Fantasy World Creations

Location: Herr Klein's Estate - Hanako's Room
Date: Day 6 - 7 AM

You woke up the next morning feeling excited about finishing the book, you read through the rest of it while both Minette and Hanako had begun reading their own book. Hanako was finishing up hers, while Minette had begun reading through the book about the 'Shifting'.

It was a lazy morning, with all three of you reading a book while still in bed. In the middle of it, Trudy had gone out to get some breakfast for everyone, and soon enough the three of you were eating some light breakfast while continuing the reading and research.

The rest of the book you read begun explaining more about the Velethen Empire, in the perspective of the archaeology work, along with research from the original author of the book. Klein and his translator didn't seem to make much progress in deciphering everything, and it seemed like Klein had managed to act on the hint of the city. Though, there were questions such as wasn't the land they were on part of the original Refedoria kingdom? What happened to the original city that was there?

Location: Herr Klein's Estate - Hanako's Room
Date: Day 6 - 11 AM

It was through the reading the rest of the book that you noted a couple of things:

• The Velethen Empire was rich in technology and magic. They seemed to make a combination of the two called 'Magitech'. Many of the artifacts of the original New World were actually tools and weapons from that era long ago.
  
• The Velethen Empire existed thousands upon thousands of years ago. It seemed like around 6,000 or more years. Though, even that estimate wasn't clear.
  
• The cities of the Velethen Empire were huge, they spanned high in the skies with tall buildings, and even floating islands. They also had underground sections of their city.
  
• Some cataclysmic event had happened late in the Velethen Empire's reign, and it seemed like much of the world was affected then. Humanity seems to have went through something close to a dark age, which eventually resulted in the forming of smaller countries, which, over the course of a few hundred years, became the birth of the Old Felothian kingdom.

Minette and Trudy had given their report as well, of the books they had read.

Trudy who read that Refedorian book about heroes told you some bits of information, but many of it didn't seem to be as important. It seemed to include tales of heroes from the Refedorian Kingdom.

• The Refedorian kingdom and its neighbors at the time had summoned heroes in the past, each time was during times of crisis.
  
• Various tales and opponents the heroes had fought.
  
• They are said to be summoned from the goddess herself
  
• They are summoned from summoning circles that take time to 'recharge' in order to be used again. Usually once every couple hundreds of years.
  

Minette, who understood the language of the Idorian Magic Kingdom, had decided to read the book about the 'Shifting' by Eloise Renaud. She told you the following.

• The shifting is the term used to describe the fact that random countries, peoples, land features, appear out of no where. Replacing whatever was there currently.
  
• Unknown what happens to the places that were there.
  
• Underground things are affected as well. Cases where a moist swampland was replaced by dry desert ground, going deep into the earth. Though, climate itself remains similar to the original.
  
• The shifting can occur to summon small pieces of lands, and sometimes big. It seems to be random. There were actually a couple of cases where a small patch of land was 'Shifted', and it had only included a summoning circle.
  
• Some potential theories and links. It seems many of the lands that were summoned had some sort of link to heroes. Either people who believed in heroes, or had a similar set of gods in their pantheon that they had worshipped.
  
• Most peoples that were summoned believed in the Goddess of Light, though, that isn't always the case.
  
• The last 10 years had seen the most summoning both in the Idorian Magic Kingdom's world, and from the perspective of the original New World inhabitants. Though, it notes, that it is probably due to the war with the demons.

There was a lot of info to pour over, and most of it just brought up new questions. The prospect of seeing what might be buried in the mine that Klein had marked was both exciting and frightening. More than anything though it complicated Hanako's exit strategy from Refedoria.

"We've got some interesting stuff here, and I'd like to go check out that mine before we get out of Refedoria. We can have that conversation later tonight though, and after we meet with Sofia we'll have to hammer out the fine details of our plan. For now, lets get the day started in earnest. If you can meet me later for training Trudy, I think I've almost got the hang of it. I can help you with your Japanese later as well if you'd like, Minette."

During the first session, you manage to completely train your longsword proficiency. You were able to start counterattacking, and deflecting each of Trudy's attacks. Trudy herself was very impressed. mentioning to you that it's rare for someone to be able to get the hang of using a weapon so quickly. In just a few days as well. She made it seem like you were some sort of prodigy.

During the second session, Trudy had begun trying to teach you how to do powerful strikes, but still maintaining quickness and agility. You had made progress with that as well.

Moving on to teaching Minette, you didn't do avery good job at explaining, however, Minette was able to keep making progress on her own from all the notes she had taken, and using you as clarification for vocabulary and her writing. She was making fast progress.

QuoteTrainings
Longsword Proficiency: Learned
Power Attack: 1/8
Minette's Japanese: 4/8

Location: Herr Klein's Estate - Hanako's Room
Date: Day 6 - 11 PM

It was late evening again once you finished with all the training and teaching. You managed to find yourself some clothing as well, courtesy of Amarille.

After a full day, Hanako found herself once again in the bedroom where she seemed to end up having every strategy meeting with Trudy and Minette.

"Ok so we have that meeting tomorrow with Sofia. As Trudy pointed out I don't think I'll be able to go dressed in a uniform so I'll be wearing more normal clothing when I go along. If anyone asks, I'm Isikawan and acting as an envoy for Klein who is I'll. Like I mentioned before, I'm planning on figuring out how much Sofia is willing to work with us toward our plan to get out of Refedora and then offer her a sizable stake in all of Klein's holdings."

She sat up straight to stretch out her back, which was a little sore from training earlier. "Second to that, once we have a clear plan in place for our exit I'd like to try and check out that mine. Presumably nearly all the slaves there are Kleins, which I plan on getting out, but the oversight is an unknown variable to me. I imagine we can't just waltz in and say we want to take a look around. Plus getting the people free from there is another problem. We need to know the layout of the mine, where the slaves are kept, and how to get past the overseers and into the actual shafts to take a look around. If we have any information on that already, it would be a good place to start."

Minette nodded.

"Yes... We have all of that information... The blueprints of the mine... The mining shafts... The mining and drilling plans... There are a variety of locked down buildings that serve as homes for the miners. The security is tight, and the guards are on horseback to catch up to any potential jail breakers. The problem... would be the hired hands..."

It was Trudy this time who continued.

"Yes... it's not a problem for our estate with the owner nearby... If he wanted any of us dead, he could just think it. But at the off-sites... One of the reasons why we didn't tell everyone too, is that there are some soldiers who aren't slaves, but are paid well for their services on keeping everyone else in line. No one likes Klein... but we can't fully trust everyone either. This is even more so true at the mining sites where they're surrounded by wilderness... Most of Klein's soldiers there are still slaves, but the Busch Metall group actually have slave owners on-site, who themselves are slaves to owners here in the city."

"Unless... there's been recent changes... I can get you the floor plans... along with our list of personnel at the mining site operated by Busch Metall, along with an estimate on how many soldiers Busch Metall have. Other company records aren't usually given out in the open... But I think... I can make a guess."

Hanako rubbed her temples and sighed. "This is such a headache... Okay, if you can get all that info together for me that would be great. We'll have some time before we try to escape here so we can still come up with a thorough plan for getting in and out. I'm sure we can come up with something after all the details are laid out before us. We can look at it when we get back from dealing with Sofia. For the time being, lets get a good nights rest and we can get all set up to meet her in the afternoon."

It was out of the frying pan and into the fire yet again. At this point she was beginning to wonder if she had ever been in the frying pan to begin with. One day at a time Hanako... One day at a time...

She slipped under the covers, and waited for the warm close presence of Trudy and Minette to settle in beside her. After a few days it almost felt like it would be harder to sleep alone. Hanako assumed this was a good thing. Probably.

The other two others snuggled with you. Minette took no time at all to move herself very close to you, though while Trudy usually stayed close but with enough distance, this time around she seemed to have taken Minette's actions personally, and decided to reach out for your hand. Trudy's grasp was awkward at first, but eventually she found a position where she could hold your hand comfortably under the covers. Trudy herself seemed to be slightly turned away, but you could tell she was blushing.

Soon enough sleep came.

---

Location: Herr Klein's Estate - Hanako's Room
Date: Day 7 - 7 AM

Just like the previous nights since you arrived, you had dreamt again about Erato, that being that first summoned you into this world. It seemed like she had been apologetic about something, but you couldn't quite remember the details at all.

That next morning you realized Minette had already left. Trudy was still asleep next to you however. More than likely Minette was already looking into the records that they had.

QuoteFeel free to state any specific actions/etc. It'll be an hour til Minette completes retrieving the information.

---

Location: Herr Klein's Estate - Where-ever Hanako is
Date: Day 7 - 8 AM

Minette eventually came back, bringing forth a stack of papers. She began detailing out the information that was requested about the mining site that overlayed on top of both the red 'X' on Klein's map, along with the marker in the book.

