The act of washing dishes was calming to Nodoka Saotome. The repetitive nature of cleaning bowls, plates, and pots was relaxing after the usual chaos that tended to engulf the Tendo Dojo. Today's chaos had involved a rather large, and rather irritable, turtle. Most turtles were not, as she knew from experience, capable of walking up walls or eating steel. This had not been most turtles.

Still, that little adventure was over with and the only thing left was to clean up from the short spat of chaos. Which was why Nodoka was washing dishes alone for once, without the company of the eldest Tendo. Kasumi was busy trying to remove turtle prints from the furo ceiling… and the hallway ceilings, and walls… and most of the other rooms as well. In truth the reason Nodoka found washing dishes so relaxing is because it was perhaps the only bit of cleaning that did not eventually involve something strange.

Washing turtle prints off ceilings was far too reminiscent of her younger days for her liking. She much preferred to forget most of those days.

As she was drying the last pot there was a soft 'thud thud thud' from the front door. Setting aside the dishcloth she shouted, "I'll get the door." as she heard Kasumi hurriedly setting down her mop into the bucket.

"Thank you, Auntie." The eldest Tendo sister called back. The squish of a mop being wrung out followed immediately afterwards.

Nodoka adjusted her hair as she walked towards the door. She tucked a few errant red strands back into some semblance of order as she walked. 'Thud thud thud' went the door. She sped up her pace as she left the kitchen and entered the entrance hall. Her son, in his female form, paused partway down the stairs.

"Mum?" Her temporary daughter asked.

"I've got it," Nodoka assured the other redhead as she walked over to the door.

"If it's that turtle girl again…" Ranma muttered as she stepped off the stairs.

Nodoka sighed and shook her head in amusement before opening the door. "Hello, how can I… help…" The words caught in her throat as she trailed off.

Five people, two women and three men, stood in the entrance. They were a motley lot. A black and grey-haired man in robes with a staff, a fair skinned blonde woman in a silvery breastplate, a short and stocky man, a wispy thin man with sharp features a beard and pointed ears, and a black haired woman who seemed to be trying to fade out of notice behind the rest. Of them, she only recognized the old man. The woman in plate armour seemed very familiar. She had to be from back then as well.

"Master Blackburn." She breathed, "This is… unexpected." It was something of an understatement given the circumstances of their last… encounter. It hadn't really been a meeting. One person yelling at another as they ran off with the first's life's work was not a meeting. It probably met the definition of a robbery, however.

Blackburn, the older man, sighed. "Lady Alagondar." He said, "finally."

She could feel colour enter her cheeks as the old man assessed her. "It is Saotome now." She said. She had left that life behind.

Blackburn leaned to the side, raising an eyebrow as he saw Ranma peeking out from behind her. "Your daughter?" He asked.

She glanced down at her son, her daughter. The redhead looked back up at her with a confused expression. "Mum?" She asked.

"My son actually." She said turning back to Blackburn. "There is magic involved." She clarified. He nodded.

"I see." He said, "A lot can happen in thirty years." He scowled, "And it has been a very long and bloody thirty years."

"Mum?" Ranma repeated, "Who is he? Who are they?" Nodoka looked down again, meeting the concerned eyes of her child. It seemed that today it was her past rather than Genma's which would be taking center stage.

Nodoka sighed and stepped aside. "Please, come in. I would advise against trying anything, however. Ranma is far more capable than I ever was."

"An achievement worthy of praise." The woman, whose name Nodoka was struggling to recall despite how familiar she seemed, next to Blackburn said, "You certainly managed to lose us for quite a while." She stepped inside and, without giving Nodoka a warning, pulled her into a hug. "It is good to see you again. After so long most of us had thought you dead."

Nodoka awkwardly returned the hug. "I had thought my father would have given up by now." She said.

"And perhaps he has," Blackburn said as he entered the house. "Your father was rather… angry shall we say. Gave me an ultimatum, a hundred men and told me not to return without you." He tisked. "Of course the court Wizard takes the blame when the Young Princess decides to do a runner with his spellbook."

"Princess? Mum?" Nodoka closed her eyes and sighed again as Ranma was looking from one to the other.

"She doesn't know?" The tall woman asked as she pulled back from the hug.

"Apparently not. Not really that important I'd imagine." The thin wispy man said as he spoke for the first time.

"We'll talk in the dinner room," Nodoka said, turning and walking briskly from the entrance room. Ranma was quickly on her heels. "And remember to remove your shoes." She called back. There was some shuffling and thudding as heavy boots were removed. Torm grant her strength and patience, this was going to take a while.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A Ranma ½ Forgotten Realms Crossover

The Crown of Neverwinter

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

The Princess and The Wizard

-0-0-0-0-0-

The day had already proven to be weird. Turtles were not supposed to talk, or eat steel I-beams, or walk on walls, or fly. Turtles had, on this day, done all of that and more. Lunch had been more exciting than it had really needed to be. So had dinner for that matter. Thankfully that pan had been Ukyo's rather than one of Kasumi's so at least they weren't going to be short on cookware. And really Mu Tsu really hadn't needed those spare swords, they were spares after all… The car had looked rather expensive though.

Still, as she sat at the dining table beside her mother and across from the newcomers, she had to wonder what new and perhaps even stranger series of events was about to unfold.

The old man and the woman in armour had taken a seat at the table while the other three were lined up behind them by the wall. The other woman seemed a bit nervous as she glanced about the room, her eyes darting from corner, to person, to shadow and to the next corner. She was garbed in dark brown pants, a dark green tunic, and a dark green cloak that went to her knees. When she shifted to look at a new corner or another person Ranma could spot a handful of blades slipped into her belt. A few odd bulges on her legs suggested several more.

The thin man with the pointed, almost elven look to him leaned against the doorframe with an air of almost boredom. Beside him a longbow, unstrung at present, leaned against the wall. He wore no armour. Instead, he wore a pair of black woollen pants and a white shirt that showed off the muscles of his chest. From his right shoulder hung a gaudy cloak that seemed entirely made of patches of a thousand different shades. On his left shoulder was his only consideration to protection, a leather pauldron. In his hands, he toyed with a dagger of that same silvery metal as the first woman's breastplate.

The last of the newcomers was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall while cradling a sheathed broadsword in his lap. Short, stout and with a beard that was braided into a chain that was held together by a gold ring at the end. He wore padded cloth armour underneath a breastplate of the same silvery metal. His gaze was fixed on Ranma's mother, a clearly conflicted look on his face.

"Now, what is this about?" Ranma's father asked from the head of the table where he sat with Soun Tendo. The two men were looking rather grim with her overweight father leaning forward across the table. They weren't the the only ones to join them. The three Tendo sisters were sitting, somewhat awkwardly, by the door. Thankfully any of the real crazies had long since disappeared so it was just Tendo's and Saotome's.

Ranma's mother sighed. "This is about me and the fact that I ran away from home when I was sixteen." She said. Ranma looked at her mother with surprise. She never would have thought her own mother, dignified and collected at all times, would have run away from home. The older redhead seemed rather resigned. "After so long," she shook her head, "I never thought anyone would find me."

The old man, Blackburn her mother had called him, snorted. "We very nearly didn't. You had luck on your side. We made a few mistakes early on and it took until now to figure out what those were." He said.

"Still, most would have given up years ago." Her mother pointed out.

Blackburn scowled. "And many of my men did. I set out with a hundred men, including these four I've only got a dozen men fit for battle." He said. Ranma recognized the look of horror that crossed her mother's face and so did the old man it seemed. "Only some died. Most ran off themselves once progress started drying up. I was down to thirty men five years in. Only five dead. A miracle given some of the places we tracked you. By Torm's grace, what possessed you to enter a hydra's den?"

Nodoka's hands tightened into fists in her lap as she looked down, shame clearly visible. "I wanted to lose you, not kill you." She said, "How many died?"

