"Edina…?" Kanae mumbled as she was rudely awakened by a hard knock on the carriage door.

The squirreling necromancer in question wasn't with them in the carriage. Kanae had almost forgotten that she stayed behind. Hopefully she was doing alright.

If Bardell touched a single hair on her, there would be hell to pay.

Teana and Arenade stirred soon after, rubbing the crusts from their eyes. In reaching for the handle, the door swung open first and a rush of cold winds chilled them to the bones.

They hopped out onto a field of moist grass. Ahead of them was a small farming community of dark elves, a few of which were shooting uncertain looks their way.

"What god forsaken shit hole did that pirate bitch take us?" Arenade asked.

"I'm not sure, but… Hey. Can you not curse in front of Teana?" Kanae glared.

"Bitch!" Teana repeated carelessly.

"Look what you did!" 

The former priestess threw her hands up. "Well, sorry for being worried about where we'd just been whisked away to."

"Welcome to no-man's land." Renya jumped out of her carriage, throwing on the heavy coat and gazing at the distant frosty peaks to the north. "We're just out of reach from Lograin's borders, and beyond those perky white tits over there lie Demon Lord Charron's domain."

All of them stared at Renya in disbelief.

Arenade shook off the shock and was the first to panic, grabbing ahold of Renya by her jacket.

"You took us where? Of all places… closer to Charron?!"

"Relax, hot stuff! Neither side will find you here. They have no reason to attack a place with no strategic importance. Come on. Let me introduce you to everyone," Renya said, brushing Arenade off to head into the village.

They followed Renya in where the dark elves had gathered into a group to receive them. There were maybe twenty in total. The number of children could be counted on less than one hand. Most of them were elderly and only a handful were adults. A couple of more decades and this community would probably just vanish.

An elderly elf, balding and only a crown of white around the head, stood at the front of the welcome party. He was slightly hunched over, narrow eyes that were practically shut, and held a gnarled cane to help with a limp.

"Parn!" Renya threw both arms around the aging elven man.

"It's good to see you again, Renyashelle! You look good, and— oooh. You've really filled up in all the right places!" the old elf named Parn said, getting a little handsy with her.

"Alright, hands off my merch. I'm getting pretty expensive." Renya slapped his hands away and gestured for Kanae and the others to come closer. "This is Parn, the village elder and my only foster family before Rown adopted me."

"You used to live here?" Kanae asked.

She casted a nostalgic, sidelong glance across the village. "Until I was about ten. Solasta Rown came through here, surveying potential roads to build into the demon domains. That's right. There were no business partners he wouldn't work with back then. I volunteered to walk the old bull around since I knew the place like the back of my hand. Plans were eventually scrapped though. Too expensive. I made an impression on him though, and he took me in."

Sounded like a hero's origin story to Kanae. Although… She thought it odd that Renya's parents were nowhere to be seen.

"So, Renyashelle. Who are your bodacious friends?" Parn's eyes peeled open to get a better look..

"Ah, right. Can't tell you too much, but I need you to shelter them for the time being. They can fight, so maybe they can help with your pest problem. The bleached elf is a priest, and the other two are succubi," Renya nonchalantly revealed, but the dark elves didn't react negatively to it at all.

"They can take your old house. It's a little dusty, but nothing a bit of tidying up won't fix," he said.

"Are you not worried about me being a succubus?" Kanae asked.

"If you're friends of Renyashelle, we have nothing to worry about!" a small child from the crowd exclaimed.

"You got that right, Nelly!" Renya knelt down to ruffle the boy's hair into a mess.

It might have been the violent reactions back in Lograin, but Kanae had a hard time believing they would just not mind her succubus nature.

At the very least, they seemed like kind people. Their relationship with Renya was also amicable. More likely than not, none of them knew her true occupation. Or maybe they did and didn't care.

Renya was about to leave until Kanae pulled her off to the side.

"What happened to helping me wage a war against Bardell?" Kanae asked.

"I haven't forgotten, my dear succubus! But that war would have ended as soon as you were caught. Tell me, could you have held your own against two Knights of Colors?" Renya questioned back.