• 350 total of Klein's 'assets'
  
• -Among them, 300 were slave miners. 50 of them were soldiers.
  
• -Among the 50 soldiers, 30 of them were slaves, while 20 of them were hired soldiers without collars.
  
• Busch Metall had 150 workers, and from Minette's best guess, about 15 to 20 soldiers.
  
• Blueland Processing had 50 workers, and about 5 soldiers.
  
• A rough map of the camp, along with the blueprints of the mine itself. There was one primary entrance, it then headed down at a steep angle, and there were plans for mining straight down as well.
  
• The mining site was rich in precious stones.

QuoteI'll need to create the gridmap, but assume you have it.

Hanako awoke, and sat up slowly so as not to disturb the remaining occupant of the bed. She brushed the hair out of her face and yawned wide the last remnants of the previous nights dream fading with the morning sun. There was that dream again...

She slid out of bed and found a wide enough spot in the bedroom to do some light calisthenics, the kind most people back home did in the morning while a pleasant woman on the radio guided you. Usually she wasn't the type to exercise, but today she felt like she needed to be alert and ready to go from the start. Once she was done, she went to go wash her face and brush her teeth and returned to the bedroom to wake Trudy.

Finally she went downstairs to get breakfast.

---

Over breakfast she looked a the information Minette had provided. "Hrm... So at one site alone we're looking at probably forty potentially hostile and armed soldiers, the other thirty are collared slaves which I could free but it would use up most of my mana. The workers for Busch Metall are another unknown factor here. I assume they are slave labor but if commanded they would probably fight. There's too many to free at once if they are in fact slaves so the odds are really stacked against us here. Chances are we might need to try to lie our way in, pretending to be there on Klein's orders to observe how things are going."

She took a big bite out of a slightly sweet breakfast roll and chewed it pensively. "As far as freeing all those people, we could potentially make 'official' transfers from the mine to another location under the pretense that they are to be labor elsewhere. We can have our people oversee that. In reality we would be getting everyone ready for our great exodus. About how many people do you think we can be moving at a time without drawing suspicion?"

The question was open ended to both Trudy and Minette, both of their opinions had become important to her over the last few days and their advice was heavily weighed in Hanako's mind.

"Historically... when Klein would meet with slavers, he would buy anything from 5 to 20 at a time, along with a hired soldier or two. then he would send them straight to the mines... unless he sees one he fancies. Klein hasn't had a reason for a mass transfer of slaves yet..."

"If we have a valid set of paperwork, we can probably move more than 20... Maybe we are transferring more miners to our other mining site, or perhaps we need more workers at the foundry, here."

Minette spoke next, working off of Trudy's thoughts.

"Maybe... we can make a large order of ores... from Busch Metall or Blueland Processing... to have an excuse for bringing in more foundry workers from the mines..."

"Yes! Then... Maybe we can get Wendy to question each of the soldiers at the foundry, to see who can be trusted? W-well.. umm... Not that I want to put Wendy in a tough spot... But she does work there primarily, and probably know more of the soldiers... She seems to be popular with the other slaves..."

QuoteDon't forget about the Klein's signature Technique for any transactions or written orders, otherwise I'll by rolling hidden Linguistics for your forgery attempts.

Hanako smiled at her companions, "That sounds like an excellent idea. I'll need to work on my forgery of Klein's signature but I think I can get it down pretty quickly. If one of you can pass this idea along to Wendy and get her on board, Ill work on getting his signature down before we head over to the meeting with Sofia."

She finished up her breakfast, and prepared to work on her forgery skills. "Lets head over to Sofia's around two, I think the three of us and at least three others should come along. We'll have to collar up again. If you can find us some balanced soldiers to come that would be great."

Location: Herr Klein's Estate - Minette's study
Date: Day 7 - 2 PM

While you were practicing faking Klein's signature, Minette had begun her own self studies for Japanese using the notes from all the previous sessions. She made progress with her own learning, and you did as well. Your signatures were starting to look much, much closer to the real thing.

QuoteYou can either let me do the Forgery rolls with Linguistics, or you can try rolling yourself using the Untrained Usage rules.

Eventually 3 others were chosen. You recognized them as the same ones who were with you when Sofia first arrived at the estate. There was an older experienced looking gentleman. A woman who looked to be a few years older than Trudy. And lastly, a man who had thick frame.

Wendy and Amarille said their goodbyes and well-wishes to you, and soon enough a carriage was prepared. You, Minette, and Trudy were in the carriage itself, with Minette and Trudy flanking you on each end of the carriage. The other 3 soldiers were either driving the horse on the carriage itself, or had been riding on their own, with both of them behind the carriage.

QuoteSince this was premeditated, I'll assume we put on collars early enough in the morning so we have full MP.

Trainings
Klein's Signature: 2/4
Minette Japanese: 5/8

---

Location: Herr Klein's Estate - Estergen City
Date: Day 7 - 2 PM

The sights and sounds of Estergen city was loud, at least, in this particular section of town. Where Klein lived was near the outskirts, in a district with other nobles, but the Birkensen Trading Company wanted to be in the middle of where all the merchanting business were. The sounds of hammers being flung, or the whirring of large gears turning, were audible. You noticed as well that there were some large red-skinned beings, that looked almost humanoid, though were exceptionally bulky, and had horns growing at the top of their heads. Anytime a human neared them, they would simply brush them aside, and at time the demons would purposefully follow individuals, laughing in a low grumbling and unearthly sound as they did so.

QuoteStealth or Bluff requested to seem inconspicuous. The other NPCs with you will do their own matching rolls with Aid Another.

Hanako peeked out from the carriage while trying her best to remain out of sight. "So those are the demons huh?"

She had to admit, they were as imposing as the name would imply. Certainly she wanted to avoid dealing with anything of that nature, and could see why so many nobles would have simply rolled over and collaborated.

Location: Herr Klein's Estate - Estergen City
Date: Day 7 - 2 PM

Thankfully the demon only glanced at you passingly. You could tell both Minette and Trudy had tensed up over the gaze, but the large demon was already back to harassing the people out on the streets.

"That... was... close..." Minette whispered quietly, keeping her head straight.

---

Location: Herr Klein's Estate - Birkensen Trading Company HQ
Date: Day 7 - 2 PM

Eventually arriving at the HQ, it was Trudy who first stepped out. She did so rigidly and formally, acting her part as a soldier. There were guards at the gates of the HQ, but like before when you first saw them, they weren't wearing a specific uniform, though they did keep sabres to their side. The guard saluted Trudy anyways.

"Please inform Frau Sofia Leiningen, that the representatives of master Herr Klein have arrived." When she finished saying this, she handed the guard the same letter of invitation. The guard took the letter but seemed to have been expecting you and your group.

He motioned to a few other guards.

"Thank you, please follow me in. One of us will take care of the carriage."

With that Trudy saluted once again, while the other soldiers with you hopped off the carriage.

The Birkensen Trading Company Headquarters was a large building, in fact, it seemed like the building had interconnecting hallways to yet more buildings on the entire block. The HQ itself was designed like most of the city, lots of metallic sheets that made up the walls, with sharp rigid corners. It looked to aim to be more more utilitarian than for any specific aesthetic. You also noted the fact that a wall surrounded the buildings on the block, with barbed wire at the top of the walls.

---

Location: Herr Klein's Estate - Birkensen Trading Company HQ
Date: Day 7 - 2 PM

Eventually you were ushered into a waiting room, while the person at the front desk came by with a variety of snacks and drinks. According to one of the guards, the food was okay, if not a bit bland, but having lunch just a bit earlier, meant that you weren't necessarily hungry. It was then that Minette spoke.

"This company... started off small. They focused mainly on apparel and jewelry... But after the war started, they grew and grew, cornering the market for weapons during the height of the war while we still had our government. They... Profited off the war... Afterwards... when the demons came into power, they continued to expand. Their most recent ventures are into the slave trade..."

Hanako decided not to partake of the refreshments. "I see... what sort of weapons do they manufacture? And are they mostly selling or buying the slaves?"

"They produce all sorts of weapons... and from what I heard have been experimenting with other kinds too. Things like mounting cannons on carriages... But during the height of the war... They stuck with the conventional ones, such as swords, sabres, spears, and the like. Many of the Refedorian people were drafted for the way, and many of them needed weapons...

At first they assisted the slave traders in selling slaves... But I know they have been buying slaves as well, since many of Klein's dealings with slave traders usually have competing offers, and the Birkensen Trading Company are mentioned..."

---

Soon enough, a familiar face appeared. It was Sofia Leiningen

"Ah..." Sofia's eyes scanned the various individuals in the room, as a hint of recognition came to her. After all, everyone here, with the exception of Minette, had been ones she met the first time.

