Disclaimer: See first chapter.

AN:

Locations, some characters, and some situations in this chapter are drawn from the Everquest II game. The dialog is not from the game, however. If anyone feels the rating should be bumped up, please let me know. This was originally meant to be part of the previous chapter but got split off because I was having trouble with it. I'm not totally happy with it but here goes.

Beta:

Me, Myself, and I still. There are bound to be mistakes, especially dropped final letters and suffixes. If you spot plot holes or other mistakes, feel free to let me know.

Created: Started: February 10, 2014; Finished: June 29, 2014 (a loooooong time)

[Antonica, the next morning]

The hunting party, consisting of Harry, Ranma, Kasumi, and Winky, left the Tent after breakfast headed to Windstalker Village. They were going to check out undead in the area as well as restock some of their supplies from the nearby game. They entered Antonica through the gate from South Qeynos, close to the Qeynos griffin tower that would take them on the first leg of the journey.

The griffin took them down the channel between the island Qeynos sits on and the mainland. Ranma swore the griffins were trying to knock them off because they flew under every bridge they came to. The party flew along the northern coast of Antonica until they could see a tall tower sitting atop a hill. They landed on a griffin tower at the base of the hill and the station keeper welcomed them to Oracle Tower Station.

After the station keeper briefed them on the road to Windstalker Village, warning of the large lizards, giant snakes, gnolls and the occasional gang of bandits, the four set off east along the road at the base of the hill. The land they were passing through consisted of grassy hills with an infrequent tree to break up the view. They saw the reptiles frequently, usually at a distance but occasionally close enough that Ranma or Harry would take action.

They rode two abreast with Harry and Ranma in front with Kasumi and Winky a little ways behind them. All four kept an eye out for any dangers that might pop up but the pace allowed them to talk as they rode.

"Harry, I've been thinking about what my girls and I are going to do about a place to live when we return home.", Ranma stated. "I suppose we could live with the Tendos but then Pop and Mr. Tendo would cause problems. Ukyo has her own place but it is not big enough for all of us. Shampoo would offer the Cat Cafe but I'm not keen on living with her great-great grandmother or Mousse plus there would still be a space problem. If we can get a big enough stake while we are here we should have money to live on, at least."

"I've been think about that too.", Harry replied. "I have my godfathers house which would be big enough although it would need some major remodeling to be suitable for a family and kids. I also might have my parents' house but I would have to get it back from the government and it is currently a wreck. However, that means my ladies and I don't really need the tent so, assuming we get to keep it, you could take it back with you."

"That would be great, assuming we can put a panda proof lock on it!", Ranma exclaimed.

"A panda proof lock?!", Harry said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, pop has a curse like mine except he turns in to a panda.", Ranma explained. "He is one of the biggest thieves around and I don't want him to have access to anything we might have. He'd sell it for drinking money and leave us in the lurch."

"We could set up a ward scheme that would only allow those people you want to let in, in.", Harry mused. "In fact, we should do that here as there are plenty of thieves around. Maybe the control panel has something already. Hermione, could one of you check to see if the Tent has ward controls?"

"Already done, Harry.", came Hermione's reply. "Only the twelve of us can enter without being invited in. We can add or remove people as needed."

"Hermione says we already have the ward set up and we can modify them as needed.", Harry said passing the information on to Ranma.

"That's cool!", Ranma commented. "Have you given any thought as to how you are going to support your wives..."

Meanwhile, Kasumi and Winky where having their own conversation.

"...and that is how Ranma got rid of the Ghost Cat!", Kasumi concluded her story. "So, Winky, what was your life like?"

"I was a house elf bound to a wizard who turned out to be a not very nice man.", Winky began. "His son was a Death Eater who was sentenced to the wizard prison. My old master helped him escape by using a potion to make my dying mistress look like her son and him look like her. The old master kept young master under a spell for years and I looked after him. The young master escaped and did some bad things. My old master got mad at me and gave me clothes, which freed me. Unfortunately, house elves must be bound to a wizard or witch or they sicken and die. Harry found out what was happening to me and offered to bind me to him. This allowed me to get well and made me happy to have someone to look after. Not long after, Merlin changed me into a wood elf and here I am."

"I assume you prefer how you are now?", Kasumi suggested.

"Oh yes!", Winky stated emphatically. "Merlin gave me the option to change back into what I was when we are done but I would have to give up being Harry's wife. And I really like being Harry's wife!"

Kasumi giggled. "So what do you want to do when we go home?"

"Strangely, I want to do things that a house elf would do.", Winky replied. "Taking care of the house, cooking, and raising little ones, some of which I would like to be Harry's and mine. I also find that I like working in the greenhouse so maybe gardening as well. I would also like to create paintings and other pretty things. Maybe design clothes."

"Oh my!", Kasumi said with raised eyebrows. "That is certainly a full life you have planned."

