Bunny Hop!

You can just barely see a hint of sunlight in the farthest distance, though mostly when you're still in the air. Thankfully you didn't aim overly high. Your Boots of Herbes slows your descent enough to avoid damage, though you and the five others clinging to your body only need to descend about fifteen feet. Your target wasn't the center of town. That would have been a gamble with a far higher risk than reward. You land a short walk down the road from the western exit of the city, not quite past the bridge, though you can see the river from here.

Though not the most difficult then you've done, it was still a taxing dungeon crawl. Everyone is at least a little weary, perhaps even lightly bruised, though all is quite well considering the danger. You're a high level adventuring party, however. You can't imagine the highest, but clearly nobody of your calibre had yet learned of that dungeon's existence. It was unlikely the Dungeon Master expected to be invaded by another Demon King.

Speaking of which, you wonder if William knew, or if he knows what you're doing now, and if so, how he's handling it.

"Why so far from town?!" Eva shouts.

Snow winces, as she was standing right beside her. "I think attempting to teleport into a crowd if people between dozens of buildings would have been--"

"Hey, can I grab a drink?" Niki asks, tugging the Decanter off Eva's belt. She holds it up and speaks the command word, "Stream".

Eva watches in awe and horror at the gentle stream of water hits the girl's tongue. Some runs down her chin. The sound of trickling water pierces through her like a sword. Her eyes widen, and she freezes in place, trembling uncontrollably. Her thighs remain pushed tight together, with her hands sandwiched between them. "I..."

"Oh sorry. Did you want some? I didn't mean to just kinda pull it away from you."

"I... I gotta go!" She then sprints towards some bushes not overly far away, just across a small hill and between a few narrow trees.

You watch the bunny run frantically in search of relief.

Though just before she can, a woman appears from behind the tall grass. It's an elf, evident by the ears and natural, smooth skin, as well as perfect legs--the latter especially being something you've never seen an elf without. It must be a racial trait.

Eva groans in pain. "Nooo! Please, I gotta--"

"You look distressed, traveller," says the stranger. "Like you're about to burst."

"Mm... Mhm..."

Curiously, she holds up her waterskin. Then she shakes it about. "Slosh, slosh, slosh."

"Aaaahhh! It's l-leaking out, I--Gghh!" Eva pushes right past her, farther into the underbrush.

The elf watches her, and then turns to your party. "That was cruel of me."

She steps up and over the grassy hill, revealing herself in full. The cloak she wears covers all but her legs, which are only partly visible by the sway of the fabric, as it otherwise conceals her. It's difficult to parse exactly how she moves. The pattern of said cloak seems to shift with her body, and the movement of your eyes. The shades of green and brown fluctuate depending on where she stands. Though as she nears, she throws it open. Beneath is a thick leather belt covered in pouches and a quiver behind, filled with bolts and adjacent to a sheathed short blade. Across her chest is a thinner strap, and it's also where she keeps a small crossbow.

Her boots reach her thighs. As for bottoms, there's hardly anything there at all. It's almost a skirt, but it's only covers her sides in a pattern of leaves and flowers. Between is like that of a skimpy swimsuit. Her leather breastplate is more like a sports bra, decorated the same, which proudly pushes up and shows off goods that she evidently knows she has--the left of which has a small mole, which is unlikely to be important, but you can't help but notice. You'd rather not stop inspecting her, though you do eventually look to her gaze as she approaches.

She has auburn hair with bangs in braids, and the rest tied back into a ponytail by a band of white lilies. And all that betrays an otherwise flawless complexion is a scar across her right cheek, but like most scars, it doesn't ruin her beauty, but instead toughens her visage.

"Hail, travellers," she says with a greeting hand. Eventually she stops, short of twenty feet away. "You are out late. If your plan is to travel, it would be best to sleep at an inn, and then leave come morning. The roads can be dangerous."

"We actually just got back," you answer. "We aren't heading out."

"I would have seen you if you came from the road."

"Teleportation."

She smirks. "I know. I just wanted to see if you were a liar. I saw you appear from thin air, not far up in the air. I am no mage, but I know magic. Say, you would not happen to know about a small army of adventurers currently heading down from the north, would you?"

"They'll tell you the story. It's a long one. But yeah, it's related. I don't think I could have moved that many bodies at once, and I'm sure they'll be all right. Did you come from there?"

"No. I just have eyes in the outskirts." She shortly whistles--mimicking a bird of some sort. "I am Eaera Fal'anis, Chief Ranger of the Black Hawk Riders."

Xiaoqing chokes. "I'm sorry. The what?"

"I said the Black Hawk Riders."

"... Ohh. Nevermind."

"We are a band of rangers who work directly under the Trade-Lady of Tanver's Crossing. Without us, trade would not prosper so effectively. Monsters. Bandits. And yes, I do know of the dungeon from where the adventurers have departed from. A little bird has told me the entrance collapsed after their escape. Though I would like to hear their tale as you suggested, my intuition tells me that in the end, I will have you to thank."

I wonder if she and Monarch are in contact then. I wouldn't be surprised. A lot of deals are struck in the shadows.

"And we only had two casualties," Niki says, holding up her fingers. "One pair of panties, and another pair of panties."

"You have my condolences."

Eva marches up and then down the small hillside behind Eaera with an expression of her face of utter satisfaction. She smiles wide, almost dizzied by the sense of relief. Eventually she makes her way all the way over to where you stand, and she curls her arms gently around yours, gripping you tight. "Much better..." she whispers so quietly that you can barely hear her speak.

"Oh. Speaking of which," Niki continues. "Rest in peace, panties."

"Wh-What?" Eva lights up. She pushes her skirt down the moment she hears talk of undergarments. "You can't prove anything!"

Amara places her hand on the bunnyfolk's shoulder. "It is all right. We will both find something new, and even better than before."

"C-Can we not talk about this right now?"

"Good to meet a friendly face out here. Though you probably shouldn't be so trusting," Niki says.

Snow looks the elven woman over. "No... She stands ready to fight."

"Observant." She raises a hand. "I am not the only one near enough to strike, if needed. I will tell you right now, two women have bows at the ready not far behind me, high and far enough to be quite dangerous with a longbow. And a man rides an emu to the west, and would arrive in less than a minute when called."

"Confident," you say.

Eva stares off into space. She looks to you--watery eyes, trembling lips. "B-But that means... they saw when I was..."

You take hold of her head and squeeze it against your chest. Almost immediately, she settles down. "We'll be heading into town now. I hope you'll see to the arrival of the adventurers. They'll probably still be pretty shaken. Some if not all of them were being toyed around with by a... Well, I'm still not sure what that was."

"Be safe. Demon King."

You raise a brow. "Do you know who I am?"

"Somewhat. I have heard rumours. Your unique means of arrival here led my instincts to a conclusion. Tread carefully. I care much for this city, and I would not want anything bad to happen to it or its people."

"And I have no intention of harming anybody here, Ms. Fal'anis. Not unless they start it."

She whistles again--a different song. "Goodbye for now then. If you truly were the party to eliminate the threat of that dungeon, I believe the Trade-Lady would want to hear more of what transpired. I recommend seeing her tomorrow."

You nod. Your party heads off to arrive in Tanver's Crossing just in time for dinner, as a rumble in your stomach reminds you.