"I'm quite pleased that representatives of Herr Klein accepted my offer. I very much know how... traumatized... the man must have been when he was dissuaded from going through with the summoning ritual. I take it... That he hasn't yet recovered?" She continued though, as if already knowing the answer.

"But it's been a week hasn't it? I take it things are still fine in the estate? Always know that I, Sofia Leiningen, would always be willing to lend a hand to Herr Klein in his time of need. We are business partners after all..."

"But in his place, I suspect the five of you will report back to him? I would very much like... To show you something... A new facility... With the expansion of the Birkensen Trading Company, and perhaps to Herr Klein's benefit as well?" Her eyes seemed to smile, but her face was impassive.

Hanako gave a respectful bow. "Of course Frau Leiningen, we would be glad to accompany you and see your new facility. Herr Klein does send his regrets he couldn't attend in person, he is still recovering indeed but everything is still fine at the estate. A moment if you will though, I must ask my companion to write something down so as I don't forget."

"If you could please Minette" she said, turning to the girl and waiting for her to withdraw her notebook and a writing implement. When she was ready, Hanako spoke slowly and clearly enunciating each separate syllable in the following sentence: "Ato-de. Wa-tashi-ta-chi o to-ri-na-sai. Shi-te-ki-na ba-sho." When she finished she made a small motion with her head toward Sofia, indicating that she should show her.

Minette was smart, and she hoped her Japanese was paying off. Ideally she would understand what Hanako meant and would write it in Refedorian.

Minette nodded, seeming able to understand. Trudy and the rest didn't understand a word of what you said however. Sofia continued to stare carefully at both you, and now Minette, as the latter began to write down what you said in Refedorian.

Minette then showed the message to Sofia. Sofia herself nodded.

"Well... If you follow me." Sofia said, without waiting for a response, she turned around and began walking out of the room.

---

As you made your way deeper into the complex, Sofia eventually lead the way down some stairs. Finally there was a door with guards on either end, which the guards promptly saluted and opened the way for both her and your troupe. Once there, she had lead you through more doors, and yet a second level further down. Each door having guards. It seemed like security was especially tight.

Finally, she made it to what looked like an old-style elevator at the center of a room. It looked like a metallic cage that was big enough to fit everyone. Once everyone was in it, the cage began to rattle and move downwards. Down and down the elevator went. There were glowing crystals at every few intervals, which Sofia explained.

"They are called mana crystals... Not something you see in our world, but apparently is used here." Whether or not it was the fact that the group was so deep into their case of operations, Sofia began to talk more frankly.

"The demons don't know I've been gathering and trading for them, and... I prefer to keep it that way." Sofia said calmly, a hint of sharpness in her voice. "Luckily we're far enough from prying ears."  At that moment the elevator stopped. A new set of doors were in front of you, and they opened.

Leading the way in, what you saw was a large room, filled with many workers, each of them hard at work creating something. However, what you noticed the most was what looked to be a girl in a cage, a collar strapped to her neck. She was panting hard, as the collar kept activating over and over. The glow from the collar was unique, it was a white and bright glow that seemed to burn her. She had long pink-colored hair, and her eyes a clear blue, she would have been a completely normal person, save for the fact that she had two horns that grew at the top of her head.

She noticed you and called out.

Spoiler

"Help... me..." He voice was full of pain.
(https://i.gyazo.com/186e84b0092dfa9866c17d22b6491ab3.jpg)

[close]

Quote"The demons don't know I've been gathering and trading for them, and... I prefer to keep it that way... Luckily we're far enough from prying ears."

"Naturally." agreed Hanako. When the elevator came to a halt and everyone stepped off her gaze was immediately drawn to the horned woman in the cage. "What the fuck is this!?" she said forcefully, all the faux politeness gone from her voice.

It was difficult not to jump to conclusions, and however bizarre and awful the scene before her was acting on impulse was not an option. However, depending on Sofia's answer there could be problems.

"That? Why... you've seen them walking around on the surface. It's a demon of course. We caught her snooping about... Which works for us too anyways." Her eyes flashed.


One of the guards handed her something, then she threw it over to you. It was a collar, designed similarly to the ones you yourself were familiar with. But these ones seem to include small fragments of the crystals you had seen earlier in the elevator shaft. The mana crystals.

"Regular collars... Don't work very well on demons you see. I give you the first of many... Demon slave collars!" As if on cue, the engineers working on tuning the slave collar retriggered it again, and this time around the horned girl collapsed in a fit of pain.

"Calibrating this is a bit tough, that seemed to have almost killed it. Tone it done maybe two percent?" One of the engineers who had a notebook and pen commented. Another one chuckled.

"Just two percent? If we can't kill it, maybe five percent?"

"You're right... Reduce it by one percent." The first responded with a sickening smile. Both found it funny as they began to change the settings.

"Believe it or not, it harnesses light magic... We simply infuse those stones with light magic, then, modify a slave collar to make use of that." Sofia continued ignoring the idle banter. "This new world... had a lot more fascinating things to it than our previous one..."

You notice Trudy tense up as she grabbed on to your shirt, then whispered quietly so only you could hear.

"Light magic... is rare."

"We've been developing new weapons as well... Much of them are in the prototype stage... Cannons the size of a sword and can be carried around for one. Not nearly as fascinating as the new slave collars, but with more experiments with these new mana crystals... I'm sure we can get something interesting going... Interesting enough for the demons too I would imagine." She smiled, though, it wasn't a warm one, it was one more akin to someone who had begun making plans, and seeing the results come to fruition.

"Perhaps... if only Herr Klein did summon the hero, most of the citizens would rally to his... or her... cause. Then perhaps even the Refedorian people would free themselves of the demons... Wouldn't you agree?"

"S-stop. N-no more!" The demon girl looked like she had tears in her eyes as the collar triggered again.

Uh oh. Moral quandry. Hanako thought watching the demon girl repeatedly subjugated to painful looking shocks.

"Do the females all look like this?" she whispered asked Trudy quietly. After hearing her response she turned to Sofia. "Light magic you say? I hear that's an uncommon element to use, how'd you manage that? she inquired.

Hanako turned the collar over in her hands, examining it. Then she thought Why the hell not?

"How do you work, collar?"

"Not all of them... Some are scarier... Most have red skin... Tones from red to blue or grey, but hers... She looks different."

"I'm glad you asked... There are some other interesting things we found out in this world... For example, these balls of light that the we bought from one of the noblemen here. Apparently it was akin to war spoils with the demons against the northern countries. Come, I'll show you." Sofia said leading the way.

At the same time, the collar began to speak to you, its voice only you can hear.

"Oh! How do I work? Well... I suck up this kind of energy from these gems embedded in me... Then... zap! I used to zap with electricity did you know? But I'm a changed man! Now it's a soft and warm glowing light... But then goes zap! Hahaha!"

"P-please...!" The demon girl continued to beg as Sofia began leading the way to the next thing she wanted to show you.

"Interesting, thank you." she thought spoke to the collar. "Do you happen to know exactly how much of a zap you can put on say... a demon, before they die?"

She gave a momentary gaze to the pink haired demon girl as she cried out again. For whatever reason, it felt wrong to let her suffer so much but that could also have been manipulation on her part. Hanako was not familiar with the demons and didn't know how guileful they could be.


"Is that so?" she asked Sofia, following her along. "Tell me, how exactly is it that you managed to catch her? She looks different from the ones I've seen outside." Hanako mused to herself about the potential of taking her. She would be hard to get back to the estate, and the others would... not be happy to see a demon in their midst.

"If I go full power, I can probably kill them! I told you! I'm a changed man!"

"The demon? They come to town fairly often... This particular one wanted a job... We happened to have had a position open for test subject." She smiled to herself. "So..."

"Ok, whats the smallest zap you could give one before they die?" she replied to the collar.

"Wait, she wanted a job?" Hanako asked, confused. "That seems odd. I assume you figured she was snooping?" The possibility wasn't out of the question, but something still bugged her

Hanako was still looking the collar over as she walked behind Sofia toward their next destination.

"The smallest zap before one dies? Those demons are pretty tough I hear. Probably depends on how tough it is... But I can guarantee you, if I go full power, I can probably kill one! I haven't tried it yet, oh, but I'm excited too!"

"Of course she wanted to snoop. The growth of the Birkensen Trading Company is nothing trivial. Even when the demons arrived here, we've been catering to our new overlords' needs. And then if we ended up refusing her, she would have gone straight to her superiors... It was better to accept her. So we did, for a short time... Though of course kept her closely watched. Once our collars were operational... well... We simply changed her position. She hasn't broken yet. But believe me, any slave can be broken. We'll find out exactly why she came here, or if somehow our operations here have already leaked to her superiors."