"Not planned, just hoped for.", Winky sighed. "Caring for a house is not a big task because I still have my house elf abilities. The other girls have things they want to do but I've always wanted to raise children. The other things I find relaxing."

"Why don't you talk to Harry about it when we get to the village tonight?", Kasumi suggested. "I'm sure he will be supportive. In fact, I want to talk to Ranma about studying medicine to become a doctor..."

[Qeynos, Temple of Life]

Ranko spun in place, swinging her European style longsword in an arc as she used her kite shield to deflect the greatsword crashing down on her. She dodged the mace by stepping back and crouched to avoid the twin short swords as she batted away several shuriken. As the weapons came around for another strike, she sprang into an aerial back flip which placed her in a ready stance a good five meters away.

"Halt!", Toranim bellowed. "That is enough sparring for today. Great Marr, I have never seen anyone as agile as you while wearing plate armor, Paladin Ranko!"

Removing her helmet, Ranko shook her head to loosen her scarlet locks so the air could get to them better. "That is due to my brother's training in martial arts. That and Shampoo making my armor extremely flexible as well as light weight."

"Be that as it may,", Toranim shrugged, "it is a useful skill to possess. The rest of the time today will be spent learning and using your paladin spells. Why don't you begin by healing your teammates you were sparring with? Due to the protective spells they should only have a bruise or two but it will be good practice."

Walking over to Shampoo, Ranko cast a heal which cleared up the dark spot on her face where the longsword had clipped her. Checking for other injuries and finding none, she turned to Luna who was rubbing her arm."

"You are brutal with that shield.", Luna commented. "I can heal myself but you should do it this time for practice. Very good spar. We should do more of that in our training room."

"Yes, we should.", Shampoo agreed. "It is too too good training. Of course, we need to take turns being the one against many."

As Ranko approached Toranim after healing Ukyo, he waved her away. "I have already healed myself. If Luna, Shampoo, and Ukyo would remain to assist us with some of them, we will get started. Paladins have spells to heal, which you have already learned, spells to protect, and some powerful offensive spells. The first ward you will learn is cast like..."

[Qeynos, Tent Workroom]

The four young women sat around around a large table with boxes around it and them. On the table were piles of weapons, jewelry, loose gems, and precious metals. There were books, scrolls, more weapons, and more common metals in the boxes on the floor.

"Well, we finally got it sorted out.", Daphne said with a sigh. "Now what do we do with it?"

"Some of these gems are worth quite a bit back home, others not so much.", Nabiki offered. "We might want to hold on to them until then and see what we can get. On the other hand, selling them here would make it easier to split the value before we go home."

"Except for the ones we want to use, we should sell the weapons.", Hermione suggested. "Or maybe melt them down.", she added as an afterthought.

"While they might have some value to collectors back home," Daphne put in, "these are all enchanted in someway. Even in the hands of a non-magical that could cause problems!"

"I agree with that!", Nabiki agreed vigorously. "There is enough weird stuff around Nerima without adding to it. I think we should sell them here. That way we don't have to haul them around or keep track of them."

"Of course, the books will go in our library except for the cursed volumes.", Jane stated. "The cursed volumes should be kept locked in a trunk until we can remove the curses."

"It might be best to just destroy those.", Daphne suggested making both Hermione and Jane look horrified. "It is not like we can even read the titles on most of them and those we can read are on subjects like necromancy."

"The might have information that is vital to us completing our mission!", Jane protested. "We can't just destroy them!"

"At least let us have the priests at the Temple of Life look at them!", Hermione pleaded. "Maybe they can remove the curses!"

"Whatever.", Nabiki smirked. "Why don't you and Jane do that while Daph and I haul the stuff we don't need down to the broker? You can check on Ranko while you are there. Now which of this do we want to..."

[Antonica, East of the Tower of the Oracles]

The team had noticed a large number of undead and investigated, finding some ruins surrounded by skeletons, ghosts, and zombies. Their map identified them as the Ruins of Caltorsis and noted that they were infested by the animated dead so they decided to clear out a few of the not quite departed to see if there was a dark crystal involved. As Ranma bashed the last skeleton into tiny pieces, Harry and Kasumi began to look around.

"Well,find anything?", Ranma queried. "Other than lots of rubble?"

"No,", Kasumi informed him, "this appears to be the result of some old necromancy spells, probably from when this place was destroyed. Necromancers often enchant an area they are attacking to use their fallen opponents against the remaining living ones. This feels centuries old."

"I agree.", Harry confirmed. "If you could work with me, we should be able to dispel those enchantments while Ranma and Winky look around for anything that might be salvageable."

"I will gladly do so, Harry.", Kasumi replied as she began casting 'Dispel Magic'. Ranma and Winky started sifting through the ruins.

After a while, Harry blew out a breath. "I think that is the last of the enchantments. Do you see anything else, Kasumi?"