"Eleven."

Ranma's mother sighed and massaged her face. "I'm sorry." She said.

Blackburn sighed, "I know."

"Mum, what is going on?" Ranma asked again.

Her mother looked down. "I should start from the beginning. Genma knows that I ran away from home."

"You brought that up early on." Genma agreed, "I never did manage to convince you to share more."

Nodoka smiled wryly. "It didn't matter back then. It had been a decade since I left when I met you. I felt that if no one had come for me then the odds of being found were next to zero."

"We managed fairly well then." The woman next to Blackburn said.

Nodoka nodded. "I am impressed by your determination at least. I am getting off track though. What I never told Genma is who my family was, or really just how far away I came from. In case it's not obvious I am not Japanese by birth." She said.

"Really Auntie?" Akane asked. She sounded as surprised as Ranma felt. Next to Akane the eldest daughter merely nodded her understanding. Kasumi must have suspected as much herself. Nabiki just seemed curious.

As for Ranma, well she had wondered if there was a bit of western blood in her given how fair her own skin tone was as a girl.

"Yes, really." Her mother said, "More than that I am very familiar with magic, master Blackburn here was my teacher back home."

The old man nodded. "When your king asks you to teach his youngest, you do as asked."

"King!" The exclamation came in stereo from Ranma, Akane and Nabiki. Genma was staring at his wife with a look of surprise.

Nodoka sighed. "Yes, King." She said, "I was Princess Nodoka Alagondar, youngest child of King Bann the second and Queen Danna of Neverwinter."

"You are still a Princess." The armoured woman said, "You have the blood of House Alagondar."

"Only if my father hasn't thrown me from the family for running away. Gods, my father is probably dead by now." A few tears made their appearance and Ranma scooted closer to her. She hated seeing her mother cry. She placed a hand on her mother's shoulder, awkwardly trying to comfort her. Her mother took her hand and squeezed it gently. "I'm fine, just haven't thought about this in years."

"I can assure you neither your father nor your brothers ever considered such a thing." Blackburn said, "It was your brother's anger at my negligence that prompted the king to forbid my return unless I came back with you."

Nodoka looked up sharply. "That's why you kept looking." She said.

He nodded. "Aye. I have to return with you, and while I may have been away from the city for longer than I lived in it I will be damned if I don't complete this task." He hand smack the tabletop lightly, "And my men deserve to go home as well. I have to ask, will you return with us?"

She looked away. "I… had my reasons for leaving."

"What were they?" The armoured woman leaned forward, "You left so suddenly, no one could figure out why."

Nodoka sighed, "It seems a bit silly looking back. I should have told someone about it at least."

"Why would you abandon being a Princess?" Nabiki asked, "Life with servants waiting on you, with whatever you want within reach. Why would you walk away from that?" Honestly, that kind of life sounded rather… dull to Ranma. Having someone do everything for you sounded like the perfect way to wind up bored out of your mind.

"Because I was told a prophecy." The room fell quiet as Nodoka frowned. "It's funny I can't remember what the words were anymore. It's been thirty years since I was told it and it shaped so much of what I did for an entire decade. I just… can't remember what his words were precisely." Ranma closed her eyes and muffled a sigh. Prophecies were annoying, vague, most of the time utterly false creations meant to manipulate the weak-willed.

Blackburn groaned and massaged his forehead with his right hand. Behind him, the short man leaned his forehead against the pommel of his sword and was muttering something in a language Ranma couldn't recognize. The elvenish man was staring at the roof a thoroughly amused look on his face.

"Please don't tell me you just listened to some random madman on the street Princess." The armoured woman asked with her own frown.

Nodoka shook her head. "No, no. Nothing of the sort. It was from the head of the Temple of Torm, Cleric Hannagan." There was a sharp intake of breath from the two at the table and the short man.

"The old goat fucking bastard." The short man shouted angrily as he stood up. "Knew nothing did he!" Ranma leaned back as the short man started in on an impressive display of angry swearing.

"Formond, enough," Blackburn said after several minutes of progressively more elaborate oaths. "If the old fool is still alive when we get back I'm sure the king will want words with him. However…"

"However, he was an actual cleric of Torm, not just a priest." The woman next to him continued.

"Which is why I took it so seriously, Lady Mason," Nodoka replied.

Mason smiled. "Finally remembered my name I see." She said.

"I have no idea what you mean." Ranma's mother deflected.

"You ran because of a prophecy?" Genma asked. He looked very worried all of a sudden.

"It has nothing to do with anyone here but me." Nodoka assured him with a sharp glance. "I can't remember what the exact phrase was, but I do remember enough to paraphrase."

"Then please, paraphrase away." The elfen man at the back quipped.

Nodoka glanced at Blackburn who nodded. "Very well." She paused, biting her lip as she thought. "You will be queen when the blood and ash has set."

"Your phrasing?" Blackburn asked.

She nodded. "Yes, my phrasing. It is as close as I can recall anyway."

"Damn it." The old man sighed. "No timeline? Nothing about moons, or star alignments? Seasons even?" Nodoka shook her head. "Bugger it all."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "You're taking this rather serious." She said.

"We've had a very eventful few decades Miss Ranma." Mason said. She looked older as she said that. The lines of her face seemed deeper and her eyes, for a moment, seemed to look into the distance. "It has been a long time."

Blackburn nodded. "It has and the reason I am taking this seriously is because that old fool made quite a few prophecies over his years in office. Nearly all of them came to pass."

Ranma frowned. Someone who actually made real prophecies? Ones that came true? Had come true before. This was not something she needed to deal with on top of every other bit of madness her life tended to throw at her. Like the turtle earlier that day. That had almost been normal for her. She did not need to add prophecies on top of it.

At the head of the table Genma and Soun were muttering things back and forth, making the occasional gesture that suggested a debate on whether they really, really, needed to stick around. Who was arguing for or against Ranma couldn't tell.

"Now," Blackburn rapped his knuckle on the table for attention. "Given that I am not bowing to you at a throne in Neverwinter I think given how much time has passed we shouldn't worry about this matter too heavily. At least not without further indicators, or an actual copy of this prophecy."

Nodoka frowned, "There was no time given for it however." She reminded.

"Be that as it may, my duty is to take you home. Will you come willingly?" The old man asked.

Ranma's mother frowned and Ranma herself started eying the others in the room as actual threats. All of them, barring the old man, had the build of experienced fighters and she could see the scars from what were probably many many battles. Some were small, like the tiny one under the eye of the nervous woman at the back. Others were large, like the scar that travelled from just beneath the left eye of the short man down into his beard. Their weapons were varied, and unfortunately, none of them had done more than walk into the room so she couldn't tell how capable any of them actually were.

"Auntie?" Kasumi said calmly, drawing the room's attention.

"Yes Kasumi?" Nodoka asked.

"I think you should go." The Eldest daughter said.

"Now, Kasumi," Soun began.

"This may be your last chance to see your family again." Her father trailed off as she continued, "I would be a shame to waste it. Besides, nothing says you can't come back."

Blackburn nodded. "She is right. My job is to take you back, nothing about keeping you there." He said. Ranma relaxed and sighed as the trio moved their hands from where they had been hovering by their weapons.

Nodoka drummed her fingers on the table top as she thought. "I… It would be nice to see my father if he is still around. I've missed my brothers and Maria." She said finally before frowning. "Do you have a way of heading home however? I wouldn't have stayed here when I got here except for a bit of a magic issue I had."

"Magic?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, yes magic." Nodoka blushed slightly as she met Ranma's inquisitive look. "Master Blackburn was my tutor in magic back then."

"You've known magic this entire time!" Genma said, half-standing before freezing as she shot him an annoyed look.

"Knowing magic is nearly pointless around here. The magic is so thin on earth that casting anything impressive is virtually impossible outside of select regions. Nerima is not one of those." She informed him.