"She knows too much." She had her eyes trained on you. "Surely you understand what that means?"

"Hmm, thank you." she said to the collar.

"Right. Of course. Are all the collars that you're making for use on demons the same as this one? I'm sure you know that they have a limited effectiveness and will eventually stop working on them yes? Also, what keeps the wearer from smashing the mana crystals to disable the light magic? Not saying I know more about this than you, but I have... an eye for things like this. So to speak." Hanako tried to ask the questions in a way that didn't come off as condescending. "If you don't mind, before we leave I can take a look at the one your actively testing. Perhaps I can find the proper power setting your workers seem to be looking for."

Sofia shook her head.

"We're still testing, designing, and prototyping. Right now we've been modifying existing collars, but we've been thinking of building one from the ground up. Yes... I'm surprised you managed to pick out that these are limited-use collars. Unfortunately, as it is right now, we do not have a way to replenish the light magic that sustains it. We charge the crystals through a... process... Light magic is rare, and I do not know of-" She paused.

"Herr Klein's Isikawan soldier... are you by chance... adept at light magic?" She stared at you closely trying to read any tells that you might give away.

"And very well, feel free to take a look. I'll be waiting here."

---

The two engineers working on tinkering with the collar noticed your approach.

"The guests from... Herr Klein? Quite a beauty isn't she?" The first engineer said, he then triggered the collar again, and the demon girl collapsed again writhing in pain.

"The collar. Not the demon, of course.

Quote"Herr Klein's Isikawan soldier... are you by chance... adept at light magic?"

Hanako shrugged. "I wouldn't know, I've never tried. I won't be gone more than a moment." With that she returned to the chamber with the demon girl.

---

Quote"The collar. Not the demon, of course."

"Ah... right..." Hanako said, hesitantly. She knew that she was new to this world, this political situation, and shouldn't judge the zeal with which these men seemed to delight in torturing the girl. However, it did seem unsavory. "At what point do you become a monster yourself? she asked herself.

"If you could, for a few moments, suspend your tests so I can take a closer look at the collar she's wearing?"

Hanako leaned in and reached out to the collar with her mind to speak with it. "Excuse me, I know you are busy doing your job and all but could you answer a question for me to the best of your ability? About how low of a shock do you think you can do on a demon before they die? I assume you have some idea since you've been zapping this one for a while."

"Suspend the tests? Well, sure, sure... Come take a look."

When you stepped nearer, you noticed that the demon girl's wounds healed fast. Already, the burn marks were starting to go away. There was a thick metallic wire that came from the collar into some sort of terminal that the engineers were using.

"Hello miss! Why thank you! I do love being able to do a good job!" The voice that responded seemed to be feminine. "Well, you see, these two people keep setting me at high numbers. Even at 20% I can probably kill her, even though she has such amazing regeneration! I'm set at 16% right now... But they can probably get to around 24% before it outright kills her. 20% will damage her severely though and risk killing her. Personally... going at 4% should be the default, given how it was for when I shot off electricity!"

"Why thank you, that was very helpful." she replied to the collar.

"Gentlemen, I can say with absolute certainty that even with this subjects regenerative powers 4% should be your default. You're already close to killing her outright, I wouldn't recommend going higher than 10%. In the long run you're going to use up too much mana setting it so high and frying your captive won't do you any good. Trust me on this, I'm kind of an expert."

She turned back to the captive girl and looked deeply into her eyes, studying her face. "Why are you here?" Hanako said to her, in a gentle but stern voice.

When you neared her, she instinctively moved to the far end of the cage. She realized what you were saying however, and seemed to calm a bit slightly.

"I... I told them already! I... I thought humans were... I thought they were accepting!"

"There she goes talking again! Haha, to think she thought she had wormed her way into our company, despite being a demon... I'll have you know your 'coworkers' were all keeping a close eye on you."

The demon girl winced from his words.

Hanako cocked her head to the side, puzzled. "What... what makes you think that? You are aware that your kind currently has this country under occupation and is actively waging war against others right? If anything, most of them fear or hate your kind." She kept her tone pleasant, conversational even. What was the saying? You catch more flies...?

"I heard... humans live peacefully with other races... With demihumans too... The rest of the demons said this was a fun place... I thought I had... f-friends among you h-here."

The engineer laughed.

"You should have heard us talking about you whenever you left. But 4%? Hmm..." He triggered it then, and the damage still shocked the demon girl, but she wasn't writing in pain as much, nor was the damage to her neck as gruesome.

"I suppose that works, let me check the readings... Yeah. Didn't take that much juice out either, and it still hurt her fine."

Hanako ignored the engineer and continued in placid tones. "Yes, for the most part you could say they live peacefully with other races. Let me make this as clear as I can for you; your people have invaded this country and as a result of this they have inflicted a suffering upon the populace that has earned your kind a lot of hatred. I am sorry to tell you that you have no friends in this place, except perhaps me and that is very tenuous depending on how truthful you will be to me."

Hanako closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, then opened them again. "Who are you?"

"T-the t-truth?" Her eyes seemed to shift from the two engineers, to you, to Sofia behind you who had been watching intently, then finally back to you.

"I-I... c-can't tell you that... Y-you would hate me more." Her eyes couldn't meet yours, and she looked downwards.

Hanako leaned in close and lowered her voice to a whisper that only the girl could hear, "I doubt that. Let's trade a truth for a truth. I am not from this world. Though I don't like what I've seen your people do to the citizens of this country, many of them have done things just as awful or worse so I am, at best, impartial. I am only trying to protect the people that have shown me kindness and I expect the same from them in return. Now... Please. Tell me who you are."

It was a serious gamble to reveal her status as a summoned being, the girl could end up breaking under torture or escaping. After assessing the situation though it seemed like there was little choice. Sofia likely already knew so it wasn't as big a deal, and it was unlikely the girl would escape without some serious intervention.

Her identity must be something... interesting. Hanako thought.

Your honesty seemed to take the demon girl by surprise, and her eyes widened at your proclamation.

"M-my father... is Zehab Basu al Dazhum." She replied back, without meeting your gaze, and trying to whisper it as quietly as possible.

The name you recognized, as it was told to you once before. It was when Trudy was explaining what was happening in her country. That was the name of the Demon General that had subjugated Refedoria and is now acting as the shadow behind the current Refedorian Government.

"But... I'm an outcast."

Why am I not surprised... Hanako thought, she could have almost called the twist. What flag did I set for this turn of events?

"Is that so?" she asked. "What do you mean you're an outcast?"

"It's the color of my skin. The other demons tell me that my mother was a human, and Zehab Basu al Dazhum only tolerates my presence."

"Do you think that's true?" Hanako asked, wondering if it was merely a ploy to win her sympathies. Was it working if it was?

Before the girl could answer, Hanako was already asking another question. "Let me ask you this, even if you did come here under the idea that people would accept you... what do you think of them now? After all this?" It was an important question to ask. If she had begun to harbor any sort of animosity it might be too dangerous to continue with the line of thinking that had been running through the back of Hanako's mind. Though, admittedly it was slim that anyone would be so forgiving of their torturer.

At your words, the demon girl visibly shrank back.

"I've heard of other demons with skin similar to mine... But everyone here have skin that are red, or blue, or grey. I'm not sure... These humans betrayed me." She continued to whisper as a hint of both sadness and anger lit behind her eyes. You also couldn't help but notice that she called them 'humans'.

Hanako's eyes narrowed. "Mmmm... Let me ask you, why did you call out to me for help when I came down here? Wouldn't it stand to reason that if I'm here with her, I would be hostile to you as well?" She gestured to Sofia as she spoke. "If you were free, knowing what these people are doing and what they've done to you... how would you react?"

Hanako would have to stop talking with the girl soon, she was here for a reason and everything else was secondary. She needed to wrap this up.

The demon girl shook her head.

"I've seen your people as slaves here... I thought you were from... that human country... with dark-haired people. If you're not one of the yellow-haired ones, then you are a slave. And... these humans who I thought were my friends are treating me like one too."

"If I show any kind of aggression, they continue to keep activating my collar. I-if I was free..." Her eyes grew angry again.

"If this collar was off... I'd... I'd... I don't know. But please, don't leave me here."

Lot of anger in this one. Hanako thought, but wasn't surprised. If the situation was reversed, and in a way it had been, she would be just as angry. I wonder if Trudy hadn't, would I have been angry enough to kill Klein? she turned the thought away, it was irrelevant now.

