whatever is a poor helpless lass such as I to do when so beset upon?" The sarcasm in her tone was thick and unmistakable. Most of the gang surrounding her had the good sense to suddenly look nervous.

The woman in front of her scowled instead and stepped forward with a growl, "Are you making fun of me you little-"

And upon the edge of light and darkness did reality flicker and fade. Three crossbow bolts fired but found no target.

Kazue flowed along the liminal edge of sharp-cast shadows as dream images spawned around her.

A lightning-charged crystal sword that might-have-been bloomed from the woman's lower back along with a shower of glittering flowers, Kazue's hand upon the hilt for the brief moment it almost existed.

And then she was past the woman and the echo of thunder that never-was rolled off the buildings around them.

Reality asserted itself once more and the tall woman staggered, clutching at her stomach despite the lack of visible wound. "I'll kill you for this," she said as she coughed, and then stared in disbelief at the blood she'd just expelled onto her hand.

"No, you won't," Kazue said calmly before her tail lashed out and slammed a bolt of foxfire into the thug's face.

The rest of the would-be thieves vanished, showing the true nature of their loyalty to the woman laid out on the street, and Kazue's anger only rose upon witnessing the cowardice and betrayal. "You stupid idiot, you made me hurt you," Kazue snarled at the prone, unconscious form. "I could have hit your heart. You made me want to hit your heart. And I hate you for that."

More thunder roared, but this time it had much more to do with reality, and soon warm arms wrapped themselves around Kazue. "Are you okay love?" Moriko whispered into her ear. The monk could travel silently or swiftly, but they were definitely opposed options.

"Not really," Kazue muttered as she returned the hug and then gestured briefly at the woman on the ground, "but nothing physical. You should take care of her first before she bleeds out."

"Please, allow me," came a soft, feminine voice. Two women were walking toward them; one of them was hidden under a hooded cloak, but the other was very familiar.

"Lady Yuriko," Kazue greeted the seven-tailed kitsune, "and...?"

The hooded woman knelt next to the thug as she replied "You can just call me Ruby." There was distinct amusement in the familiar voice and she smelled faintly of fire without smelling of smoke. When she touched a gloved hand to the thug's face, white flames of healing flickered around the wounds.

Oh.

Wait, what?

Kazue shook her head to clear her thoughts and then looked at Yuriko. "Wait, she's going to be our new escort? Are you serious? That seems like, ah, overkill? And wouldn't we be the ones who need to guard her?"

Moriko had taken only a moment longer to follow the same chain of thoughts, but just as she was about to interject another voice cut in.

"Oh, it's you two again," said a rather disgruntled-looking guard captain. "Your ladyships," he added rather belatedly. Not that Kazue or Moriko cared about their titles outside of when they were particularly useful, but it did sound a little belittling.

"Why don't I take care of this?" Yuriko asked with a smile. "When Ruby is done, you three can head off to your inn room, she has some deliveries for you." The kitsune woman turned toward the guard captain as she drew something from her robe to show him, though Kazue didn't get a look at the object. The captain looked surprised and then bowed slightly before letting himself be drawn several feet away. The guards that had been following him stood around uncertainly.

'Ruby' rose as the thug stirred. "She'll live, though without a healer she'd have bled out internally within the hour." The hooded woman regarded Kazue somberly. "You perforated her guts and shocked her with lightning internally without leaving a mark on her skin. That is, hmm, impressive."

Kazue's feelings about the compliment were mixed, but this did not seem to be the time to talk about it. Instead, she turned to the nearest guard. "This woman and five other people tried to rob me on my way from a jewelry store where I had been practicing some enchantment. Presumably, they thought I was carrying goods of some sort on me. As you can see, I was able to defend myself. The others fled, though I believe you will find three crossbow bolts somewhere nearby."

The guard scrambled to take notes, and when she was finished giving her statement Kazue added, "Your captain knows where to find us if he has more questions."