"No…"

"Neither can I. Maybe. We will bide our time. Mallory and I will think of a counter attack, and return to you when able. Until then, take a load off. Or fuck the wildlife to your heart's content." She winked.

"Wait… fuck the wildlife? Did you send us here on purpose? Renya!" Kanae shouted.

"I'll be back in a week or two to give an update on what's going on in Lograin!" Renya returned to her carriage and immediately set off.

Gone like the wind.

The dark elves began to disperse, leaving only Parn and Nelly behind.

"Come," Parn said, turning into the modest village. "Let me show you to your home."

Their village was smack dab in a clearing deep within the woodlands. Tall trees, but not gargantuan like Turic, surrounded the community in a natural barrier to shield from the harsh mountain gales. Mossy stones laid through the village, furnished with homes of thatched roofs and brick walls.

Kanae counted fifteen buildings in total, most of which were probably empty and, judging by the disrepair and crates stuffed into them, were simply used as storage houses.

They reached a small and humble home in which the window board clapped incessantly from the blowing winds. Parn pressed his shoulder against the door, but it took Nelly's help to push it open. A wave of dust sent them all into a coughing fit.

Renya's old home was without furniture. Only an unlit fire pit at the center greeted them in. A wooden post had notches on it that might have been the previous occupant keeping track of their height.

"Great… back to living in rags." Arenade moped.

"It's not much, but it will have to do. I'll ask around to see if anyone has spare bedsheets for you three. Especially for that little goblin you got there," Parn said on his way out.

"Thanks." Kanae sighed at their shitty new home. "By the way, Renya mentioned a pest problem?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Lycanbolds occasionally come close to our village, but a little magic scares them right off. The only real worry is the old wyrm, Barkskin, but we haven't seen him in ages. You can rest easy here. Treat it like a vacation away from the city!" The old elf laughed.

"Vacation, huh…" She glanced back into the rickety cabin.

Over the next few days, Kanae and Arenade slowly settled into the cabin. Cleaning the place up did make it nicer to live in, and the few bedsheets the kind villagers offered provided some semblance of comfort. The farmers had even given them some seeds to get working on a garden out back.

Today, they finally tilled the dirt and sowed the seeds.

"Alright. Stand back and watch the magic happen. Plant Growth!" Arenade incanted the spell upon their garden, growing a vibrant array of tomatoes, cabbages, eggplants, and onions.

"Talk about convenience." Kanae picked up a deep red tomato and bit into it. The flesh was tender and the juices only slightly tart. Its refreshing taste quenched her parched throat. 

Teana gazed up at Kanae, finger to her mouth and drooling. Kanae handed her daughter the savory fruit, who chomped into it and squealed with delight.

"Passing off my miracle spells as 'convenient' is an insult. It is amazing, is what it is!" Arenade stomped the dirt, demanding more praise.

"Yeah, yeah. You're amazing. But how come more people don't just use magic to farm?" Kanae asked.

"Of course, they do. You just haven't had the chance to see it because we lived in cities the past two places. But if you mean Plant Growth, not everyone is blessed as my divine self to possess such an incredible skill," she explained.

Regardless, they could at least repay the villagers' kindness by gifting them their extra harvests.

A twig suddenly crunched from the side of the cabin. It was Nelly, the young dark elven boy, peeking from the corner and staring hard at Teana.

"Perfect timing." Kanae plucked a couple of their fresh harvests into a woven basket. "Nelly, come on over!"

"Eh? H-How did you know I was here? Er— I mean, I just got here!" Nelly panicked, emerging from the corner with both hands hiding something behind his back.

"It's your village. You're welcome to visit any time. Here, Arenade and I grew these just now. Why don't you take some back to your folks?" she suggested.

"My… Oh, uh— Thanks. I'll make sure they get 'em," he quietly said.

"Auu— chuu!" Teana sneezed so loudly that she scared some birds, roosting in the trees behind their cabin.

"Poor thing is getting cold, huh? We had to leave so suddenly we didn't get a chance to pack most of our things. I'll go start the fire inside. We're having ourselves some nice stew tonight with these babies!" Arenade declared as she disappeared into the cabin.