"Yes, I suppose I do look like an Isikawan don't I? Let me lay it to you straight, I'm not a slave and neither are the other two that came with me. I don't believe people are property and regardless of who you might be, or what your people have done here it doesn't make it right to treat you this way. An eye for an eye, makes the world blind so to speak. Earlier, when I told them how they should set the collar, it was so they'd stop testing on you." She breathed deep preparing to commit to what was surely the path of most resistance, not usually one she traveled. "I don't know you, I only know the reputation of your people and it's not a good one. However, it is... unsavory for me to see someone treated like this. I make no promises, but I'll see about having you released. Into my custody. Where I can only assure you of one thing, that you won't be subject to torture. I cannot guarantee you friendship, I cannot guarantee you happiness, and with what you know of whats going on here... well, I can't guarantee you can ever go back to your people.

Hanako looked hard into the girls eyes. "Expect nothing, and be pleasantly surprised if things work out in your favor."

"I..." The demon girl's eyes started to waiver a bit. But she understood the conditions of your words.

"It's okay... I don't think I want to see my father or the other demons anyways. I just... I just want my own place in the world."

The two engineers had already left earlier, were now coming back.

"Hey, Isikawan girl, thanks for the help with the collar by the way. There's some other things we're going to be testing though... Plus I think the boss is waiting for you." He then whispered quietly as he played with a device that looked strangely like a gun in his hands. "The boss is kinda a big deal around here?"

"You can probably tell her what that is. After all, our boss allowed them to come down here..."

"Yeah, well..." He proceeded to show you the item in his hands. "It's based off the hand-cannons we've been developing... But instead of miniature cannon balls, this one is packed full of light magic. See the crystals here? They have the same issue with needing to be recharged... So after it's depleted we have to either recharge the whole thing, or throw it away... Wish we can replace it easier."

Behind you Sofia decided to sit down on a nearby chair, her legs folded. She eyed you, but then eyed both Minette, Trudy, and your other soldiers. She started speaking to them.

Hanako nodded to the girl, now that the two engineers were back they couldn't talk nearly as freely. She turned to the engineer with the device in his hands. "So its a gun that shoots magic? That's interesting. I'll ask Sofia about the recharge process, perhaps I can take a look at it later and see if I can think of anything. I shouldn't keep her waiting."

"Do me a favor, now that you've got the collars sorted out try not to hurt this one anymore" she pointed at the demon girl with her thumb, "I need to talk to your boss, but I've got plans and she needs to be whole and alive."

When she was done conversing with the engineers, she briskly walked over to where Sofia was talking to her companions. "Sorry that took longer than I thought it would. I got your collars calibrated however. Shall we continue where we left off?"

"Gun?" The engineer said, you could tell from the way his lips moved that he pronounced the word as is, rather than the weird feeling of seeing his mouth move one way, but you end up hearing something else altogether. "But it shoots magic, yeah. A bit ingenious actually. Usually it requires an incantation. But these mana crystals... They store all that energy, and all we need to do is a special enchantment which draws the power from the crystal. The collar functions the same way."

"She is our only test subject... I'm not sure..."

QuoteRoll Diplomacy, DC 15 if you want the Engineers to stop trying their experiments (they have a list of new devices they're eager to try)

---

"Be careful servant of Klein... Hanako. Demons are known to tell lies." Her eyes pierced through yours, but the hardness faded as she stood up and began to lead the way.

As you moved along, you noticed a lot of slave workers working on creating more collars, or weapons. It wasn't just limited to the experiments they were doing. There was a lot of weapon manufacturing that was going on. Different types of guns, and plenty of other weapons. There were some that seemed to be making metallic armored carriages as well, along with large cannons mounted on them.

Finally, Sofia stopped the journey in front of a large glass tube. Kind of like a specimen chamber. It was had a diameter of at least 5 ft. And was about 10 ft. high. Inside was a glowing ball of light that seemed to lie near the bottom.

And then... Something strange happened.

The ball of light in your vision seemed to warp and transform into a small winged-creature. It was like a little fairy with butterfly wings. There was one of them in there. A moment later, it disappeared from view again, and turned back into a ball of light. If Sofia noticed, she didn't say anything, neither did anyone else in your group.

Sofia began to explain.

"You might not be able to see them... But if you stare near the bottom of it... There's actually something there." Sofia said motioning towards where the lights were. How Sofia was describing it, seemed as if she didn't see it herself. "Just stare for awhile..." Sofia said as she herself concentrated on the spot.

"There. That ball of light that appeared momentarily? That's the source of our light magic."

How Sofia was describing it, clashed with what you were seeing. There was no ball of light that momentarily appeared from nothingness. What you saw was an actual ball of light, that flashed into butterfly winged-creatures momentarily. In those few times when it momentarily appeared as a winged-creature, it looked like it was in pain.

---

Quote"Demons are known to tell lies."

"Yes I can imagine. Let's talk about that later though." Hanako said, following after Sofia.

She walked along with her companions, trailing after Sofia as she led them through the facility. Taking note that the workers were all slaves. She noticed that a variety of the weapons produced bore striking resemblance to things from her own world, albeit rudimentary.  Are they making... tanks?

At last arriving at the glass tube, Hanako looked on as a creature flickered in and out of sight from a glowing ball. It was instantly recognizable to her (as a surprisingly common fetish). "Fairies? Your source of light magic is a fairy? It looks like it's in pain."

"Well... Alright, there's other ways to test the energy output of this baby." The engineer said, he and the other began walking away, talking amongst themselves.

Before you left, you heard the demon girl whisper back to you.

"Thank you..."

---

Sofia blinked a couple of times.

"Faeries? Don't be silly, this isn't some story book." She paused however, a thought coming to her.

Her next words were probing.

"You don't see anything else do you?"

Hanako heaved her shoulders up and laid her palms out flat, an exaggerate shrug because she didn't know what to say. "Look, I'm being straight with you here. I can see the balls of light as plain as the nose on your face, it's been visible since I walked in here. However, it does sort of... wiggle... into the shape of a tiny person with wings. If that's not a fairy, then I don't know what to say."

Was that the right thing to say? Hanako wondered. If Sofia didn't know, should she? Did she care that much about inflicting suffering on others as long as the ends justified the means? Why is it that no matter where I go in this place, I have to find somebody getting enslaved or tortured? Would it kill you to send me somewhere nice for a change? the internal question was directed at a nebulous divine being and not anyone in particular. Though it was Erato that put her here...

Sofia seemed to consider your words for a moment, her eyes drifting back to the bottom of the specimen chamber.


"Those glowing orbs was a gift to one of the nobles of our country from the demons he supported. He unfortunately suffered a mysterious accident a few months ago, but lucky for us... He owed our company quite a lot of money, and so, all of his assets simply transferred to us."

"A pity really. He was quite an amiable fellow. As it stands however, this Light-magic generating phenomenon is simply the property of the Birkensen Trading Company."

This woman is crazy dangerous. Hanako thought.

"Yeah that seems about right." she said with a sigh. "It's not really my place argue what you're doing here and why you're doing it, but you should really be careful you don't end up a monster yourself in the process."

She walked over to the glass tube and put a hand on it, peering inside at the little creature. "Where I'm from, my country, was occupied once at the end of a war. The opposing power forced us into surrender after a very long, very bloody conflict by dropping what they called 'atom bombs' on some of our cities. The magnitude of destruction is literally beyond your comprehension. An entire city flattened to nothing, and anyone that survived would die later of burns or cancer. They apologized for it later, not even everyone in their government wanted to use them. The scientists themselves struggled with the weight of their own creation. My country recovered during the occupation and things got better, then we were back on our own." She turned back to Sofia, "Nobody forgets though, when 'the ends justify the means'. Your business is your own, but you should be careful."

She stuffed her hands into her pockets. "How do you get the magic out of her?"

Sofia took awhile to respond, though her face remained impassive. First however, she answered your question.

"It's a minor spell, one that moves mana from one thing to another. It wasn't normally useful for much of anything back in our world. But here... with the mana crystals? It's another story altogether. It's laughable how the magic employed by the people of this new world is so far lacking... They have the basics of elemental magic, but no other progress in any other areas. Apparently, there was once a kingdom of mage scholars called the Idorian Magic Kingdom that was summoned here. But, their capital and country were overrun since before our piece of Refedoria made it here. It would have been fascinating to see their research..."

"The story you tell is interesting however. I haven't considered the idea of a bomb with the capability of leveling a city." Sofia remarked as she nodded, completely missing the mark of your conversation. "Though... the mana requirements for that would be astro-" An idea flicked in her head, and she seemed to smile instead, cutting herself mid-sentence.

"Thank you Hanako... I think I know exactly where to get a replenishable supply of mana."

"I see you missed the point of that completely, but do go on." Hanako groaned, They never learn until it happens to them...

It was getting to the point where it might have been a better option to just cut ties and get out, but knowing what Sofia might be scheming would be good to know for the future. Hanako might end up having to sabotage whatever it ended up being.

With that Sofia lead the way to a table and a chair nearby.

Sitting down she motioned for you to sit. The rest of your group would follow right behind. Once you were comfortable, Sofia continued.