"But, you know magic?" Ranma asked as she looked at her mother carefully. Today was turning out to be one surprise after another. Though… If she knew about magic, and practiced it, had she known about the curse before she revealed it?

"Oh yes, though I haven't practiced much in years. Even basic cantrips are like pulling teeth sometimes." Nodoka sighed. She held up a hand and made a small flicking motion. Genma and Soun practically teleported up against the back wall as small red sparks appeared and disappeared with small popping noises, like miniature fireworks. She breathed out a sigh of annoyance. "And that took real effort."

"I've noticed that too, fortunately, this is not the first time I've encountered such a place as this," Blackburn said as he patted his bag. "I have scrolls that can open a portal from here to, whatever world we need to go to."

"Whatever world?" Ranma asked, her eyes flickering to her mother again. "You're from another world." And the weirdness meter ticked upward again. Wonderful.

Nodoka smiled mischievously. "I am, and it was a very beautiful world at times. Neverwinter was far less sophisticated technologically than Tokyo, but it was home." She sighed. "I would be lying if I said I didn't miss it."

"But it had magic?" Ranma asked.

"Oh yes, a great deal at times. We have an entire school set up to teach wizards. The clerics at the temples would pray to their gods for blessings to share with others while there were some who simply had a talent of their very own. Sorcerers of great skill and power." Her smile was nostalgic.

"Not all of us need magic." Formond said, the short man heaving himself to his feet, "But finding even a hedge wizard to deal with something minor was never hard."

Nodoka looking at Ranma. She smiled. "Since it seems that there is a way there, what would you say to coming along and meet your grandfather, uncles and aunt?" She asked

"Now hold on a minute," Genma said, stepping forward from the wall, only to step right back to it as Nodoka pointed a hand towards him. Ranma didn't imagine the smirk that Nodoka shared with her.

It was Ranma's turn to be thoughtful. Going to another world, seeing a family she didn't even know she had. A world with magic? Maybe she could see about getting more control over her curse?

"Ranma." She glanced back at Akane. "Go."

"Akane, maybe you should-" Soun started.

"Not me. Ranma." Akane snapped, "I'd rather not get involved in more magic than I have to, thank you very much." Soun fell silent, though Ranma was sure he had more to say. A glance showed that tears were threatening to fall from the Tendo Patriarch's eyes. She rolled her eyes. Some father he was.

Putting that aside though, this was an opportunity. "I think that sounds great." She said.

"Then you'll come. Both of you no less?" Blackburn asked.

Nodoka nodded. "I think I've been away long enough." She said. "It will be nice to see Neverwinter again, though I hope you don't want to leave right this second. I can think of a few things I'd like to bring along as gifts for my family."

"We can wait a few days no issue. Assuming you have a place to keep us." Blackburn said.

"It shouldn't take more than a day to get ready I wouldn't think. We can leave the day after tomorrow, after breakfast." Nodoka said, "And I think that the Dojo would be more than sufficient if we dig out some blankets."

"We have our own bedrolls…" The old man trailed off at Nodoka's unimpressed look. "However we are more than happy to accept your offer."

Nodoka smiled. "And I'm sure Soun will be a gracious host." She shot a look at the actual owner of the home. He nodded quickly. "Wonderful. Let's get you settled and I'll see about getting you some food since you missed dinner."

"Ah, food. It will be good to have something other than hardtack and jerky after the last month." Formond said.

"Then let us get you settled, Ranma would you help Kasumi in the kitchen for now?" Nodoka asked as she stood up.

"Sure." And maybe she could finally get some hot water to change back as well.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Living with a Jusenkyo curse was a strange experience. Water was a common enough occurrence that there was never a way to guarantee what form you would be in from minute to minute. For Ranma, it was a simple fact of life that had become normal over the last few years. Gender had become about as important as clothing, though most clothes didn't dissolve the moment they got hit with the wrong temperature of water.

She stretched as Kasumi poured a cup of hot water over her head. He sighed as the change took effect. "Thanks Kasumi." He said pulling his now black braid into order. It always got tangled a bit when he changed.

The eldest Tendo smiled at him as she set the glass on the counter top. "Thank you for your help Ranma." She replied before picking two stacks of bento boxes and holding them out to him. "Take these out to the dojo please."

"Sure Kasumi." Taking one stack in each arm he left the kitchen, narrowly dodging Nabiki as she whipped passed on her way to the stairs. She looked uncharacteristically excited to him. "What's got her so excited." He muttered though he didn't bother dwelling on it. It probably spelt something bad for him in the long run. Her schemes for making money tended to drag him in these days.

Putting that mildly unpleasant thought aside he headed for the dojo, ignoring his father and Mr. Tendo where they were plotting over a game of shogi on the porch. They were both blatantly cheating.

The door to the dojo was open when he arrived and he could hear voices talking in what sounded like English. Very accented English, but it was definitely the European language. Why did it have to be English? Out of the languages, he knew it had to be the most annoying one.

"I'm just saying its all quite fancy here. The roads, those mechanical carriages that trundle about. The lampposts. Those things came on by themselves last night. You sure there's no magic here Kazale?" Formond's voice floated around the corner.

"There is some magic here. Not enough for any but the simplest spells, but certainly some." Blackburn replied as Ranma entered the room. The center of the Dojo had spare bedding laid out on folding mattresses set up in a circle around a pile of bags. The five strangers had settled onto the beds and most of them had shucked off the outer layers of their armour.

Lady Mason, her armour off and revealing the gambeson beneath, looked up from where she was polishing her sword with a rag. "Who are you?" She asked, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"Ranma. We met earlier." He said. The other woman in the room sat up from where she was lying down on her mattress, one hand already drawing a blade from within her tunic.

The elf fellow placed a hand atop hers before it was half-way draw. "Easy Agatha. Let him explain." He said, sharing a look with the woman who slowly let go of her blade.

Blackburned frowned at Ranma around the end of a pipe as that little drama unfolded. He breathed out a cloud of smoke. "Your mother said there was magic involved when she called you her son. Do you normally switch back and forth?" He asked.

"Yep. A curse I picked up in a little backwater in China called Jusenkyo." He set the bentos down beside Lady Mason. "Here, dinner. I helped Kasumi put these together."

"Thank you, milord." Lady Mason said as she passed them out, two to each of them. Thank you's were echoed around the group. As they went to open them a thought occurred to Ranma, cutlery. He'd forgotten to grab chopsticks from the kitchen.

"You might want these." He said as he pulled five spoons from his sleeves. They had been stored in his ki-pocket since he'd recovered and cleaned them up after a fight with Mousse. You never knew when an ice-cream shop would suddenly run out of spoons. It had happened to Ranma twice before.

Thank yous were once again repeated as everyone dug in. Then repeated again as Ranma pulled out a set of forks.

Setting his bento down to take a pull from his pipe Blackburn eyed Ranma. "So, time of day? Mood? What causes the transformation?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh." Ranma sighed and found a seat between the mattresses of Formond and Lady Mason. "Cold water." Everyone paused.

"You change when you encounter water?" The elven man seemed amused. "Well that's got to be damned unfortunate. What do you when it rains? Do you switch back every other second? Turn into half-man?" Agatha smack him in the shoulder with an annoyed look and muttered something Ranma missed. The man shrugged it off.

"Spend the day as a girl usually." Ranma sighed. Weather tended to be the main determining factor on his gender most days. "Hot water turns me back to a guy."

"Humph." Blackburn snorted before taking a spoonful of the rice. "A rather strange curse. Sounds rather complicated to keep working."

"Any more complicated than your usual bit of handwaving?" Formond asked.

"All magic is complicated. Most transformative magics are one and done things, however. You alter the form and it either turns back after a short while or it's permanent." Blackburn said, "How long have you had this now?"