"No, nothing else seems to be enchanted.", Kasumi said, looking around.

"We didn't find much in the ruins to salvage although I did find this fancy old sewing kit that is in good condition(1),", Ranma chipped in as he walked up to them. "The rest is mostly junk."

"I did find some materials nearby, most foodstuffs, wood, and fiber." Winky added. "I also found some plants I think we should add to the greenhouse."

"Excellent, Winky!", Kasumi smiled. "I'm looking forward to working you and I working with them."

"Well, if we are done here, I suggest we get moving, if we want to reach the village by tonight.", Ranma suggested.

"I agree.", Harry said. "The map shows a more direct route from here although we will get a little wet..."

[North Qeynos, South of the Temple of Life]

The six young women were riding back to the Tent along the castle moat/waterway. Hermione was telling them about their dealings with the priests in the temple.

"It was nice of them to remove the curses in exchange for copies of the books they didn't have. I just wish they hadn't insisted that some of them needed to be destroyed. Still, they were nice about..."

At that point, they rode down into a small depression between two rises where they were briefly out of sight to anybody else on the lane. Suddenly, they were surrounded by ten Bloodsabres who fell on them without a word. Ranko, Shampoo, Luna, and Ukyo managed to parry or block the attack and began doing battle with the cutthroats. Hermione and Jane cast 'Mesmerize' in order to reduce the number of active opponents then began helping their friends.

As Shampoo finished off one of her foes, she heard rapid hoof beats approaching and turned to face the possible threat. Much to her relief, the newcomer turned out to be a Qeynos Guard on a winged mount who, seeing what was going on, sped up and entered the fray against the Bloodsabres. With his help, the criminals were quickly defeated and the two that survived the fight bound and gagged.(2)

"Good show, lassies!", the guard addressed the group. "My name is Benton Oresplitter. Thanks for getting rid of some the scum that plagues our fair city."

"Thank you, Guard Oresplitter for the timely help.", Shampoo returned. "It sounded like your were in a hurry. Did you see the attack?"

"Nay, lass, not until I cleared the rise.", Benton answered. "I was a little behind on my patrol and trying to make up time. I shoulda been past this point already. And while it looked like you had them well in hand, it is my job to keep riffraff like these off the streets! I'll take these two along to my captain to see if she can get some useful information from them." With that he popped them into his pack.

"You're welcome to them, Guard Oresplitter!", Shampoo said. "Saves us from having to deal with them."

"It tis Benton to battle comrades.", Benton smiled. "Now I best be off. I'm still a wee bit behind schedule." He mounted his steed, waved, and headed south at a fast trot.

"Well, we best be getting home.", Jane comment. "Hermione and I still have to get the additions to the library in order and we all need to do some research into the Enchanted Lands and the Feerrott."

[South Qeynos, North of the Broker]

Having deposited their wares with the broker, Daphne and Nabiki were walking back to the inn when they passed a small restaurant/bakery. The smell of the baked goods coming through the door drew them inside where they found an old woman behind a counter filled with different kinds of bread and pastries.

"How can I help you, dearies?"

"These smell as good as the ones my sister or Winky make!", Nabiki exclaimed.

"They do smell wonderful.", Daphne agreed.

"Here, try a taste, dearies.", the woman offered. "I think you will find they are the best in Qeynos!" She handed both of the girls a small sample.

"This is wonderful!", Nabiki moaned. Daphne just sighed.

"You say your sister and friend bake?", the woman asked. "Do they cook as well?"

"Oh, yes!", sighed Nabiki, still savoring the taste of the pastry. "They are both very good cooks!"

"Do you think they would be willing to buy this shop from me?", the woman asked. "I'm getting on in years and my kids are not interested in running it."

Nabiki shook her head. "We can't right now although Kasumi might love to run a place like this. Although we'll keep it in mind in case our plans change in the future. Could we get a dozen of those small loaves and two dozen assorted pastries to take with us?"

"Sure thing, dearie. And if your plans do change, be sure and come see me."

[Antonica, Hill above Windstalker Village]

"Some short cut. Right past the local haunted graveyard. Well, at least the river wasn't cold enough to change me into a girl.", Ranma groused.

"Now Ranma, it did give us the chance to clear out some more old necromancy,", Kasumi chided him. "and we did get plenty of bear and deer as well as some wolf skins."

"Hey, it was shorter!", protested Harry. "It's not my fault this world has too many sick idiots going around animating the dead! At least for a while, that graveyard won't be infested."

"Well, we are past it now.", Winky said calmly. "Look, maybe we can get some fish from that small lake down there." With that, she urged her horse forward and started down the path to the village. The others quickly followed her.

Windstalker Village was located in a small bowl shaped valley with the northern side open toward the sea. It contained several shops, an inn, and several homes. An aqueduct brought water from the mountains to turn a large waterwheel for a mill, pouring over it into a small lake. Since the lake had no visible streams leading out of it could be assumed that the water drained from it into the groundwater or via an underground stream.

