"Are you okay?"
The air carried the soft voice through the heavy rain, doing its best to drown out all the noise.
Yet the words reached the woman, who quickly wiped her tears and sniffled twice before looking to her left, away from Raghav.
"I am fine; you needn't worry about me."
Despite trying to sound tough and old, the voice was clearly not that of an adult.
A fact Raghav could deduce at first glance.
"I am willing to accept that, but if I may, young lady, I hope I am not overstepping my limits when I ask. Is there anything I can do to make your tears stop?"
"You could leave me alone like everyone else."
Hmmm
Raghav nodded to the right as he hummed in agreement.
"That I could, but we both know that it is not what either of us wants. So, please tell me what troubles you... Miss?"
Sigh
With a heavy sigh, she turned her head towards Raghav, locking eyes with him.
Her appearance told Raghav all he needed to know; it was similar to Shin's, or at least it would appear that way to the common folk in Paneria.
"It's Yang Ji-Won. Don't pay too much mind to trying to say it correctly; call me Jiwo. As for my troubles, you wouldn't understand the thing I am going through."
"Of course, I cannot understand until you tell me. But that would not be necessary anymore. I know you are just like me. A being from another world who finds themselves in Paneria."
Ji-Won's eyes widened as tears welled up in them.
She tried to move towards Raghav, but as soon as she placed her hand on the ground, it slipped, and she almost fell.
Under the rain and above the mud, she began to cry like a lost child.
Raghav approached her and crouched in front of her, holding out a handkerchief for her.
Halting her tears for a moment, she took the handkerchief and wiped her eyes before stopping her runny nose.
Tilting his head up to look at the clouds, Raghav squinted his eyes.
"Let us go inside; you will catch a cold at this rate."
Despite her best efforts of trying to say no, her body did the speaking for her as she sneezed loudly and clearly for anyone around them to hear.
Before Raghav could say something else, she stood up, coming up to his shoulders as she walked past him.
From above, Eldrain looked down at the two as they walked towards the alley, and before turning the corner, Raghav gestured at Eldrain to loop around the building.
Meanwhile, inside the tavern, Shin was looking down at the compass with Aurelia and An near the counter.
Music filled the space as the sound of the rain outside was drowned out in the lively chatter of the people.
"It's moving."
He called out to them as the needle moved to the left until it pointed directly behind him.
Turning around, he and the ladies saw the door open as the sound of the heavy rain filled the tavern.
A young woman stepped through drenched in the rain, following after her Raghav and Eldrain.
Causing whispers to spread across the place. Ji-Won could make out some parts such as 'The Hero and Prophecy'.
For a moment, Shin was caught off guard by the woman, as he was left with a half open mouth upon seeing her.
But as she moved through the tavern towards a table in the left corner of the tavern.
The compass followed after her.
'She has the artefact.'
The three of them thought as Eldrain approached them.
"Shin, could you get us a few cups of tea? Ask them to add some more ginger. Aurelia, An. Raghav and I believe you two should talk with the girl; she is quite upset."
Shin nodded and leaned closer to Eldrain.
"She has the artefact, look."
Eldrain followed Shin's eyes and looked down at the compass, which pointed right at Ji-Won.
"Raghav and I deduced it as well. Good, that means we can knock one artefact off the list."
Handing over the compass, Eldrain Shin went off to get the tea.
While the rest of the group moved towards the corner table.
Raghav helped Ji-Won sit by pulling out the chair for her,
Right after he pulled one out for Aurelia, who sat to Ji-Won's left, Eldrain pulled out a chair for An, who sat to Ji-Won's right.
The two men then took their seats beside the women they pulled a chair for.
"Hello dear, I am An Exter. This is my husband, Eldrain Exter."
"I am Aurelia Reid, and I believe you must know who this man is."
Aurelia gestured to her left as Ji-Won looked at Raghav and shook her head.
"He is yet to introduce himself."
Raghav nodded and leaned forward on the table.
"I apologise for that. My name is Raghav Suryanshi, and I am the leader of this Adventure party. This is my younger brother Shin Furukawa; like you, he and I are from Earth."
Ji-Won looked up as Shin stood to her right, placing down a cup of tea before her.
When their eyes met, Shin passed her a smile, to which she rolled her eyes.
Shin then placed the remaining three cups before the Exter couple and Princess Aurelia.
"Thank you, Shin."
The three of them spoke in unison as Shin bowed slightly, then circled them to sit between Raghav and Eldrain, opposite Ji-Won.
"My name is Yang Ji-Won. As I have told Raghav, you can call me Jiwo if my name is too difficult for you."
The shivering girl told the group before taking a sip from her tea, letting out a sigh as she shivered.
"Thank you for the tea, but I am sorry, I won't be able to repay you."
An shook her head and placed her hand on Ji-Won's forearm.
"No need to repay us, dear; we just wanted to ask you a few questions if you are comfortable."
Ji-Won looked at the group and nodded, taking the hood of her cloak off and brushing her hair behind her ears.
'She really does look like Seol In-Ah.'
"Thank you for the compliment, Shin."
A red blush found its way onto Shin's face as he looked down and away from everyone's eyes.
Chuckle
Looking at the situation, An couldn't help but chuckle as she shook her head.
"So, Ji-Won, I believe I'll start by explaining what we are doing here. Our party has been looking for ancient relics to prevent a world ending prophecy. We believe you might have one of them on your person, for that we wish to ask when was it your arrived here?"