Ranma frowned, it had been a while now. He had spent two years at the Tendo's now. At least a year wandering china dodging Shampoo. "Around three years now I guess?" He said, and it was a guess. They'd lost their calendar halfway to Jusenkyo, or thereabouts.

The older man hummed as he puffed thoughtfully on his pipe. "Wouldn't be too unusual back home. A spell like this would just need to tie into the weave, connect you to the magic of the world for power. Here though? How long have you been right here?" He tapped the dojo floor.

"Two years next month," Ranma replied. He remembered that easily enough at least. Akane had been making noises like she had plans for that date. He had been trying to make plans to be gone so he wouldn't have to sample whatever monstrosity she cooked up to celebrate. The Fathers had been less than cooperative.

"Hrmm… Strange." Blackburn sighed. "Well, nothing I can do without a proper workshop. I could use the one back at our base, but the one at the academy in Neverwinter would probably be better. If you're willing that is."

An actual Wizard, a magic user, willing to take a look at the curse? Ranma smiled. "I'm game. Think you can give me control over it?" He asked.

The older man raised an eyebrow. "Don't want to be rid of it?" He asked.

Ranma shrugged. "Kinda got used to it. Besides, it has its perks." Like strawberry sundaes. They were simply divine as a girl.

The old man snorted, and the eleven-man started snickering. Ranma rolled his eyes. He knew where their minds were going. God damned perverts.

"So," Formond started as he set aside his empty bento. He wiped a few loose grains of rice from his beard. "I saw the way you were looking at us earlier. You know how to fight?"

"The Princess said as much." Lady Mason said.

The small man shot her a look. "And I want to hear it from the kid 'imself. So lad?" He turned back to Ranma.

"Pops trained me in martial arts since I was five." Ranma said, "I'm the best there is."

Formond chuckled. "Are you now? Bold claim from a brat." He said, "When we have time I'd like to test that. Though," He hefted his sheathed blade, "With something a bit less sharp than Marisa here. Wouldn't want to take your head off by accident would I?"

Ranma chuckled, "A little guy like you couldn't reach my neck in the first place. Even if you had the height." He said.

Formond snorted. "It'll take something sharper than a jest about my height to get me riled up boy. Now, your fighting skill better be sharper than your wit, or you'd have a hard time fighting a fly let alone a Dwarf." The broad grin took most of the sting out of the words, but it was enough.

With a grin of his own, and the many shaking heads of the group, he launched his own insult back at the Dwarf. The dwarf laughingly responded with his own again, and so it went for several hours.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The next day began for Nodoka with her going through her closet writing a list of everything she didn't have that she would need for travelling back home. The list was… a great deal longer than she would have liked. Her preferred style these days was not exactly suited for the rigours of travelling in Faerun. Even with how short of a time they would be spending outside the city they would have to deal with the elements while they walked to the city. Kimonos were unsuited to walking through the brush and the mud.

She had managed to salvage her old bag of holding from the wreckage of the house, but she had grown in areas that meant what little of her old travelling gear that had survived the years and the disasters would not fit her anymore. Which meant she needed to add clothes shopping to her list of tasks.

She added another item to her list and slid the closet door shut. There was a knock on the door. "Princess, are you in here?" Blackburn asked.

"Come in." She called. The door slid open and her old teacher entered the room. He looked about, glancing at the beds on the floor.

"Rather humble compared to where you came from." He said.

"A castle has fewer luxuries than I can find living here." She replied, "A fact that makes a smaller room bearable. Though I have been making plans to rebuild the house."

"Something happened I take it?" He asked.

She sighed. "There was a bit of a dispute between some of my son's paramours." She said, "The building, unfortunately, couldn't handle the strain."

Blackburn raised an eyebrow. "How many?" He asked.

"Three." She replied in perfect deadpan. It had been rather surprising just how much damage three young women could do while searching for a pill box. That they had thought it was a ring didn't matter. She frowned at the memory. She had liked that house quite a bit.

"Impressive feat for three women." He said.

She snorted. "Girls, just three very foolish girls."

He nodded. "What caused it?" He asked.

"Something very stupid." She sighed, "You came here for a reason?" She prodded.

"Of course. You were planning on heading out today?"

She held up her list. "Just finished inventorying everything I'll need to pick up. Ranma already has everything necessary, but Nabiki will need to pick up a few things." The middle Tendo's surprise request to come with them the day before had been a surprise.

"Eager young lady." Blackburn said with a neutral frown. "Bit too eager really."

Nodoka nodded. Nabiki had spent the entirety of breakfast asking questions about magic. "Nabiki is ambitious and doesn't always think things through in my experience." She said, "She's quite a bright girl most of the time though."

"I've seen that combination before." Blackburn sighed, "Magic and ambition can be a bad mixture."

"It all depends on how that ambition is directed," Nodoka replied, "If you want to try teaching her something minor as a test feel free. It's not like she can do much with magic around here anyway."

"Not our type of magic." He ran a hand along his chin. "I'll consider it. Not while we're in this world though. Too damned hard to get magic to work even for us. Unless she's got more talent than Elminister I doubt she could manage anything here even with my instruction."

She nodded. "Fair enough."

"Now, list?" He held out a hand.

Bemused she handed it over. He looked down at it and raised an eyebrow. She had written it in Japanese not Common. He sighed then, to her surprise, reached into a pocket and removed a pair of spectacles which he prompted perched upon his nose. "There we go." He smiled at her annoyed look. "Enchanted reading glasses of comprehend language. Very helpful." He looked down and his eyebrow went back up. "What are tampons?"

She took the list back. "Items for female hygiene, nothing you need to worry about." She said.

He snorted but acquiesced to her silent demand as she headed for the door. He followed. "Emma will be accompanying you." He said.

"Only if Lady Mason ditches the armour." Nodoka replied firmly. "I don't need someone clanking around behind me all day, especially when I am with my child. Ranma is more than capable of protecting me." Having someone in heavy armour clattering about would draw so much unnecessary attention. Even in Nerima.

"Be that as it may, I am not letting you out of my team's sight until we are home and the King has granted us leave." He replied.

"Then she loses the armour," Nodoka ordered.

"She will not be happy." He warned.

She rolled her eyes. "Then she can lurk behind me unhappily. We'll be fine." Honestly, this was Nerima, not the Docks Quarter of Neverwinter. They were perfectly safe.

As it turned out, they were perfectly fine shopping. Nothing went wrong, and she even managed to convince her minder to try on a very nice green dress. Well, perfectly fine if she ignored the odd flashes of light around several corners and the fact Ranma had come back from the washroom tucking something into the sleeves of the very nice sundress she hadn't been wearing beforehand and looking rather annoyed with something.

Still, a perfectly fine shopping trip even if Lady Mason had looked somewhat frazzled by the end of it.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ranma's closet was full. It had filled up rather quickly after they arrived at the dojo. Some of it had been from the rather basic Ki pocket she had been experimenting with back then. The rest of the dresses, shirts, pants, and somewhat unique costumes had been accumulated in the two years since. Really going through it tended to make her realize just how much of a clothes horse she had become.

"What are you doing with that?" Akane asked from where she was leaning against the closed door.

"Hm?" Ranma looked up from where she was examining the dress she had worn during, and kept after, the incident with the wandering island. She held it up. "Does this look like it shrank to you?" She asked.

Her fiancee gave her a flat unimpressed look. "It looks normal, but why are you considering taking it?" She asked.

Ranma rolled her eyes as she put the dress out of reality into her ki pocket. "Never know when a fancy dress will be needed. Besides, it was good enough for one royal court, it'll be good enough for another." She said.

"It was good enough for a prospective harem girl, not a royal court." Akane snorted. Ranma resisted the desire to roll her eyes again at the other girl.

"Wife, not a harem girl." Ranma reminded her. Unable to resist the urge to needle she added, "And you seemed to like the dress Toma put you in. Still hanging in your closet isn't it?"

