NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1.55 – Exit
Fiona woke with the sun and still sat propped against Penthi's house, lap empty. Liddy must have woken up earlier and headed off. She felt for her, it must have been so hard, but Fiona didn't have any reason to believe it hadn't happened just as she said. And she didn't think she had any other way of surviving than using the stone. She stood up, back sore, and headed into the house to look for her friends.
She saw most of them sleep how she'd left them, the cuddling in front of the fire seeming to have lulled them off to sleep. Liddy had restarted the fire and stood over it, stirring the pan. Penthi was the only other one up and about, as she was handing Liddy more ingredients to put into the pan.
"Morning, what are you doing?" Fiona asked as she approached today's chef, laying a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh... Morning. I just.." She looked a bit shy. "I wanted to surprise yo- Everyone with breakfast." She smiled awkwardly at Fiona. "Thanks for... Thanks for listening yesterday. It helped."
"It's okay, it's what friends are for. Need any help?" She stood next to the pot - root vegetables and mushrooms again. It seemed the centaurs were entirely vegetarian.
Liddy shook her head. "No, no I'm making it for everyone - Penthi's helping" The centaur at her mentioned name, smiled and handed the sea gnome some crushed herbs to add to the pan. "You just sit - It'll be ready soon."
Fiona was happy to be cooked for and had a seat on the opposite side of the fire watching the monk prepare their meal, nostrils relishing the delicious smells coming from the pan.
"You have any thoughts on where the portal will be?" She'd just been enjoying watching the small lean woman preparing her breakfast, Liddy's muscles rippling even doing small tasks. She was so hot. Not that the less muscular women in the party weren't just...
Women hot, Fiona figured. She was very lucky they all seemed to find her hot as well - she'd taken a moment to get used to that, but had over the last few days accepted that yes. She was hot, the hot women she spent every day with thought she was hot, they were friends and liked doing stuff. Friends with benefits, she could compute that. She really, really liked her friends.
"Penthi said most Climber's who finish helping them with whatever they need head off towards the south of the plains." Liddy said, stirring the pot while knocking Fiona out of her daydreaming. "Not all of them but - Maybe that's a good place to start? Anyways, wanna wake everyone up - I think this is done!"
Liddy got the most amount of physical contact she had so far in the party in the appreciative hugs from everyone for making breakfast, and the party Climber's got ready to set off. Penthi, Pertha, and the warriors they all rode with offered to take them to the southern plains, and the group prepared to leave the town. Early in the morning, it was busy, adventurers milling about ready to set off on whatever quest their parties had. Fiona spotted Annabelle looking at a bunny girl in a white robe again, but the goblin quickly shook her head and looked away. She was hot, but that wasn't like Annabelle. She needed to talk to her best friend and see what was going on. But first, they needed a plan.
"Do you have any idea how we find these portals?" She asked Qae, the resident tower expert in their party. It was probably unfair, having someone like Qae with them - but they had several unfair powers. Unfortunately, the dragon shook her head.
"It's one of the tower's mysteries - however I've never had a report of it taking too long to find one. But it's different for every party - sometimes you just stumble upon it, sometimes there's a tower guardian or a puzzle. But as soon as a party sets out with the intent to find a portal on an open world floor unless it is a static challenge, they tend to find it within a few days. This being a low floor, it's unlikely it will take long... But who knows."
"Right so, head off in a random direction, and the tower will probably sort it out?" Fiona asked to confirm, and Qae shrugged.
"The Tower Provides, I suppose"
And that was that the plan was to go to where it probably was, and it would probably be there. She would have been uncertain, but it seemed the tower was helping her - or at least throwing her a bone most of the time. Even Qae being in her party was... She didn't know how many people climbed the tower at the same time on these lower floors. And every single party member where okay with the stranger parts of her class. Something had to be going on.
She was still thinking about it an hour later as she was sat back in the saddle, strapped into the harness on Penthi's back, hands around the woman's waist, as Annabelle came up to her side riding one of the red-headed archers. Kitha, she'd been introduced as, a lot smaller than Penthi, the goblin was sat comfortably on her back, both women's tit's bouncing as they galloped across the plains, green hands lightly holding onto the tan skin.
"Hey! Got a minute?" She asked as the centaurs ran next to each other, Kitha mimicking something to Penthi.
"Yeah, hi, uhm." It was weird having a conversation while riding the centaurs, but Fiona figured it was fine. "Not doing much other than trying not to fall off" She smiled.
"I need to tell you something - it's... I should have said it back in Climbertown but..." Annabelle started, spluttering trying to find her words.
"What is it?" Fiona said, curious.