"But... on to the matter at hand. I have a proposition for you."

"I'm sure you've noticed, but the people of this country... Fear and respect the hero. You're a symbol for most of the common folk, and even for some of the nobles still. If you were to rally the Refedorian people... They would likely follow your lead... And with the armaments that I, Sofia Leiningen and the Birkensen Trading Company is producing, retaking the government isn't just some silly ideal."

"I'm sure the sight of demons has you reeling, no?" Sofia stared at your carefully.

Hanako steepled her fingers in front of her face as she leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table. "I can't say I like what I've heard no, but I also have seen a lot that I don't care for that they aren't a part of." She breathed. "What you're suggesting is king-making isn't it? You want me to rally the people in an armed revolt with these light weapons. Do you think that's going to work? There's more to revolution than just a mob with weapons and ideals. Are you talking guerilla warfare?"

To be fair, Hanako had intended to at least make a pass at leading an armed conflict against the demons (what else could she do really?), but the plan was to skip off to Isikawa and raise an army there to return in force after actually learning how to fight.

Sofia shook her head, but smiled.

"Of course not. A disorganized mob is as dangerous to the country as it is to the demons. Plus hardly do I believe that common-folk can do what our soldiers could not."

"No... I've been in contact with the government in Isikawa and the Felencorp United Alliance, and trying to reach the kingdom of Bürsteig. Our kingdom of Refedoria happen to have a lot more technologies that the countries of this world are interested in... We are a bit ahead of the rest in terms of magi-science as well. I've described these new weapons we've been producing... And frankly, they are quite interested."

"Of course, officially, there is no trading at all between our separate countries. The demons like to keep us in-check as much as possible. However... Herr Klein was planning such a route, the demon-boot licker was going to meet with them too, was he not? I have no set date for aid from the other countries... It may takes weeks, perhaps a few months to get everything in order. But, at least the Isikawan government promised aid for whenever our pieces are in place."

That's... convenient. Hanako thought, trying not to show the surprise on her face.

She sat back in the chair and rested one foot on her knee at the ankle, a very unladylike way to sit, her mother would be aghast. "Its interesting that you bring this up, because I actually came here planning to organize a sort of exodus of Klein's slaves to Isikawa with your help. I figured if their culture is as similar to mine as their looks are, I would be able to ingratiate myself to a local lord and start working on a little insurgency. Coming with gifts will certainly help though... If that's where you're going with this."

"It's more than just gifts. My company did not reach its heights due to such things. It's a trade. A business deal. An agent from Isikawa had smuggled in a load of these mana crystals. Which is what you're seeing us use now. However... We need more of it. I have a shipment of prototype weapons and collars made from the mana crystals that I am to send back to the Isikawa Sovereignty. In return, they will continue to attempt to keep smuggling mana crystals to us."

"This is my proposal..." Sofia said, explaining. "Either use Klein's connections to have our government open trade lines to the kingdoms of the Ampur Slave Kingdom, Koteen Tribes, or possibly the Bashkassia Federation or the Kingdom of Bürsteig. Or, you deliver the shipment yourself to Isikawa."

"Between the choices, the former is potentially safer, though, more time will be taken for the goods to reach their intended destination... Smuggling it yourself can be risky as well. But... If you're already planning on an exodus of Klein's slaves to Isikawa, then perhaps those goals already align. And yes, I wouldn't want the hero of Refedoria to meet their untimely demise for a small thing such as a shipment of goods. Your kind is a rare commodity, one that I would not so easily squander."

"Taking all of Klein's slaves though? Doesn't he have around a thousand? That kind of exodus would not escape the eyes of the demons. My company HQ, at least the upper levels, have ears listening, they will notice a large group if they all left at once. What do you think... of a deal?"

"The Birkensen Trading Company is always looking to expand after all." Her eyes glinted in the low-light of the underground factory and testing lab. "... and we can always use more slaves."

"A commodity huh..." Hanako said, raising an eyebrow. Don't think I didn't notice that. You'll wind up like Klein if you think you can own me.

She waved a hand dismissively. "We already have taken that into consideration. While ships are built or bought et cetera, small groups of people will be shuffled from the mines and other facilities we don't have complete control over to ones that we do, then move them to the ships and leave. I'll tell you flat out now, that I don't believe that people are property and I won't be leaving them in your care. Plus, who would I have to help me found a little outpost to train and launch insurgents from if they stayed here?"

Hanako shifted forward in her seat. "However if it's the opportunity for expansion you'd like, I have some mines and a foundry I would be willing to split profits from at a generous cut in exchange for a few things."

"I see... It looks like you've already decided then? In that case, if your destination is Isikawa, I would still need a way for my shipment to be smuggled to that country..."

"It looks like you have some things that I would want... It's a pity you won't part with your slaves, but let's talk business, shall we? I can be fair in my dealings, provided there's profit. To our Refedorian hero, I will of course be fair." She kept her face impassive, but her eyes were smiling.

QuoteWe can do the actual negotiations out of the topic, and we'll summarize it, just mention what you want to trade. Keep in mind details of who pays the Consumption costs for upkeep of the mines/foundry/people, along with all the other potential contracts/plans Klein has. Note also what you want. If you want to attempt to Diplomacy, Bluff, or Intimidate Sofia, feel free to roll those as well.

"One would hope." Hanako said, motioning for Minette to come closer so she could keep track of the negotiations. "Here's what I'm willing to trade..."

What followed was a short explanation of Hanako's demands, and what she was willing to trade for them.

While looking over the examples of Sofia's newly developed firearms, Hanako attempted to give a rudimentary explanation of how barrel rifling and cartridge ammunition worked. If she was going to be buying guns, she wanted the absolute cutting edge the continent had to offer.

Handling the negotiations, both of you listed what you wanted. Sofia wanted to use you as the Birkensen Trading Company's hero, but you had flatly refused, she eventually settled for using you as a way to smuggle the shipments of weapons out. Along with 50% of Klein Company's profits. In return, she would give you the Demon slave, three Galleys with a full crew each, 7 pistols, 2 light magic pistols, 2 light magic collars, estate keepers, a fake 'Klein', a slave that can use the mana transfer magic for recharging the mana crystals, along with Sofia's services for handling Klein Company's future and current deals.

Overall, she seemed extremely pleased, and had even pulled out a couple of contracts for the both of you to sign. With that done, you moved on to the topic of rifles.

When you described how the rifle worked. Her eyes lighted up. She held out a finger to stop you. After that, she snapped her fingers, and a couple of engineers came over to listen. You explained it then, and they soaked up the information, and wrote down their own notes.

After a few minutes of discussion amongst the engineers, they reported back to Sofia.

"I think I can get you these rifles in a week. It looks like there's some experimentation they want to do, but it should be feasible."

"Fantastic." Hanako smiled. This was going better than she thought. There was a pang of guilt at not securing the fairy's release, but it wasn't likely that Sofia would have gone for it. After everything was said and done something that Sofia had mentioned earlier crawled up from the back of Hanako's mind.

"Say... earlier when you totally misinterpreted what I was talking about and started thinking about building bombs, you mentioned you knew where you could get a replenishable supply of mana. What exactly did you mean by that...?"

Sofia smiled as her eyes stared at yours closely. She pulled out what looked to be a mana crystal from somewhere on her person.

"Listen around you. What do you hear?" She asked, then paused for a few seconds. "The sounds of slaves hard at work for the Birkensen Trading Company. But even though we make use of their might, their hard work, their perseverance, and drive... There's something we have yet to make use of."

"Did you know, that every living creature out there has mana?" Placing the crystal on the table, she pushed it towards you.

"A small gift. Do whatever you please with it." She smiled.

"They store mana quite well."

Hanako's eyes darted between Sofia and the crystal on the table, there was an up-welling of disgust that she fought hard to keep from her face at what was just suggested. "Are you talking about... draining these people of their mana? You'll just have them wake up, suck them dry and then put them back to work after?"

She picked the crystal up and turned it over in her hand, examining it.

"You don't even see them as people do you?" she asked rhetorically, almost a whisper.

Sofia frowned.

"Of course they're people. But they are also the backbone of our company. They do not have their freedom, but they are fed well, clothed, cleaned, and housed. For those that show exceptional promise, we move them up in position, and perhaps eventually working up on the first floor. It's hardly as inhumane as how some nobles keep their own slaves."

"But they are striving for the good of the company. We'll probably do some test runs first of course... See how draining it is for us to capture their mana in those crystals. Either way... I see a lot of benefit to these. Better we're prepared for the worst. After all, if word had ever come out on the true goals of the Birkensen Trading Company, a horde demons would be charging through our HQ this very moment."