Akane huffed but dropped the topic. "Still, don't you have better things to put in your pocket? You're going as the son of their princess, not the daughter." She said.

Ranma shrugged. It was a good point, but life was never predictable. "According to mum hot water is a bit harder to get there." Which meant she'd need situational clothing to take advantage of her form. That dress from the wandering island really showed off her legs and other features… Though the chest had looked a bit small to her now. Hmmmm….

Akane hmmed as several more dresses, two neutral shirts, and five identical pairs of black pants disappeared either into her pocket or into her travelling bag. The bag could be bulky, but it was useful when she was too tired to reach into her ki pocket, which did happen sometimes when travelling or training. Also, you would get less weird looks pulling things out of a large bag than you did when pulling them out of thin air.

"Sure you don't want to come?" Ranma asked.

"I'm sure. There's enough magic around here. A place where there are actual wizards and other magic users running about? No thank you." Akane shook her head and shuddered, "You can go there if you want, but I'd rather not risk getting turned into a frog, or a duck… again."

Ranma nodded. "Our lives are so weird at times." She sighed.

"Yep." Akane agreed.

"Nabiki is coming along." Ranma frowned at the shirt in her hands. It hadn't done anything wrong, but the idea of bringing along the one Tendo who actively tried to make her life worse at times was not a very appealing one.

"My sister is scheming something." Akane agreed, "No idea what, but she's had this weird look ever since she saw Auntie make those sparks yesterday."

Ranma paused and turned to look at Akane. "You mean when Mum showed off magic?" She asked.

"Mhmm." Akane nodded, "Like when she sees an opportunity for money. Like last month, with that betting pool."

"Which one? The skate park, or the one that turned into the football riot?" Ranma asked as she turned back to the closet. She pushed aside a few dresses and shirts that were too small now. Though they would probably fit Akane? Hm... No mentioning that was probably a bad idea, though leaving them behind would probably see a few disappear while Akane thought she could get away with it. For all that she complained about Nabiki stealing her things, Akane was just as guilty when of the same things, and didn't limit herself to family either.

"The fight in the park, the one with the boxing arena they use for everything." Akane clarified, "That fight between you and Ryouga." She frowned, "What did you do to him this time?"

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Nothing." She replied. Honestly, Ryouga hadn't even been angry that time, or depressed. He'd just been looking for a good fight. It wasn't their fault that half the park, including the ring, had needed replacing… especially since it only got out of hand when Mu Tsu and Kuno crashed the fight. "It was just a spar."

"You levelled the park."

"By accident." That was the important thing, right?

Akane sighed. "If that's what you want to think." She shrugged and walked over to the closet. "Think you've taken enough?" Ranma shrugged. The closet was nearly empty.

"Probably." She admitted, stashing a last pair of pants in her bag before pulling out a list. Giving it a once over she nodded. "I've got everything I need."

Akane peaked at the list. She tapped the list. "Really?"

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Yes, really. Now if you don't mind I need to focus on the stuff I don't need. Mum wanted me to bring some sort of gift and I didn't find anything during our shopping trip." She sighed.

"And you think you can find something in your stuff worth giving to royalty?" Akane deadpanned.

"Yes." Ranma said, "Mum is bringing some books. I can probably find something here." Her mother had been planning on bringing books, and she did have a few on medicine she had collected over the years. She could spare a couple some of the basic ones at least, though did she have anything in a language they could read?

"What now?" Akane asked.

"I just need to go ask Mum something," Ranma said. She hung back up the clothes she had decided against taking and slid her bag back into the closet for the next day.

"What?"

"We bought a bunch of books today as gifts. How are they supposed to read them?" Ranma asked her fiancee who blinked and frowned.

"Magic?" She offered.

Ranma shrugged. "Probably. I'd like to know for sure. Come on." She turned on her heel and left the room, Akane following behind her.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"What do you think auntie?" The dress Nabiki held up was pretty, and was entirely unsuited for the realities of travelling in Faerun in Nodoka's opinion.

"I think it is as pretty as the last three you showed me Nabiki." Nodoka sighed as she toyed with the notepad in her hands, "One or two is perfectly fine, however sundresses are not suited to either the climate or the realities of travelling. Think of this as a hike. You should be bringing things that are more durable. Like the two dresses we picked up earlier."

"Already packed." Nabiki replied, patting the bag.

The older woman sighed. "Then pick something other than a dress. Travelling Faerun is dangerous, even around Neverwinter. You never know when a group of Kobolds or bandits might claim a section of highway for use. A dress catches on branches and brambles, and most of them tend to stand out more than pants and a shirt do."

Nabiki flashed her a disbelieving look. "You're wearing a kimono. You've always worn a kimono." She said.

"I quite like kimonos, they're very… unique." And they reminded her of her grandmother. The older woman had always had a fondness for clothes from far distant lands. "However, I will be ditching most of my own kimonos for this trip. They are far too inappropriate for travelling." They were also rather conspicuous since they were not native to the Sword Coast. She would much rather not stick out even if they were going to visit family.

Nabiki's head tilted to the side as a look that Nodoka recognized as someone trying to picture a concept that seemed impossible to them. As her eyes started to cross Nodoka giggled into a hand. "I didn't start wearing kimonos until I came here Nabiki." She said, with amusement tingeing her voice. "When I ran away I wore pants, shirts, the occasional dress when the situation called for it, and some leather. When it wasn't being destroyed by one thing or another."

"You don't really seem the type," Nabiki admitted.

"I tried to put that life behind once I realized I couldn't move on. Well, once I realized that and found myself engaged to Genma." She sighed.

"Found yourself?"

Nodoka shook her head. "Don't worry about it." She said, "Suffice to say I moved on. I never expected to need to worry about these sorts of things ever again." She paused as she contemplated once more heading into danger. It was… exciting in a way she hadn't felt in years. Sure she was just going to be heading home for a visit, but that could mean nearly anything in the North. For all that she knew a cult could make an attempt on the throne, or a dragon could ambush them on the road, or any number of other things. When had she last willingly ventured into the unknown? Her stomach fluttered nervously as she thought about the possibilities. It had been so long.

"Auntie?" Nabiki's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"My apologies Nabiki. Caught up in my own thoughts." She sighed, "And now I've just realized I should double check that I have everything I need." Like her old spellbook. She had put it in the bag, right? When was the last time she read it? Was it still legible, or had the ink run at some point like some of those old books Blackburn had once assigned to her as her tutor?

"Sure. I'll finish packing." Nabiki said with a wide smile that faded as Nodoka frowned at her.

"I'll be double checking it later." She warned. The middle Tendo nodded hurriedly. "Good. Remember if it has to be repacked, it won't be you doing the packing."

"I know." Nodoka smiled at the hasty reply.

"Then I will see you later Nabiki." With a smile she left the room and the teenager frowning at her bag. She wondered how long it would take before she noticed that Nodoka had left a list of instructions on the bed?

With a quiet snicker she shook her head as she made her way to the room she shared with her husband and Ranma. She was reaching out to slide open the door to the guest room when it moved on its own and Ranma, in her female form with her hair a brighter red than Nodoka's ever had been at that age, hurried through and walked straight into Nodoka.

Nodoka stumbled back as her son turned daughter let out a muffled oof as she walked face first into her mother's chest. Regaining her balance the two stepped away from each other as Akane snickered. "Hi, Auntie," Akane said through her snickering.

"Hello Akane, hello Ranma. In a hurry?" She asked her daughter who was flushed with embarrassment.

"Looking for you mum," Ranma said, rallying quickly.

"Why so urgently that you don't watch where you're going?" She asked, slipping into a reproving tone.

"Sorry." Ranma's blush grew worse. "It's about the gifts you wanted me to find and bring."