Sigh
Leaning back in her chair, Ji-Won looked up at the ceiling.
"Around an hour or so."
"That would explain why the compass showed a sudden change in direction; it detected a new artefact the moment she set foot in this world."
Eldrain shared his thoughts with the members at the table, while Raghav sat there, looking at the centre of the table, his eyes vibrating back and forth between all the teacups.
Hmph
A loud exhale escaped his nose as he raised his eyes to meet Ji-Won's.
"I just have two questions; after that, we will not bother you anymore. How did you come to this world, and do you know what the artefact that led us to you is?"
Ji-Won looked down at the cup of tea held tightly within her hands.
The skin on her forehead and nose scrunched towards one another.
For a moment, her eyes flickered to the jet black obsidian like ring on her left ring finger.
An act that seemed to go unnoticed as she looked back up at the group and shook her head.
"I don't know; maybe what your compass detected was the use of one to bring me to this world. I can be wrong, so you can check the compass again to be certain."
For a moment, no one spoke a word until.
Clink
Eldrain popped the compass lid open and placed it on the table. They all watched the needle point West, the complete opposite direction from where Ji-Won sat.
Raghav nodded, sliding the chair forward to place his elbows on the table.
The fingers intertwined to form a base on which he rested his forehead.
"Very well, if it is all right with you, we would be taking our leave then. We were on our way out of the city when we detected your arrival. But I believe there is no need for us to stay any longer."
He looked around at everyone to see if they had something to say before he nodded to himself and stood up, straightening his jacket.
"I will be by the wagon; Vrisht must be soaking wet by now."
Before leaving, he looked back at Ji-Won with a gentle smile on his face.
"Welcome to Paneria, Yang Ji-Won. I hope you can spend the rest of your days in peace. It must be hard to get taken away from your home and find yourself without a way back. But trust me, it becomes normal. All it needs is a little time and for you to be strong."
With that gentle parting piece, he left the tavern, leaving the members of his party behind with Ji-Won.
Eldrain raised his cup to his lips and downed the tea in one gulp, then patted Shin on the knee before standing up.
Shin understood what he meant and got up after him as they walked towards the exit.
Leaving behind all the ladies.
All of whom were sipping their respective tea, taking their sweet time as they began talking between themselves.
Outside, in the rain, Vrisht sat beside the carriages, his white fur drenched and stuck to his body.
Gati was in the same spot, standing in front of the carriage, looking at Vrisht.
"You could have stayed inside."
"And leave our food carriage unguarded, you might be able to chew on grass; the rest of us require food."
Snort
Growl
The two white animals reacted in their native nonverbal sounds before Gati shook her head.
"Sorry, but what kind of wolf eats vegetables?"
"This kind."
Familiar footsteps were heard by the two as they looked across the road at Raghav approaching them, behind him, Eldrain and Shin at a distance of about twenty meters.
"Sorry for having put you out in the rain like this."
The first thing Raghav did was apologise to his animal companions before petting them on the head.
On the other side of the road, Eldrain and Shin waited for the traffic to pass.
Shin looked up at Eldrain, who was staring at Raghav across the road.
"What are you thinking in that big skull of yours?"
"Taking the events that have taken place in recent times, I believe we now stand at the End of The Begninning. From here on, our journey is bound to change."
Shin's face scrunched up watching Eldrain look up at the sky, running a hand through his hair before rubbing the hair stubble on his jaw.
"I think I will grow a beard; it's about time."
Before Shin could say anything else, Eldrain noticed that the traffic was clear and walked forward, leaving behind a confused Shin.
"What did you say to him to get a reaction like that?"
Eldrain looked back upon hearing Raghav's question and chuckled.
"Oh, nothing, just said some generic line dramatically, you know how they do it in those novels that you shared with me."
"That would explain the reaction. Now, are you thinking what I am thinking?"
Hmmmm
That was all the affirmation Raghav needed as he took a deep breath, looking out and seeing Aurelia and An, with a third figure walking just a few steps behind them.
Upon closer inspection, Raghav saw that the third figure was Ji-Won, who carried a large guitar bag on her back.
They met up with Shin and crossed the road with him, finally reaching the carriages.
Aurelia was the one who approached Raghav with Ji-Won by her side and nudged her forward.
Eldrain had moved around Gati and was standing behind Raghav as the two women stood on the other side.
Anyone could tell what was going through Ji-Won's head, and for a seasoned detective like Raghav, it was clear as day the moment he saw her grip tighten around the strap of her bag.
"You can join our party, but beware, it will be dangerous, and we may have to travel from one place to another for a long time."
"Don't worry, I won't drag your team down."
"Not what I meant, but all right, you should sit inside with Aurelia and An, at least until the rain passes. The two of them will fill you in about our mission."
Ji-Won nodded and walked away with Aurelia and An.
Raghav climbed on the carriage with Shin sitting by his side, and Eldrain got on the food carriage.
Without wasting any more time, the group departed once more, hoping to leave Plied for good this time.
Soon they got on the high road, and the carriages picked up pace with Vrisht running beside them, matching their speed with ease.
Taking out the compass from his pocket, Raghav opened it and saw that it still pointed to the West.
He turned his head to the right, looking at the direction the compass pointed, and he could see the red setting sun in the distance at the edge of the dark monsoon clouds.
A gentle smile found its way onto his face as he turned back to look at the approaching City Gates.
"We are back on track."