"If the demons were driven off and your country could self rule again, would they be freed and given a fair wage?" Hanako prodded. It was true that she hadn't seen anyone besides the fairy and the demon girl mistreated, but slavery was still slavery... "You are right though, that you should be prepared."

Sofia paused, staring at you carefully.

"It doesn't change the fact that they are property. I would hire those who show skill, or potential in business or paperwork... Perhaps more engineers, leaders in our company, and the like... But for the truly unskilled? If all they are good for are the menial jobs that they are given, then that is all that they will amount to. Either way, there's enough people in the world to cater to those needs."

Hanako shrugged. "If that's how you see it, we are diametrically opposed. That doesn't change the fact that we are working toward a common goal however. I'll begin making our preparations once we return to the estate, and provided nothing happens to change the course of events we will begin smuggling when everything is ready."

She tapped her fingers on the table for a second, thinking. "I may have something else to share later, but I need to see to some things before I can do so. I'll send a letter if and when the situation allows."

With the dealings complete, Sofia had ordered some of her men to initiate the ritual of a collar ownership. It was similar to how you did yours, and they had even produced contracts for the purpose. Once that was done, you were the owner of two more collars. Along with that, they loaded a box full of the weapons you had ordered, and each one also came with plenty of extra ammo.

Finally, when Sofia's men released the cage that kept the demon, she looked in surprised.

"W-what's happening...?" One of Sofia's men triggered her collar then, causing her to reel from pain, and in that same moment, he disabled the collar on her, and replaced it with the new one assigned to you.

"Trigger the collar by just willing it. By default it will be set to whatever setting is decided for its default. Otherwise, explicitly set it to a higher or lower setting."

The demon girl scrambled up to her feet again once one of the men roughly forced her to stand up. He then threw the demon slave towards Trudy.

"Keep a tight grip on her."

"Y-yes..." Trudy stammered, though, you noticed that Trudy didn't really hold on as tightly as Sofia's men had suggested. The demon slave girl looked from Trudy, then her eyes reached for you. There was confusion on her face still, but you also saw the glimmer of hope.

Hanako watched as the collars were switched and the girl was released into Trudy's less than tight grip. "You should probably do what was advised" she said softly, "For everyone's safety."

To the demon she spoke in the same soft tone, "You're coming along with us. I implore you, please don't do anything any of us will regret. We'll be covering you up a bit for the ride, please bear with it."

Before they left, Hanako took some time to cover up the girl with whatever they had on hand to disguise her horns. Once they were in the carriage they would block her vision. It was only right to be careful, you never know how things might turn out and it would be a shame to be discovered so soon after an agreement had been reached.

Trudy nodded, and continued to have a tight hold on the demon girl, another one of your soldiers flanked her as well.

Soon enough, Sofia called for a slave to be brought to you as well. It looked to be a young girl, shorter than you. She had a collar on as well, and Sofia mentioned it was already assigned to you. At the very least, this slave was clothed properly, and her eyes didn't seem as dead as the ones you remember back in Klein's dungeon.


Eventually, the seven of you were shown up the elevator (including the demon slave and the specialized slave), though Sofia said her goodbyes while you were still down at the bottom levels. She had wanted to discuss the new plans of the bomb with a couple of others. Two of your soldiers were carrying the large box that contained the goods that you had just bought. With your lack of confidence making Klein's signature, Sofia promised to send a courier to you in a couple days to finish that paperwork.

QuoteFor my own notes:

2,000 GP = Demon Slave
20,000 GP = Galley 1
5,000 GP = Crew Complement (20 men)
20,000 GP = Galley 2
5,000 GP = Crew Complement (20 men)
20,000 GP = Galley 3
5,000 GP = Crew Complement (20 men)
3,000 GP = Estate keepers and Fake Klein
500 GP = Specialized Slave with Magic for Transferring
4,000 GP = Handling Klein's Future Contacts/Contracts/Business deals
5,000 GP = Light Collar 1
5,000 GP = Light Collar 2
7,000 GP = 7 Pistols
4,000 GP = 2 Light Magic Pistols

In return:
44,000 GP = 11 BP a month (50% of Klein's profits)
Smuggling for this shipment

Your aid with the demon girl's disguise really only amounted to a cloak that she would wrap around herself, however, the demon girl kept it close to her, knowing full well that a change in environment could potentially mean a better situation than she found herself in. Soon enough the carriage was loaded with both the new slaves, along with the box of new weapons.

---

Location: Herr Klein's Estate
Date: Day 7 - 4 PM

You managed to escape the suspicions of the demons, your soldiers were good at blending in the background, no doubt it was something Klein had done often in his business trips.

The demon girl was still flanked by Trudy and one other, and her eyes widened when she was brought into the estate. It was then that she took off her hood as well, but in that moment a couple of your soldiers eyes widened, and they all pulled out their swords. Many of the other slaves too who had noticed began to back away warily.

"Frau Hero... That's a demon."

QuoteNote you also have 2 hours of free training left for the day. Since you met with Sofia, go ahead and take your Kingdom turn. You'll get to have full profits for this, its for the next set of rolls 30 days from now which Sofia will take the 50%.

Quote"Frau Hero... That's a demon."

"That she is, please sheath your swords. She won't be causing us any trouble and for the most part I doubt you'll have a lot of interactions with her. I have my reasons for bringing her here and I simply ask that you cause her no harm, and are at least polite if you speak with her. I am deadly serious when I say that if I find out she has been hurt, there will be consequences. So lets all just be polite shall we?"

It was the reaction she expected. She knew that the others wouldn't understand, but that was largely irrelevant for now. Later Hanako would surely have to face a grilling from Trudy and Minette, and she would probably tell them why she took her from Sofia but that was later tonight.

To the other newcomer, Hanako smiled gently. "Carol was it? You can just call me Hanako I'm glad to have you with us, and I hope you'll be able to show me how that transfer magic works sometime soon. For now, lets get you out of that collar and find you someplace to sleep."

She returned her attention to Trudy and the demon girl. "Find her a bedroom if you can, and some clothes please. Maybe a simple meal too. When she's set up, go ahead and lock the door as I think that would be in everyone's best interests for now." She placed a hand on the demon girl's shoulder, "I'll stop by later once you're settled in. We need to speak. You should be... safe, or at least safer here. Try not to cause any problems, please."

"A-alright..." The soldiers responded as they sheathed their weapons one by one. A couple of them continued to glare at the newcomer however.

Trudy spoke next.

"I'll make sure to let the other soldiers and slaves know... The most easily defended room is the one on the second floor. There are no windows, but... the room is nice!" Trudy said, trying to offer something in return. The demon slave girl nodded slowly, though she continued to keep her head down. She whispered quietly towards you.

"Thank you... A bedroom... A human bedroom..." Her voice was almost in wonderment, and you recognized a bit of excitement in it.

Trudy began leading the way as a couple of soldiers followed behind.

"Taking it off? Won't we need to go back to the slaver to get this removed?" Carol asked, though she did note that many of the slaves there didn't have collars. You can tell she was anxious, and there some confusion in her voice. "A-are you freeing me...?" Carol dared to ask hesitantly.

QuoteTrainings
Klein's Signature: 3/4
Minette Japanese: 5/8
Power Attack: 1/8

Hanako nodded her thanks to Trudy as she took off with the girl.

Quote"A-are you freeing me...?"

"Hm? Yeah of course, people aren't property." Hanako replied to Carol. I feel like I have to say that a lot...

"I mean, you should probably stick around the estate so you don't get recaptured or anything but you're free. You don't even really need to show me how the transfer magic works if you don't want to, but it would be nice." she continued, chuckling a little. "Lemme take a look at that." she said, meaning the collar.

The collar simply snapped off of the girl. She blinked a couple of times, then pulled the entire thing off.

"H-how did you...?" She shook her head, then rushed to give you a hug.

"But... Thank you!" She said as you noticed her getting emotional. Once she let go she looked at you brightly. "I'll still teach you or anyone else the magic though... It's the least I can do."

QuoteUnless a specific NPC is considered a 'genius' on a particular field, training time for them is much longer. The DCs remain the same, but they will need x4 times more Required Successful Training. They can, of course, practice self-teaching once they get their first set of lessons. If you want any of your NPCs to learn new things, just start them on that process.

You spent the next few hours working on Klein's signature.

---

Location: Herr Klein's Estate - Demon Slave's room
Date: Day 7 - 6 PM

Around dinner time was when you made your way to the demon girl's room. Her room was on these second floor, one of the few rooms in the estate that had no windows. There were two guards posted there, but with the fact that they were guarding a demon, a couple of other soldiers decided to move bedrooms to ones closer to it, in the off-chance that their help would be needed. Trudy had shown the guards the new weapons, specifically the light-magic pistols, and it was these that the guards were using.