The four dismounted in front of the inn and went inside to secure lodging. The place was primitive by Qeynos standards with a rough tavern on the ground floor and an open sleeping area upstairs. After paying to spend the night, the four went upstairs to the sleeping area. As there were no other guests at the moment, they took the two beds in the corner furthest from the stairs. Harry and Winky quickly transfigured some skins into walls with doors and warded the space against intrusion. The beds were then deloused and modified to be larger and more comfortable.

Since the general store across from the inn was still open, Kasumi and Winky went over to see what it traded in. It turned out that one of the traders in the store, one Hartok Woolyman, bought bear skins so they sold him their excess and bought a few supplies. There was also a small selection of books which contained a few they hadn't seen so they obtained those as well. Hartok asked them to bring him any skins they obtained if they came back this way. After finding out what they were doing in the area, he mentioned Fangbreaker Keep on the large hill to the east of the village and the Shattered Vale.

"Somethin' very strange goin' on at the vale.", Hartok shivered. "An' that's not counting that huge bear that comes after me anytime I get near the place. If'n you are looking for strange going ons, ye best check that out place. I got a feeling whatever's there is right dangerous so you all be careful, you hear."

"We will.", Kasumi assured him. "Could you kindly show us the location on the map?"

"Sure thing, little lady.", Hartok replied. "It be right about here."

"Many thanks, kind sir.", Kasumi smiled. "And if we are back this way, we be sure to drop in with any bear skins we have."

With a farewell wave, the girls returned to the inn where they found a note that said "Gone fishing" in Harry's scrawl. Rather than buy food in the tavern below, they set up a table with some of their packed supplies and sat talking until the guys returned an hour or so later.

"How was the fishing?", Kasumi inquired.

"Pretty good.", Ranma replied. "We have enough fresh water fish for several days. That will give a change of pace from bear and deer. We still have to clean them though."

"Give them to me and I'll take care of that.", Winky offered. "My way is quicker and cleaner. Besides, Kasumi and I could use the non-edible parts as fertilizer in the greenhouse."

The guys handed their catch over to Winky. With a snap of her fingers, the fish were fileted, boned, and packaged while the bones and other leftovers were sealed in a leak proof container.

"Now that the fish are taken care of,", Kasumi began, "Winky and I have been talking. Harry, I know that you wanted to spend the night here so Winky wouldn't have to pop us back in the morning and would be rested but I, or we, think we should have a group meeting tonight at the Tent so Ranko and Jane can participate. After the meeting, Winky can pop either Ranma or I back here and then the other two of us can slide back. That way, Winky can still get a full night's sleep and we can start out from here."

"Sounds okay to me.", Harry conceded. "So what did you want to have a meeting about?"

"We heard you two talking about how you were going to support us when we get back.", Kasumi stated. "While we are glad you are thinking along those lines, we feel the whole group should be involved. I'm sure the other women have careers they would like to pursue. We may also think of options you might not consider."

"That's a good idea!", Ranma agreed. "We can recall back, maybe have dinner with the rest, have our meeting and come back here before time for bed."

"Looks like we have a plan.", Harry said. "Why don't you ladies set it while Ranma and I wash the fish smell off us..."

[Qeynos, Tent Living Room, after dinner]

"Ranma and I were talking today about where we could live once we return to Earth.", Harry stated. "Since I own a house and Ranma doesn't, I thought he and his family could take the Tent with them, assuming we get to keep it. Any objections?"

"No objections, Harry,", Daphne spoke up, "but as Lord Potter you should have several houses unless you have been totally ripped off."

"I'm a lord?", said a shocked Harry. "How come I didn't know?"

"You should have.", Daphne informed him. "As the last scion of an Ancient and Noble House, your magical guardian should have been training since you were at least eleven."

"My magical guardian was Sirius Black, my godfather.", Harry said with a sad face. "He spent most of my life in prison without a trial for a crime he didn't do. After he escaped, we never got a chance to talk about. He is the one that left me the house."

"In that case, you are probably Lord Black as well.", Daphne mused. "Especially since Draco Malfoy didn't inherit the title. Your father's mother was a Black which puts you in line for the title. Still your acting guardian should have informed you."(3)

"Albus bloody Dumbledore never told me anything if he could help it.", Harry growled, "Even when he did it was too little, too late."

"Language, Harry!", Hermione' piped up and reached over and hugged him.

"Hmm, it looks like we will need to give you lessons in how to be a lord.", Daphne said. "While my father is not an Ancient and Noble Lord, he has taught me how to deal with them and I should be able to get you started. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a book or two in our library. As for what you inherited, the goblins should be able to help with that."

Harry winced. "I'm not their favorite person right now. Something about breaking into one of their vaults and stealing a dragon."