"Ah." Nodoka nodded before glancing up at Akane. "Your sister needs a hand packing, would you mind giving her a hand while I help Ranma?" She asked.

Akane blinked, then grinned. "Sure." Lips twitched like she was trying not to laugh as she walked passed both of them.

Nodoka looked down at her daughter. "Well?" She asked.

"You bought a bunch of books," Ranma said.

"I did." Nodoka acknowledged. Earth was well advanced of Toril in general and much of its knowledge would be applicable on Toril. "Books on engineering and agriculture will help a great deal."

"Well… How are they supposed to read them? They're in Japanese right?" Ranma asked.

Nodoka nodded. "They are, however, there are a number of magic tools or spells that can be used to read or speak languages you may not necessarily be proficient in. From there they can be translated and transcribed. It's done with ancient texts all the time."

"Oh." Ranma frowned in that way that made her look adorable. If she didn't have to worry about her son's masculine image she would have been rather hard pressed to not give her a hug. "Then would medical books be fine?"

Medical? Of course. Faerun has powerful healing magic, but its actual medical knowledge was far behind Earth's. "Yes, they would. Why? Do you have some?" She asked.

"This way." Ranma went back into the room and, curiosity peaked, Nodoka followed. The guest bedroom had two closets, one on either end of the room. Technically the guestroom could have been turned into two smaller rooms with the addition of a divider in the center, but none of them had felt the need… Well, that and her husband had seemed annoyed the one time she had suggested it.

Ranma headed for her closet. It had surprised Nodoka, when she had moved in, to discover just how much clothing Ranma actually owned. While he rarely used most of it, her son was more of a clothes horse than she was. She hadn't quite believed Genma when he shared that Ranma kept most of it elsewhere. Ranma slid open the closet and pulled her full travel pack out of the way. Reaching into the closet she pulled out a few miscellaneous items. Boxes, several scroll cases, what appeared to be a case for a painting, and a very large calligraphy brush were amongst the items that were set aside. Finally, she stood up with a small stack of rather large books.

"These are some of the books I was thinking of." She said. She held out the top book and Nodoka took it. "Medication Safety for…" she raised an eyebrow, "Pregnancy and Breastfeeding?"

Ranma flushed and grabbed it. "Sorry, just grabbed whatever was on top of the pile." She said hurriedly.

"Why do you even have that?" Nodoka asked as her child sorted through the stack.

"It was referred to in one of the other books." Ranma said as she fished another book out. "Here, this is more along the lines of what I thought."

Nodoka took it with a feeling of bemusement. "A Beginner's Guide to Anesthesiology." She read. The title was in english, as had the first book. "When did you start reading medical books?"

Ranma paused, thinking. "Eight? No, it'd be ten years ago now. Started with some simple first aid books pops gave me. Just kept collecting them over the years. I've got nearly a hundred now. I could spare a lot of the basic ones. They're not too hard to replace. I would need to give them at least a couple dozen though. Medical books reference others a bunch and just giving them one or two might be counterproductive."

She nodded as she weighed the book in her hands. It was at least five hundred pages thick and more than a few pounds. Each one of the books in Ranma's hands was at least half as big. "How are you planning on taking this with us?" She asked.

Ranma's lips quirked and with a motion that seemed not-quite impossible the entire stack vanished. "Ki-pocket. Even with most of my closet in there I've got some room left."

The words 'most of my closet' went through Nodoka's head. Just how much was Ranma planning on taking for this trip? "Well, I'm not sure how much anatomy books might help. There are a lot of different humanoid species on Faerun." She explained.

Ranma blinked. "Like Dwarves?" She asked.

"And orcs, goblins, giants." Nodoka replied, "Elves. Tieflings can have weird biology at times I've heard. Comes with having Devil's blood I suppose."

"They can still get use out of it. Knowing one species will at least give them a starting point. I'll include a bunch on pharmaceuticals and vaccines and the like. Something explaining germ theory would probably be good as well." Her daughter frowned as she mumbled to herself, seemingly creating a list of books from memory.

"And you have enough room?" She asked again.

Ranma nodded. "These days I can carry a couple tons in my pocket without any problems. Don't normally need even a tenth of it though." She frowned. "Maybe I should just take all of them and figure out what they need when we get there."

"If it won't get in the way?" Nodoka asked.

Her daughter shook her head. "Not a problem."

Well… "Do you think you could carry a few things for me?" She asked.

"Of course." Ranma smiled eagerly.

"Let's start with going over what you are already bringing," Nodoka said, pulling out her own list. She paused. "And while we're on the topic of learning, I haven't asked about your grades recently have I?" She smiled as Ranma groaned.

"Mum!" Ranma sent her an annoyed look that seemed to say "Right now? Really?"

She snickered. "Come on." Her hand lashed out and she jabbed her fingers into Ranma's side, eliciting a startled, and very unmanly, squeak of surprise from her daughter. "Tell me."

"Muuuuum!" Ranma was now pouting at her at a bit more than arms length away. She sighed."Better than before," She said as she placed the textbooks into her ki-pocket.

"And better means?" She asked as Ranma opened up her pack.

"That I actually had time to study the week before the test." Ranma said, "unlike last time." She muttered something particularly unflattering about perverted old men.

"Then you got at least a ninety percent I assume? Though which course was this?" Nodoka asked as she leaned over to inspect the contents of the bag. Ranma pulled out the top layer of clothing and set it aside.

"History and it was a ninety-seven," Ranma said as she pulled out a toiletries bag from where it was squashed against the side of the bag. Nodoka noted the familiar looking white wrapper sticking up, but said nothing. "Math, about the same. English was a ninety-one. Like, I said, I actually had time to study for once. Last month was nice and quiet."

"It was." Nodoka agreed. For the Tendo Dojo the previous month had been almost dead quiet. Very few challengers, only a couple of silly plots, and there had been that incident with the turtle. "Sciences?"

Ranma paused with a box of granola bars in her hand. "Ninety-four I think?" She said after a moment. "I got docked a percent for arguing about how air-currents work."

"Why?"

Ranma shrugged and set the box of granola bars aside. "Teacher didn't think that my personal experience with tornadoes was applicable since they weren't 'naturally created'. I argued, he docked a couple points."

Nodoka frowned. This wasn't the first time Ranma had complained about that teacher over the last few months. Mr… Hanazuki wasn't it? She'd have to keep tabs on this when they got back.

Ranma finished setting aside the last bit of clothing from within the bag before starting on the pouches on its outside. "Everything else is about the same. Ninety-four, ninety-five ish." She said as she laid out a medical box from one of the pouches and popped it open. Nodoka made a few notes on her pad about what medications were in there. Most of it was pain medication like Motrin or Tylenol, but there was a solid selection of other over the counter medications for everything from nausea to heartburn as well.

More pouches were opened and their contents laid out before Ranma paused. "Um, do you want me to empty my Ki-Pocket? There's a lot in it." She asked.

"I need to know what you're bringing," Nodoka said with a raised eyebrow. She said it was barely used most of the time, so how much could it be? A lot, it turned out, as Ranma began to unload her ki-pocket and the piles of clothes, scrolls, medicine, medical equipment, weapons, rations, soap, other hygiene products, and a great many miscellaneous other items.

This, she decided as she started inventorying everything, was going to take a while.

It took a long while.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The day of departure was overcast. It had started sunny as they woke up, but by the time everyone had bathed, eaten, and gotten their things down to the door it was looking less like a nice summer day and more like a surprise thunderstorm. An idea reinforced by the distant rumbles of thunder. Still, they gathered outside in the yard.

Ranma had his bag at his feet as they gathered around. "Sure you want to stay?" He said jokingly to Akane.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine thanks. Sure you want to go somewhere full of magic and monsters?" She asked.

"Should be fun. Maybe I can find someone who can keep up for once." He stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders. Last night had left him feeling stiff for some reason. Probably the way he'd slept and despite trying to make the time there he hadn't been able to run through some proper stretches yet to work out the kinks.