The soldiers saluted when you neared, and once you went through the door you saw the demon girl. She was curled up in her bed, seemingly sleeping peacefully, with the collar still on her neck.

"No problem." Hanako replied after Carol had given her thanks. "That's great, I'll probably come see you about it in the next few days, for now you can just do whatever. If you're looking to help out I'm sure someone around here could use a hand."

---

After entering the room Hanako quietly shut the door behind her. She got comfortable quick. Though I guess I'd be pretty tired too if I spent all day getting shocked repeatedly.

She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, observing for a few moments. "Are you awake?" she whispered.

"Mmm..." The demon girl started to stir, but when she realized someone else was in the room with her, she bolted awake, immediately began moving away in alarm, but calmed soon enough after recognizing you.

"You..." The demon girl began. She didn't know what to say though, as she looked timidly at you, but eventually began fidgeting with her fingers and focusing on that.

"Sorry, wasn't trying to scare you." Hanako said, reassuringly. "You seem to have settled in. I'm sorry that you're still in a collar, but for the time being it's probably in everyone's best interest that you wear one. I'll let you know up front that the other people in this house don't trust you and would be... unhappy to see you wandering around without one on. You'll probably be sort of stuck in this room for a while as well, which I apologize for but it is for your safety." She looked around the room. "A gilded cage, but a cage none the less I suppose."

The situation was going to be delicate for a while, she hoped the girl would understand. For now, Hanako would simply focus on making her comfortable and the rest would come in time.

"So, I assume you have a name? Mine is Hanako, nice to meet you under better circumstances."

"Hanako... Thank you Hanako." The demon girl said as she lowered her head briefly.

"Hanako... Thank you Hanako. My name is umm... Falah Basu al Dashuum." She said continuing to fidget with her fingers, and avoiding staring at you directly.

Hanako scratched the back of her head and chuckled disarmingly. "That's a bit of a mouthful, does Falah work for short?"

One of the bizarre things about her status as hero was the ability to understand and speak to everyone without actually knowing any of the languages. It made everyone look like they were in a foreign film dubbed to Japanese. She wondered what it looked like to everyone she spoke to while she was speaking rapid Japanese. For that matter, did it change the way her voice sounded? Or her pronunciation? Certain letters in a foreign word could be hard to pronounce correctly and for a brief second Hanako had the irrational fear that she was saying all these words in... what did the Americans on the internet call it? Engrish?

"Yes. Falah is okay. I introduced myself as that to the Birkensen Trading Company... Am I.... going to have a job here?" Though she was speaking to you, she seemed to continue concentrating on fidgeting with her fingers.

"Ummm, not that I mind staying here in this room... It's so much nicer than the small room I had in the Birkensen Trading Company. And... a lot nicer than the cage... I never had a bed as soft as this one before." Falah explained. "As a half-breed, most of the other demons didn't really care for me, and I simply tried to exist along with them. I was testing the bed earlier... and it was just so soft I couldn't help but kinda nap!"

"Yeah I can imagine. The guy who used to live here was pretty well off so the bed's are pretty nice." Hanako drummed her fingers on her knee. "A job huh... well, mostly I just wanted to get you out of the situation you were in. I'm sure we can find something for you to do around here, but this place is less a business and more like uhh... how would I put it... a bunch of runaway slaves?"

Hanako stopped tapping her fingers, and ran them through her hair exhaling as she did so. "What uhh, can you do?"

She thought for a moment...

"Umm... I am very good at cleaning." Falah said. "I cleaned Lord Maou's castle every day! Then when I came here... I did a lot of cleaning too at the company before they betrayed me..."

"What else... A-ah, umm... My demonic powers aren't as good as the others. So I've been trying to learn how to use the sword too. On my way here, I met a nice person who called herself a samurai and taught me some things. She's the one who told me that humans were nicer than demons, which is why I made my way here to this country where demons can walk the streets..."

You noted that the word Falah used for 'samurai', was in your own language. Her lips moved the same as you would expect, and you didn't feel the strange disconnect for mouth movement to the 'dub' you heard in your head.

"Lord Maou? I can't say I recognize the name, but lets circle back to that in a second. Did you say a samurai?"

Hanako had to double check what she just heard, clearly Falah had said samurai in Japanese. It wasn't a far stretch to assume that she had actually just spoken Isikawan, but it seemed an uncanny coincidence that the language of Isikawa was just Japanese.

"Did this woman look like me? Was she Isikawan or did she say she came from somewhere else?"

Falah shook her head.

"No... Her hair was golden like everyone else in this country. But she didn't look Isikawan... She did wear clothes that looked similar to theirs though. She told me she was Refedorian... But she was headed for the capital while I made my way here to Estergen, since this was where father was at."

Gaijin samurai huh? Weeaboos even in an alternate world... Hanako mused.

"She was headed to the capital you say? Whatever for? Sorry, it's just the word you said is my native language and I'd not heard anyone speak that since I came here. It was... interesting."

She would have to think about following up on that later.

"Anyway, you said you cleaned at a castle owned by Lord Maou? Who is that exactly?"

Bringing Falah here was already paying off, she had information on the demons that probably was more extensive than anyone else she knew. Though it wasn't like that was the only reason she brought her here.

Falah shook her head.

"To... 'take back the country'... But she was always a bt weird and funny so I wasn't sure if she was actually telling the truth or not..."

"Lord Maou... or Lord Maou Folgias al Dazhum, is a demon lord of the Western Demon Country. He's the one that holds the highest seat among the demons here, and has a lot of respect from the other demon lords in the other countries. He's the demon lord that my father, Zehab Basu al Dazhum, follows. I was in his castle when I was young."

"I wish her luck." Hanako said, shrugging. "Sorry for not knowing any better, but is your father related to this Lord Maou? I'm not familiar with how the names of your people work."

The blond 'samurai' aside, Hanako needed every bit of information she could get out of Falah. When, not if, the others in the house started to question why the girl was here she would need a reason to give them other than 'because I didn't think she needed to suffer so much.

"My father is one of his demon generals... But if you mean if Lord Maou is related by blood, no. Demon generals and their kin take the name of the Lord they are under."

"Ah, I see." Hanako nodded. "Well, I can see about maybe finding you some cleaning to do or something since I imagine you'll get bored. I gotta warn you ahead of time though that you'll have a guard detail following you around, it's as much for your protection as anyone else. The people here won't hurt you, but don't expect them to be anything more than polite at best. Demons have a negative reputation in this country due to the occupation so your kind aren't well liked."

Hanako stood up and stretched. "Again, sorry you still have to wear the collar. The situation is complicated. You aren't a slave though, and I'm not gonna make you do anything weird."

"That's alright... Thank you Hanako... Why are you doing this? I thought the people in the Birkensen Trading company were nice until they betrayed me. Umm... But thank you, I guess... not all humans are mean."

"It might be a little more complicated than simply being mean, but in the end it doesn't matter really. It's the actions, not the reason for them that are important." Hanako said, as she crossed her arms and looking at the floor. "I brought you here because I didn't like how they were treating you, but like I said before, I'm an outsider here so my perspective on things is a little different."

She made for the door, turning before she left. "I'll talk to Trudy about finding you something to do. If you need anything from me, let the guards outside know and they'll come find me if I'm on the property. Who knows, in time the situation may change and it won't be necessary anymore. For now though, we'll take it day by day. I'll talk to you later Falah."

---

When she left the room Hanako paused to speak to the guards that were posted there. "I know you don't want to, and you probably can't reason why I brought her here, but try not to treat her harshly. I've told her that if she needs to speak to me to ask whoever is standing watch, so just let me know. If you can pass that on to whomever relieves you I'd appreciate it."

The soldier nodded.

"Yes, Frau Hero. We change shifts every two hours for the front door, back door, your room, and we'll be adding this one as well." He paused. "Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"

I think I know where this is headed... Hanako thought to herself.

"Granted, though you always can really." she said waiting for the inevitable.

"I don't think you should keep her here, ma'am. Demons are crafty... If she found out out that you were the hero? Who's to say she won't turn your in herself or try to kill you?"

QuoteIt's still only 6 PM. If you have any other things you want to do this day, let me know. You are passed your free 8 hours of training, but you can always try the Forced Training rules.

"That's fair" Hanako said, shifting her weight to her back foot and stuffing her hands in her pockets. "Don't mistake my generosity for trust though. You saw she was still wearing that collar right? It's different from the ones Klein had, this one is especially effective against demons so if there were a need for it, she'd be under control."

She gave the soldier a serious look next, but kept her tone pleasant. "I meant what I said before though, until she actually does something actively hostile she's to be treated with the same basic courtesy as anyone else. Don't hit her, don't be nasty to her, don't make threats. I've made it very clear to her that she won't be mistreated, but she is not free. I understand this is a complex situation, but there will be benefits to this."