"That can be dealt with.", Daphne said waving it off. "We will see what the situation is when we get back. Go on with what you were saying."

"Okay, well, anyway, Winky and Kasumi felt that we should have this meeting to find out what everyone's goals were and how we can survive as families.", Harry said. "Kasumi, why don't you start and then continue around the room to the right. Ranma and I will go last so we can factor in everyone's comments"

"Okay,", Kasumi agreed, "I would like to become a doctor and work with children. I feel that since I have this healing magic, I should put it to use and studying medicine would help me do that. Ukyo?"

"I want to continue running my own restaurant and hope to have a chain of restaurants someday. I also want to have Ranma's children." Ukyo blushed. "I guess you are next, Shampoo."

"I always wanted to be the best Amazon warrior. I still want to do that but I don't want to go back to China. I would like to teach martial arts to little ones and maybe learn to manage a business. I also want to have lots of Ranma babies. Nabiki, you're next."

"I have always wanted to own and run a large company after university although sometimes I think about becoming a professional photographer. I too would like to have kids someday. Jane, what are your goals?"

"I think I would like to teach, younger children in what would be Infants school in England. I hope to have children of my own at some point. I might enjoy being a stay at home mom as well. That's all I can think of. Ranko?"

"I don't have many skills, just my martial arts that I got from Ranma and sword fighting. Still, as a paladin I can heal some so I might like to become a doctor. I just need to get my education up to par so I can go to college. I don't know about kids. It still seems to be a little strange to me as I have some echos of Ranma. What ever I do, I want to do my share. Uh, I guess it is your turn, Luna."

"I want to get the Quibbler back in operation and study magical animals. Oh, and have lots of kids! That is all! Winky?"

"I want to raise little ones and take care of the house and garden, I guess what Jane called a stay at home mom. I guess I feel that way because I used to be a house elf but I do want some of Harry's babies of my own. I would also like to paint pictures but I don't think I could make money at it. Daphne, your turn."

"I would like to get the Greengrass family business back on its feet after the war we just had and help Harry with his duties as Lord Potter. I would also like to help reestablish the Potter family. And maybe give dad a Greengrass heir. Hermione, what about you?"

"I would like to either join the Ministry to work on correcting some of the inequities in the current laws or I would like to teach at Hogwarts. But first I would like to get a mastery and go to university. However, I'll do what ever is best for Harry and the family. Oh yes, have some of Harry's babies. To you, Harry."

"At the end of fifth year I told Professor McGonagall that I wanted to be an Auror. I've kind of soured on that option. I have also thought about going pro as a seeker but that doesn't appeal to me anymore, either. Mainly, I want to do what ever I can to make sure my family is happy and safe. It appears that this lord business may take up a lot of time." Daphne interjected, "It can." Harry turned to Ranma. "You get to wrap it up."

Ranma nodded. "All I've every done has been to train in martial arts at the expense of anything else. Pop and Mr Tendo expected me to marry Akane and run the dojo. Pop probable figures by keeping me ignorant that he could live off my work while he and Mr Tendo drink and cheat at GO. That's not going to happen. While I wouldn't mind teaching the art, like Ranko, I need to get my education up to speed. Like Harry, I want my family happy and safe. If that means going all out on some of my rivals, so be it." He waved at Harry. "Your floor."

"We don't have to make firm plans tonight, in fact, we shouldn't.", Harry instructed. "We just need to be thinking and talking about those plans. Now, has anybody got any comments..."

The discussion lasted for several hours before the 'away team' returned to their inn room. Harry and Ranma then split to each of their bond-mates to give them some one on one time. When their split time was nearly up, the guys merged back to the village.

[Windstalker Village, next morning]

Having spent a restful night, the hunting party ate a quick breakfast and headed out to visit Fangbreaker Keep. The keep was on a tall hill or ridge to the east of the village. Since there was a cliff over looking the village on that side, whether natural or created they couldn't tell, the group had to go south to find a slope they could climb. As they traveled up the hill, they came upon a bandit camp. Surprised, the bandits grabbed weapons and attacked, even though the group from Earth had made no hostile moves. Unfortunately for the bandits, they were no match for Ranma who quickly put them down, except for a few strays that Harry and the girls handled. After searching the bodies for anything interesting, Harry vanished the bodies and they resumed their climb, a little more alert.

Fangbreaker Keep turned out to be an ancient ruin that had been built to provide protection from gnoll tribes in the area. Whether it had fallen into ruin due to neglect or destroyed in battle was hard to say. It was still 'manned' by mostly ghosts with a few zombies and animated skeletons. Apparently, these 'undead' were more in the line of the ghosts of Hogwarts, staying at their posts long after they died. Harry and Kasumi found no evidence of necromancer activity. Not feeling they had the time and since the keep was isolated, the group mostly left the inhabitants alone unless they attacked first.