"Well try not to break the castle. I'm sure Auntie would be really annoyed if you did that." Akane joked with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm taking Ryouga along." He scoffed. He had no idea where his friend and rival was. He hadn't been seen for nearly a month now, not even in his cursed form of a small black piglet. Not that Akane knew about that.

"And even when he's not here you have to poke fun at him." Akane sighed. "Do you have to do that all the time?"

Ranma just rolled his eyes. Ryouga spent enough time ambushing him, he could handle a few jabs just fine… sometimes. He was rather sensitive about that sort of thing. "He can handle it." He said with a shrug.

"Alright, gather 'round everyone." Blackburn called, interrupting their rapidly down spiralling conversation. Everyone in the yard; all the Tendo's, Saotome's, and Adventurers; gathered around the wizard in a semi-circle. "Right, everyone said their goodbyes yet?" He asked the three of them who were going.

"We've said our goodbyes." Nodoka said right before Soun looked to Nabiki with a frown and said, "Are you still sure you want to go?"

Ranma caught Nabiki rolling her eyes as she adjusted the straps of her large backpack. "I'll be fine Daddy." Nabiki said with a smile, "I'm with Ranma after all." Ranma sighed as Soun turned his burning eyes to him.

"She'll be perfectly safe," Ranma said in an effort to head off the inevitable appearance of the overprotective father's demon head technique. That thing was as terrifying as hell. "Promise."

"Dad," Akane said flatly.

Soun coughed into a hand in an effort to save some dignity. "Yes, well I just wanted to be sure. Safe travels and do keep my little girl safe Ranma." Ranma could hear the implication of painful death and possible dismemberment if he failed.

"Anyone else?" Blackburn asked as Ranma nodded to Soun. When no one interrupted he smiled. "Excellent. Now, I'll be opening a portal to Fort Tarankan. It's north of Neverwinter by about a day. Small place about two or three dozen men depending on the time of year. They have birds trained for flying to Neverwinter so we'll be able to send word ahead of us. As much as surprising them would be fun I think giving them the courtesy of a warning is best."

"And it'll give me some time to get reacquainted with proper magic," Nodoka said with a smile.

"That as well." Blackburn said, "Now I will be opening it with this." He held up a rolled up scroll. "The portal will last no more than thirty seconds. During that time you must enter or be left behind. I do not have a spare. Everyone understand?" Everyone nodded and Ranma picked up his pack, slipping his arms into the straps.

"Good. When I open it, run through." With that, he turned around and unrolled the scroll. The words he spoke were in no language that Ranma could identify. They sounded strange, echoing in the open air like it was a cathedral. Ranma could feel something stirring in the air as Blackburn continued. Then, with a crisp snap, an ovular hole in reality appeared through which he could see what looked to be a muddy field with an overgrown palisade in the background. Blackburn turned to them, opened his mouth and with a loud crackle-boom a sheet of water heavy enough to drench everyone fell out of the sky as it began to downpour.

The wizard coughed and hacked. "Go!" He shouted, running through himself. The other adventurers followed at a dead sprint.

Grumbling to herself as she readjusted the straps of her bag Ranma followed. Going from one world to another was a surprisingly sensationless experience. Much like with Jusenkyo there wasn't even a tingle as she ran through the portal. Though that may have been because she was already dealing with suddenly being soaking wet.

The other side of the portal was dry. Well, the air was dry and the sky above was clear, the ground was mud and puddles of water. It had clearly been raining not too long before.

Ranma's mother and Nabiki came through the portal. Nabiki was coughing and shaking her head. "Where did that come from?" She hacked as she shook herself off with an expression of disgust.

"The weather will be as it will be." Nodoka said with an amused smile as she pulled at her own silk shirt and pant legs. It had been odd seeing her mother come down the stairs that morning wearing something other than her usual kimono. "We'll dry fast at least." Ranma snickered at the dark look Nabiki shot them both. Ranma and her mother were both wearing silk as they preferred. Nabiki chosen clothing was, however, made from wool. They would be dry long before she would be.

"Eyes up." Blackburn said as the portal snapped out of existence. "Something's wrong here." Ranma stopped snickering and looked around. They had entered a muddy courtyard covered in grass and mud surrounded on three sides by a wooden palisade. The last wall was a five-story-tall stone tower. The palisade was overgrown with ivy and moss. There were a few holes in the walls where it looked like something had come crashing through. There was also a pile of what looked like it had been a building, possibly a stable, beside the tower. The tower itself looked weathered and chipped like it had been pummeled with thousands of small stones.

"Where is everyone?" Nodoka asked, one hand coming up to chest level. It was curled around something in a wax paper wrapping.

"Hello! Anyone present!" Formond shouted, "Greycloaks! Show yourselves! We're friends!" His voice boomed across the courtyard. A few birds in the distance twittered and flew away. They stood there for a moment before the dwarf shrugged. "I guess there ain't anyone home." He turned to Blackburn, "Now what?"

As the dwarf turned away Ranma spotted a flicker of movement in one of the windows. Before she could say a thing there was a flicker as a tiny crossbow bolt, nearly half the size of a normal one, streaked from the third floor of the tower and just barely missed Formond's shoulder before thwacking dully into the dirt and mud.

At the same time the door of the door flew open and a group of small scaled lizard-like creatures charged out hissing and screaming in what might have been a language. In their hands were crude wooden shields and equally crude clubs.

"Kobolds! Protect the Princess and her heir!" Mason shouted as she drew her blade. A bolt of fire leapt from Nodoka's hand as the swordswoman shouted. It crashed into the lead 'Kobold' and exploded. Flames and force scattered the creatures across the yard in burning pieces.

Ranma looked at her mother in surprise. The older woman was smiling as she wiped her hand off from the soot that had been left behind. "It has been far too long." She said before frowning. Another crossbow bolt flickered out of the window above, this time towards Nodoka. Ranma's hand lashed out, closing tightly around the shaft of the bolt, snapping it in twain. She tossed it aside and moved to stand in front of her mother. Another shot flew out from an arrow slit and Ranma brushed it aside with a finger. It sank into the wet earth with a thwunk.

"What was that?" Nabiki asked while Ranma was busy. Her eyes were wide, but her focus wasn't on the rain of burnt body parts like Ranma expected. Instead, she was staring at Nodoka as though she had never seen the older woman before.

"Fireball. A rather popular spell amongst any wizard of at least adequate skill level." Nodoka said smugly. It looked like rather powerful one as well. Those Kobolds had simply been blow to pieces in the blink an eye. The rain of blood and gore lasted for several seconds. It was almost unsettling to Ranma just how casually her mother had wiped out the crowd of lizard-like creatures.

"Formond, with me," Mason shouted as she charged for the building. Ranma considered following her, or over taking her and dealing with the creatures inside herself, but another volley of bolts aimed at her mother changed her mind. She was needed here.

"I'm with ya." The dwarf shouted. Their steel-shod boots thundered even on the muddy ground as they charged building. The last couple of kobolds were cut down out of hand as they thundered for the door. A kobold poked its head around the corner and squawked loudly as it saw the two heavily armoured figures charging the door in a dead sprint. The heavy wooden door swung shut and even from Ranma's position nearly thirty feet away she could hear a loud clunk as a heavy wooden bar was dropped into place.

Lady Mason rammed to door in a full charge. There was a loud crash of metal on wood as she bounced off. The door shook and dust fell from the stonework, but it held. Maybe she should have joined the charge.

"Out of the way lass," Formond shouted. Lady Mason stumbled aside just in time for the Dwarf to hit the door with the sort of force only a small, armoured, and frequently angry ball of muscle and steel could. The door shattered as he cannonballed into it. He disappeared into the darkness beyond where loud screams and hisses rang out. Lady Mason charged in and the sounds of battle were over in moments.