They were still almost half an hour's walk from the inn, but the three of them were silent for the duration. Kazue's mood was sour and she used that time to lightly meditate and let the tension drain from her. She and Moriko did have a guest after all, and 'Ruby' deserved better from her.

Once they were safely ensconced in their room, their visitor brought out a gem and placed it on a table where it started to glow before she tossed back her hood to reveal the flame-like red hair of Princess Bridgette. "Surprise!" she said and then giggled, "though it seems you two already figured it out. And our privacy is secured for the moment," she added, gesturing at the glowing gem.

"Please tell me you have a better disguise for your hair," Kazue said with a sigh and dropped into a chair. "I don't think having a mysterious hooded woman following us around is going to make us less conspicuous."

"I assume we should avoid honorifics for the moment, 'Ruby'," Moriko added wryly as she took a seat next to Kazue.

Bridgette joined them at the small table that was the only place to sit, besides the bed. The two of them hadn't exactly been planning on entertaining guests when they picked out a place, though they'd been willing to put out the money for private accommodations. "Yes, but I wanted to be able to show myself to you immediately if there was any need; and that's right, I'm just Ruby for now. Oh, and please ask your husband and other self to not tell my sister, I'd like to surprise her if she's still there when I arrive."

Kazue stared for a moment before she could summon up a reply, "You are traveling with us until we get back home? Isn't that a long time for a, um, you to be away?"

"Well," Bridgette replied as she drew down a lock of her hair to fidget with it, "officially, I am off at a religious retreat for an unspecified period." She shrugged uncomfortably. "It makes a good excuse. I want to leave the capital for a while anyway. Things haven't really worked out with the person I was interested in, and I'd rather not risk running into him for a while. Plus, with the number of shrines your home has been making along with its library, it really does make for a decent place to study and meditate. So it's not really a lie either. Also, I don't have any field experience, so we were thinking maybe having a go at delving would be a good idea for me."

That sounded like a lot of excuses added on top of the real reason of just wanting to not be around the guy she didn't want to see for a while, but Kazue felt a pang of empathy for the situation. That seemed like it would be awkward and she certainly knew she wouldn't want to stick around either.

Moriko nodded thoughtfully before changing the subject, "Yuriko mentioned deliveries earlier. Mordecai says that might be what he sent us."

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot!" Bridgette said as she pushed her cloak aside to bring a satchel forward. "Here you go." From the satchel she brought out a flat box and a bundle for each of them. All the items were sealed with stamped wax carrying the seal they'd worked out for the dungeon, specifically the variant for Mordecai's seal.

Inside their packages were materials nigh identical to the ones Mordecai had used to send his letter to Baron Demidov, with the only change being the exact symbology on the seals. While all of their seals were ovals with a stylized mountain and doors to represent the dungeon and all three had a dragon, fox, and rabbit head on them, the topmost and largest head was different on each one to show whose seal it was. There were some other variations of detail as well to make them a little more personalized and make them even harder to forge. Included were instructions on how to use the seals, which varied a bit for each of them. Moriko's aura signature was a mix of chi and divine blessing while Kazue's was a mix of psychic and spiritual resonance, and keying everything properly was a slightly different process for them both.

"Well, I guess that takes care of everything keeping us waiting here," Kazue said, "so what exactly is the plan? I take it you aren't going to be just shadowing us."

"Correct! Once Lady Yuriko returns, we can go over all the details and contingencies, but the basic idea is that I will be your tag-along until we get to the Azeria Dungeon. I can contact people instantly if you really need it, but for the most part, I'll just be a traveling companion and get my own room and tent and stuff. Oh, and my disguise." She fetched a ring from her satchel and put it on while murmuring an activation phrase. Her hair calmed down into simple curls and became a more toned down, earthy red color at the same time that her features shifted just enough to make her no longer recognizable as a member of the royal family, though still plausibly a distant cousin thereof. "What do you think?"