Turning back south, they eventually came upon what the map referred to as the North Farms. Although the fields were plowed, there didn't seem to be anyone about. The reason for this became apparent when they approached the farmhouse in the middle of the fields. The house and barn had been destroyed, recently judging from the smoke still rising from the wreckage. Ranma scouted around looking for where the attackers had gone but did not manage to find any usable clues.

Giving up on tracking the villains down and applying justice, the four headed southeast to where the entrance to the Shattered Vale was marked on their map. The area they were traveling through had plenty of bear, deer, and rabbits to hunt and a fair number of usable plants and ores. They killed an occasional wolf, not because they wanted too but because the wolves were very aggressive.

By early afternoon, they had reached the trail that led into mountains where the vale was located when Kasumi paled and sucked in her breath.

"There is something very evil happening ahead!"(4)

[Qeynos, Tent Library]

Ranko, Luna, Shampoo, and Ukyo had left for the Temple of Life for Ranko's training an hour or so after breakfast. The other four young women were working in the library with Hermione and Jane trying to get the books, scrolls, maps, and other items organized while Nabiki and Daphne were doing research into what the team would face in the two areas that Paladin Toranim had mentioned

The Feerrott was a swamp before the Cataclysm and still had areas that retained that aspect. It was another one of those places that could be referred to as a 'Green Hell'. There were insects as large as St Bernard dogs, spiders the size of a small man, manticores, all kinds of snakes, lizard men, evil dryads, skeletons, and giants. Deep in The Feerrott lay the Temple of Cazic-Thule, an evil god, which was guarded by golems and giants. Because of the resources it contained, The Feerrott was frequented by adventurers seeking materials and treasure. Some of them even returned.

On the other hand, The Enchanted Lands were the traditional home of the halflings and had been a pleasant wooded group of islands until they were invaded by goblins. There had been goblins nearby even before the Cataclysm but after that time they came spilling out of their burrow, called Runnyeye, and pushed the halflings out of about half the land. The islands are home to giant wasps, large beetles, fairies, bears, badgers, treants, and a few other species. The city of Rivervale is located on one of the islands that make up the Lands.

After taking time for a brief lunch, the four girls continued their tasks with Hermione and Jane indexing the contents of the library and Nabiki and Daphne going over maps of The Enchanted Lands.

Suddenly, Hermione and Daphne received a mental shout.

"'Mione, can you and Daphne join us here?" Harry asked. "We have a big problem in that some assholes are attempting to summon a major demon and we don't think that is a good idea. Can Jane still shift to you?"

"Yes Harry, Jane can still shift to me.", Hermione returned. "I take it you want Daph and me to slide to you then have Jane join us?"

"That would be great!", Harry confirmed. "Could you ask Nabiki to join us as well?"

"How about the others?", Daphne inquired.

"They are still training and we don't think Ranko can join us.", Harry replied. "Her link to Ranma isn't as strong. The eight of us should be enough. If not, we can have Ukyo and Luna join us. After that attack yesterday, we don't want anyone by themselves."

"Give us a few minutes to get equipped and we will be there." Hermione thought back to him as she turned to Nabiki. "Nabiki, Harry called and said we are needed to stop a demon summoning."

"I'll grab some charmed arrows!", Nabiki said racing from the room.

[Antonica, Entrance to the Shattered Vale]

Hermione, Daphne, and Nabiki appeared next to Harry and Ranma. Jane popped in a minute later.

"What's the scoop?", Nabiki wanted to know.

"Kasumi felt something evil ahead so I scouted ahead to see what I could find.", Ranma told them. "There is a good sized group of fighters guarding a couple dozen mage types. The fighters are a mixed lot including humans, ogres, and the local version of trolls. The mage types seem to all be those rat people. While I was watching, they opened a portal and some kind of demon came through. From what I gathered, they were disappointed and were going to try again."

"What happened to the demon?", Daphne asked.

"They bound it somehow and shoved it off to the side.", Ranma informed her.

"So we have a bunch of big nasty guards, some magic types, and so far one demon.", Nabiki summarized.

"That's about it.", Harry said. "If Hermione, Daphne, and Jane could do crowd control(5), Winky can whittle down the guards, Nabiki can take out the mages, and Kasumi can protect our magic users, leaving Ranma and me to deal with the demon if necessary. If the demon does not come into play, then we will start with the mages and intercept anything we have to."

"You guys ready for this?", Ranma asked.

"Sounds like we have a plan, bare bones but a plan.", Nabiki grimaced. "Well, if it goes pear shaped, I can always 'Escape' us out of here."

"Anything else?" Harry looked around. "Nabiki, you open the dance on my signal, ok?" At her nod. "Let's move up to the opening of the vale and get started before we have another demon to deal with!"