"You know that weird..." She looked at the Centaurs, clearly considering her words.
"You when they took Liddy?"
"Yeah."
"You know those weird cloaks?"
"Uhm, yeah they looked like... Well nothing"
"Oh right - you weren't conscious in the.." She looked at Kitha and Penthi again, no indication they were listening but that was clearly politeness. "Were we found Liddy. They looked like shimmering iridescent rainbows there, real pretty."
"Annabelle?"
"Yeah, they looked so nice. I thought, beautiful, I desire this... And I am a [Witch of Deep Desire]"
"What did you do."
"It's in my inventory."
"WHAT?"
"I thought I could wear it but... I daren't - After what was said about them, but now it's there and I see it every time I look in. I don't know what to do with it."
"We'll have to ask Qae."
"No!"
"Why not?"
"She'd be mad at me. Get all stern. 'Annabelle, you clearly did not consider the consequences of this, this has dire implications.'"
Fiona looked at the goblin for a second, remembering not just the last few days, but their entire friendship.
"And you wouldn't like it if Qae got stern with you?"
"Shut up. What do we do."
"We tell Qae."
"Annabelle."
"Whaaat?" The goblin whinged.
Fiona smiled, smirking, wind throwing her hair back
"Of course, we will punish you together." A thought hit her suddenly, something she'd been meaning to ask her witchy friend.
"Who's that bunny girl I saw you looking at?"
"Oh - I thought she was someone I was in a party with, but it wasn't her. I'd swear she had the same face, hair, clothes but - she was a cat girl, not a bun-"
And then Penthi crashed into a suddenly appearing rippling, mirrorlike portal in the middle of the plains, stumbling to its side and throwing Fiona off the saddle, dangling by the harness as the two warriors were thrown to the ground, tangled together. Fiona, unable to roll away, hit the ground first as Penthi's body crashed onto her with a crack and a scream.
Fiona roared in pain as everyone gathered around them, Annabelle hopping off Kitha who had just avoided the portal.
"Oh shit are you okay, oh no you are not, fuck - Help!" Annabelle shouted as Penthi and Fiona tried to gather themselves, both women struggling to stand back up. Within a moment Ash, Liddy Qae, and the remaining centaurs were surrounding them and managed to pull Penthi off Fiona.
Fiona's leg was bent, twisting at an awkward angle and swelling up rapidly. Blood and dirt mixed over her shin. She couldn't look at the grime covered limb, turning her eyes to sky and breathing quickly. The pain shot up her broken leg, any attempt to move it caused tremendous pain.
Penthi had it so much worse. At least two of her horse legs had snapped, breaking. Her human torso was writing in pain, as her fellow centaurs gathered around her, with Fiona's party around her.
Timmy was out as soon as Liddy made it over, but she shooed her away.
"Help... Oh god, it hu- help Penthi. We can just leave."
Liddy nodded and hurried over, Timmy's glow bursting up around the proud warrior captain's legs as Fiona heard her screams. Ash offered her a potion, and she shook her head.
"Penthi." Was all she could say. Their portal was there - they'd be back in Climbertown in seconds. Penthi couldn't get back to her village - even in mare form if the broken legs and pain stayed and from what Fiona understood they would, she couldn't ride like that. All their resources had to go to her, and Fiona could be dealt with in town.
Annabelle, Ash, and Qae stayed with Fiona, as Liddy rushed between the two injured women. Annabelle used some of her [Nature] spells to soothe Fiona slightly and lessen the pain, but witch healing wasn't instant, and Annabelle had been too distracted by Fiona to properly work on her Alchemy profession while in town. They used every potion they had, and at the end of it, Penthi hobbled over in Mare form, supported by her sister.
"They told me you refused any healing... Thank you, Fiona. You are a true friend."
"No... I have healing on the other side of this. You... Can you get home?" She asked, wincing with every slight movement of her body. Timmy had come over to reduce her pain a little, but Liddy was exhausted, and without anything to fight she couldn't build up her [Flow] to keep the spirit going.
"It will take some time, we have to ride slow but yes. Thanks to you that... Truly, thank you, Fiona. You are always welcome here."
After a mutual agreement to not try to hug each other, the centaurs donated a pair of spears to the party to make a stretcher for Fiona. The party hoped it would go through - it was clear creatures from the floors could not, but items they picked up must be fine. As they headed through, system messages popped up that they all ignored and four loot chest popped. Annabelle and Liddy took all the items quickly, to distribute once Fiona was okay.
The party popped into Climbertown, Fiona carried in the stretcher by Ash and Qae, Liddy and Annabelle by her side.
Just as someone walked up to them, a soft voice speaking.
"Annabelle?"