"We should head inside, too, before Teana catches a cold. Do you want to stay for dinner, Nelly?" Kanae asked while wiping Teana's nose with the sleeve of her own cloak.

"I… Actually, I wanted to give her this!" Nelly revealed what he had in his hands, which was a thick woolen cloak that was made for small children. "My mom made it for me a long time ago. It doesn't fit me anymore, and I know you cityfolk aren't used to the cold like we are. It would be a waste to let it sit in my closet, so…"

The dark elf boy put on a brave face, but the fingers clenched tightly on the cloak told Kanae that parting with it was a difficult decision.

"Come on, Teana. What do you say?" Kanae urged her forward.

With the partially eaten tomato in one hand, Teana made a cautious step up to Nelly and grabbed the cloak with the other. Her brows wrinkled together, trading glances at both of her hands. She ultimately offered the tomato to Nelly.

"Wait… Teana, maybe you can give Nelly a fresh tomato instead?"

"You don't have to give me anything. It's a gift after all," Nelly insisted, making the mistake of putting his hands in the air

"Auu!" Teana smushed the tomato into Nelly's hands.

"Teana! I'm so sorry about her," Kanae apologized.

"It's okay." The boy relented. He stared at the mess he had been given, then scarfed down the rest of it. "The tomato was really good. Thank you!"

Well, as long as he was fine with it…

Kanae unfurled the cloak Nelly had given them and wrapped it over the thinner one on Teana. A lace tied the collar and part of the chest together, creating a cozy seal over the wearer. The baby goblin raised her arms in joy and started running circles around them.

"They're here again!" a woman shouted in the distance as she ran for her life back into the village.

"What's going on?" Kanae asked, catching her around front.

The dark elven lady planted both hands on the fence that surrounded Kanae's garden, taking deep breaths to recompose herself.

"Lycanbolds. There are so many of them this time!" she warned before heading farther into the village to tell the others.

Kanae grabbed Teana and Nelly by the shoulders.

"Take Teana and hide in our cabin, okay?"

"Okay! Come on, Teana!" Nelly pulled Teana inside just as Arenade sidestepped to avoid them on her way out.

"We're under attack? But the stew's almost ready!" Arenade complained.

The entire village of elves, save for the young and elderly, poured forth into the streets with bows and arrows, staffs, and rusty swords. Parn led them onwards with a magical staff of his own.

"Think about the stew later. We should help them just in case," Kanae said.

They joined the others at the front of the village, who had formed two lines of defenses. The ones with swords and shields made from planks of wood stood at the front. Those with magic and bows positioned themselves in the back.

Emerging from the treeline like waves crashing against the beach was a small army of lizardmen with draconic heads. They came in all sorts of scale colors, wielding weapons made of wood and stone.

"You said a little magic scares them, right?" Kanae asked.

"Y-Yes." Parn gulped hard and absent was the confidence he displayed a few days ago. "But this is more than they usually send… it must be their entire tribe…"

The elder dark elf brandished his magic staff, sending fireballs to explode over the lycanbolds' heads. Many flinched, but none of them retreated like Parn said they would.

"That's not good…" The instant Parn stepped back, it created a rippling effect to the rest of his people who shuddered at the much larger force.

One red lycanbold, who was bigger than the rest and had horns growing out of his head, hissed loudly and ordered the army to attack. Their stampede caused the ground to shake. The dark elves lost their composure, and a couple tripped in an attempt to escape.

"They don't look very strong. Want me to take care of it?" Arenade asked, twirling her forest nymph staff.

"I have a better idea," Kanae said. "Turn Horny!"

The horde of lycanbolds came to a screeching stop as they fell to the ground, writhing in ecstasy.

"If we're in no-man's land, then I don't need to hold back anymore. Out here, I'm free to do whatever I want without consequence." Kanae exposed her physical features with each step she took up to the lycanbold leader, then undid the string around her cloak that hid her old outfit.

Defiant hisses escaped the large lycanbold as Kanae she lightly grinded her foot on his chest.

"No vacation. I think it's time to become the dangerous succubus everyone fears and take back what's mine. First, I need an army." Kanae smirked and began seizing the lycanbolds' minds, starting with their leader.