With that the group moved to the end of the narrow canyon that led into the vale and positioned themselves. After checking to make sure they were set, Harry signaled Nabiki and she began loosing arrows into the demonic summoners. Harry and Ranma run forward toward the demon, engaging the guards only as necessary. Winky sent Stoney to attack the closest troll and began casting bolts at the ogre next to it. Kasumi cast her wards and readied her weapons. The other girls cast their mesmerizing spells, summoned their mini-selves, and then began to transfigure rocks and fallen limbs into various animals.

The guards, while taken by surprise, reacted quickly. While about half their number were stunned by the girls' spells, a good number of them were out of range or resisted the effects. Those that weren't already armed, grabbed weapons they had near at hand and begin attacking the girls. The lions, bears, and tigers that had been conjured, moved amongst the guards ripping at their legs and arms. Winky began raining stones and other debris on the guards near the rear.

Harry and Ranma the were attempting to get to the demon before the mages could release it. The plan was to destroy it while it couldn't move to avoid having to actually fight it. Neither man wanted to fight the thing as it was twice the height of a large man, three times the width, and its limbs were thick as tree trucks. It skin was a dark red, its eyes glowed yellow, and it expelled smoke with every breath. It had two sets of warnings coming out of its head, one similar to the horns of an Ibex and a second set like those of an antelope. The hands and feet, which were bare, had three digits and looked like they were primarily for pounding rather than for use in grasping. The face looked like the squashed face of an angry bull. It was something the guys altogether did not want to have to deal with. However, just as they reached the demon their time ran out and the mage released it from stasis.

The fact that a shuriken ended the mage's life just afterward was no consolation. The guys split, dodging left and right, as the demon roared into motion, smashing the ground where they had been a second before. Harry used his sword to hamstring the monster and succeeded in cutting deep into the Achilles tendon. As he began casting 'Solar Flare', he noticed the wound began to close.

"Oh bloody hell!", he yelled. "This thing heals fast!"

"I can see that!", Ranma yelled back. Ranma had not been idle, delivering 'Chestnut Fist' blows to the torso of the infernal beast. The blows left marks which rapidly faded. He tried a ki blast which rocked the creature back but did little damage.

"Ugly seems to be mostly immune to fire spells, too!", Harry noted with aggravation, as he began casting 'Ice Spears'. "Let's see what ice does." The frozen spears hit the demon and did quite a bit of damage but it, too, started to visibly heal. "Merlin, this thing is tough! And those blasted mages are still trying to open another portal!" He sliced the monster's knee and it turned, swinging at him causing him to dodge back out of the way. Ranma hit the other knee and flipped out of the way of the creature's return blow. "Hmm. Ranma can you blind ugly?"

"I'll give it a shot." Ranma danced back a ways, then flung two shuriken at the glowing eyes. The throwing stars hit close on its face, causing it to bellow, but didn't damage the eyes themselves. "I'm just not that accurate with shuriken! Wait a second! Nabiki?"

"Yes, Ranma baby?", Nabiki replied, 'sounding' a bit distracted. "It's kind of busy here right now."

"We need the demon blinded.", Ranma told her. "Do you think you can do it?"

"Shouldn't be a problem.", was Nabiki's reply. "I've got some barbed arrows that have been enchanted. They should work well. Just get it to face this way."

"Nabiki needs it to face her!"

"Not a problem!" Harry jabbed it in the knee again and dodged. As the beast turned toward him, an arrow embedded itself in the creature's eye. Its hands flew up to the eye, breaking the arrow shaft but leaving the head and part of the shaft still in the eye. A second later, another arrow blossomed from the other eye.

"There you go boys." Nabiki's thought was smug. "Call if you need anything else."

"Thanks, Nabs." Aloud, Ranma said. "Okay, Harry. What's the plan?"

"Ugly doesn't seem to be very bright. I've noticed that it turns in the direction of the last blow it received. So, if we use this to steer it, maybe we can get it to go back through the portal being opened. If not, maybe it will at least disrupt the mages."

"I got nothing better. Let's do it!"

Due to Nabiki's efforts, the mages were having a harder time opening the new portal and it was taking longer than they planned. When the previously summoned demon suddenly staggered into their midst, they lost control and the partially opened portal began to close. Ranma, seeing this, fired a ki blast into it, knocking the beast's head through the closing opening. When the reality rift winked out of existence, all that was left behind was the body from the neck down. As Harry and Ranma turned their attention to the mages, that turned to black motes and vanished.

'Storm of Lightning' and Ranma quickly took care of the remaining mages. The guys turned back to lend a hand to the ladies and found them standing by themselves in the middle of a battlefield. There were craters, boulders, dead bodies, broken weapons, uprooted trees, destroyed tents, overturned wagons, and smoke everywhere. Lots of smoke. Everywhere. To the boys relief, the girls seemed to be relativity unharmed with only a few cuts and bruises that Kasumi was in the process of taking care of.

"Wow!", Ranma's commented. "What happened?"

"No sense of tactics, at all.", Hermione replied. "They may have been professional guards but they obviously had not trained together. They acted mostly as individuals. We were able to get behind cover and use the conjured animals to force them out where we could pick them off a few at a time. We were used to working with each other and that paid off. Once Nabiki had dealt with the mages she could reach, she started working on officers and healers. Kasumi kept ward up and guarded our rear, healing when necessary. Daphne, Jane, and I supplied the animals and blasted the guards when we could. We used a lot of Earth magic, hence the damage. Winky had Stoney out fighting as well as her water and fire minions."

At that point, a huge bear appeared behind them and charged. Kasumi pulled her mace and smashed its skull, crushing it. "Oh my, I wonder if this is the bear that Mr. Hartok mentioned."

"Maybe.", Winky replied. "Oh, well, we might as well butcher it. I just hope the meat isn't too tough. I can see if he wants to buy the skin, when I have the time."

"Hermione, Daphne, can you look over the portal site with me?", Harry asked. "I want to see if we can prevent it from being used again. One of those demons was enough!"

"Sure, Harry.", Daphne agreed. "What do you think, 'Mione, hidden rune wards?"

"Probably but we should check it out first.", Hermione replied. "We need to see why they thought this was a good place for a portal..."

In the end, the area was warded to prevent another portal from forming and the runes concealed to the point it was unlikely they would be discovered. The 'away team' decided they had enough supplies and needed to report the demon incident to Paladin Toranim at the Temple of Light, anyway. Having decided that, the eight of them recalled back to Qeynos.

[Qeynos, Temple of Light, next morning]

The four members of the hunting party went with Ranko, Shampoo, Ukyo, and Luna the next morning. After hearing a brief account of their adventures, Toranim sent them to talk to a senior priest while he trained Ranko and her sparring pardners. The priest listened attentively to their story, asking questions occasionally to clarify details. When they were done, he thought for a moment, then consulted with another priest and checked a few objects. When he came back, he addressed them. "It doesn't appear that the demon was related to our want to be god, but it was not good. I do not know if the group you defeated was merely an enemy of Qeynos or one of those cults that seek to sow despair and misery but I'm am most happy you stopped them. The demon would have much loss of life and damage had it been set free."

"We were happy to help although we would have preferred to have gotten there a little sooner.", Ranma told him. "We may have to give some thought to how to kill, in case we run across another one."

"Smaller ones are easier but usually removing the head is enough.", the priest informed them. "Hopefully, you will not meet another."

"With our luck, it is almost a sure thing.", Harry chuckled. "Is there any word on out main mission?"

"Not yet, but we expect to receive the information we are waiting on at any time.", the priest assured them. "Paladin Toranim will get word to you when we do."

The group thanked the priest and headed back to their quarters. They spent the rest of the day on chores, training, research, and spending time with each other. This pattern continued for the next several days.

[Qeynos, The Tent, several days later]

It was afternoon after Ranko and company had returned from training. The group was doing training exercises when an alarm sounded. Luna looked up. "Ah, the doorbell. I will get it." When she got to the inn room door, she found a nervous squire waiting there. "Yes?"

"Master Toranim sent me to tell you that information you have been waiting on has arrived. If you could meet with him today?"

Luna checked with Harry. "We can do that. Some of us will be there shortly."

"Thank you, mistress.", the squire stuttered, bowed, and left.

Harry, Ranma, Daphne, and Nabiki went to meet with the paladin and when they returned, they called a meeting in the living room.

"As we expected, the problems are in the Feerrott and the Enchanted Lands.", Harry opened. 'In the Feerrott, the problems seems to be skeletons around something called the Tower of Vul. The Enchanted Lands seem to be overrun with minor demons: succubi, called lamia, and smaller versions of the demon we fought the other day, called nightbloods. The information we have indicates that the skeletons can be dealt with physically easily. The minor demons are better dealt with using magic. Therefore, we think Ranma and his girls should check out the Feerrott with Jane going along to provide mage support. My girls and I will investigate the Enchanted Lands with Ranko providing melee combat capability. Questions and comments?"

"Well, we have been reviewing the maps of..."

TBC

Footnotes:

(1) This sewing kit is the object of a quest in game where you are paid to recover it. Since the 'owner' is obnoxious it is going to be finders, keepers for Ranma. (heehee)

(2) Qeynos is an equal opportunity employer. About half the guards are female and vary by race (human, elf, dwarf, etc.)

(3) This section is a fan fiction cliche but I'm using anyway.

(4) A mini cliffhanger. It will be resolved later in the chapter.

(5) Illusionists and Coercers use various mesmerizing spells to freeze groups of opponents to take them out of the fight temporarily. This is referred to as 'Crowd Control'. Very useful when you are outnumbered badly.

(6)