"Bottom floor clear." Lady Mason shouted, "Agatha, Malleth, get in here and hold the floor while we check the cellar." The two ran in, Agatha's hands already full of blades.

"We should take cover on the first floor for the moment Your Highness." Blackburn said to Nodoka, "Get away from the rain of bolts." As he said that his hand flashed and a bolt of flame intercepted another crossbow bolt.

"Let's head in." Nodoka agreed. Running, the group crossed the courtyard to the door. Their feet kicked up mud, mixed up from both rain and the fresh blood from the dead. Ranma scowled in disgust as the blood and mud squished around her feet, staining her shoes. What were these things? Why were they attacking? Really everything had turned into a complete mess the moment the portal had closed.

They ducked through the broken doorway and into a room that smelled of heavy rot, blood, and a musky scent she couldn't identify. Nabiki made a disgusted noise as they crossed the threshold, stepping over several corpses as they did so, into a pool of blood. They quickly moved to a relatively clear spot opposite the stairs.

Inside Malleth, the pointed eared man who Ranma had been told was a 'half-elf', had his bow out and pointed up the stairs. Beside him, Agatha had a handful of throwing blades out and held between her fingers. Her eyes were watching the shadows above, twitching every time something above shifted. Hisses and clicks could be heard above.

The room had once been an armoury. Racks for weapons were still mounted to the walls, some were even being used to hang clubs and crude shields. What might have been more racks in the center of the room were now little more than piles of broken and rotting wood scattered across the floor.

Malleth loosed an arrow at something the archer could see moving about up the stairs. "Another down, makes what? Ten, fifteen… seventeen I think? Not a small group." He said.

"Large group to have moved in here." Blackburn mused as he kept an eye out the front door. His hands moved in a strange pattern as he murmured something. The strip of brown leather he was holding in one hand shimmered and turned to dust while a small light flickered around him for a second before fading out. "Where is the garrison?"

Behind them, Lady Mason and Formond breached the cellar door and charged in shouting battle cries. Any sounds of battle within were short-lived and they soon emerged from the cellar before throwing themselves into the other two doorways leading out of the room on that floor.

"It has been thirty years." Nabiki said as she sent a disgusted look at a nearby kobold body. She inched away from it towards Nodoka. Ranma didn't blame her, the blood and offal smelled horrible. While the sight of the dead creatures didn't bother her as much as it might have if they had been human, but the casual death from the sudden battle still made her feel unsettled.

"Yes, but this is an important location. The fort here watches the road heading north to the towns and villages and eventually Luskan." Blackburn said. "The list of reasons to abandon it is minuscule. Looking at this room, with the rot and dust and debris, it must have been years ago. Certainly more than a decade now just judging by the state of the wood."

"Rooms are clear." Mason said as she and Formond left the last room. "There were some eggs down below. Made sure to smash them before coming up."

Blackburn sighed. "Made sure of it?" He asked.

"Double checked." Formond said, "Ain't going to be any more of these blasted lizards around here when we're done."

The Wizard sighed and muttered something. The only words Ranma caught was an annoyed, "Always smashing them." Shaking his head he pointed upward. "Get the upstairs cleared out. See if you can find out why these things are here and where the garrison is."

"Formond, lead us in." Mason said as she carefully approached the stairs.

The dwarf grinned as he mounted the stairs. "Just keep up will ya." With a roar in a language Ranma couldn't understand he ran up the stairs brandishing his sword. The rest of his group, excluding Blackburn, followed. The sounds of metal on wood, or on metal, echoed down along with screams and curses.

"What are these things?" Ranma asked as she crouched down to examine one very dead 'kobold'. Its guts had been spilled by a sword, either Lady Mason's or Formond's, and the smell alone was nearly enough to make her gag.

"Depending on who you consult, either small humanoids or small members of the dragon family." Blackburn said, "Not particularly bright, but they are rather clever in their own brutal way. As you can see not very advanced technologically. They're tribal by nature and tend to raid their neighbours for what they need. When they aren't being enslaved by Dragons anyway."

Ranma frowned. "So, they're sapient?" She asked. Killing something more than an animal always felt… bad when she had to do it. It took her weeks to stop having nightmares about the fight with Saffron. Weak nightmares mostly, but some had gotten…

"Yes. They're fully capable of independent decision making." Nodoka said as she frowned at the body. "Something's wrong here. Blackburn, we need to head to the city quickly once your people are done clearing out the tower."

He nodded. "Aye. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what else we can do but walk. With no idea of the situation in the City creating a teleportation circle and using it to get there could lead to us walking into a trap." He said.

A flicker of red light shone down the stairs. "Magic user! Malleth, shoot him!" Lady Mason shouted distantly. There were a few more flashes of light then a scream that was far too high pitched and hissing to be any of the team.

Blackburn didn't even look concerned. "Shouldn't be too much longer." He said while fishing inside his robes for something. Eventually, he removed a small locket with a gem set in it. Just visible in the light that spilled through the door was a small figure inside it, a Raven. He held it up and there was a flash and several long black feathers fell to the ground. A Raven had appeared from the gem, held up on one arm. "There we go Midnight, happy to be out again?" He said, petting the bird.

It fluttered its wings in something approaching an irritated shrug.

"Good, good." Blackburn continued on like it had spoken. "Head out, take a look around and come back to me. I want to know what the villages and farmstead around here look like. What sort of shape everything is in."

The Raven's head bobbed in acknowledgement before Blackburn stepped up to the door and tossed it out into the world. "She'll catch up in a few hours. Should give us a better picture of the area." He said.

They settled in to wait while the sounds above slowly, very slowly, faded away. Eventually they heard the sound of footsteps and Formond appeared at the top of the stairs, his armour stained with blood. He was wiping his blade clean even as he was walking down the stairs. The other three followed on his heels.

"Well, that was unexpected." He said as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"We found nothing, and the Kobold in charge didn't seem inclined to talk." Mason said with her own frown as she removed her helmet.

"That may have had something to do with the fact you crushed its windpipe," Malleth said blandly. "Try asking questions before you cripple them."

"It was casting magic." Mason replied simply, "However, I'll admit maybe I should have just broken its hands instead." She shrugged.

Ranma stared at the four of them. It was clear this sort of violence was not unusual to them. Then again, hadn't there been a mention of a Hydra when they first arrived? Compared to a beast like that these things were smallfry.

Nodoka sighed and shook her head. "Well, that leaves us with no answers." Her expression grew troubled. "We need to hurry to the city."

Formond sighed and found a seat on the steps. "Not that I'm contesting that getting back to the City isn't important Your Highness, but can we have a few minutes to catch our breath?" He asked.

"Go ahead. We'll leave in ten. And we're going to have to walk just to be safe." Nodoka sighed. The other three found seats for themselves and Mason look a drink from a stainless steel water bottle Nodoka had bought her while shopping at the mall. As Ranma watched Formond pulled a cloth from his bag and started to wipe the blood from his armour the best he could.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ranma caught Nabiki scowl and sigh. Evidently walking for an entire day was not to her liking. "You alright?" She whispered to Nabiki.

"What do you think Saotome?" She snarked quietly back, "We weren't even here for a minute before things went wrong. I am not looking forward to walking for an entire day." Her eyes, however, were fixed on the slowly expanding pool of blood leaking from the nearest kobold.

Ranma rolled her eyes before walking over to the door while Blackburn and her mother discussed possible reasons for an entire fort to have been abandoned. Names like Luskan and Thay were thrown around, but neither of them meant anything to Ranma so she stayed quiet. Instead, she stood in the doorway and looked out on this new world. The courtyard was a mess, and the palisade was overgrown, but over them she could see tall trees with fresh leaves and birds swooping from tree to tree in the distance. Despite being surrounded by the blood of a rather unexpected, and vicious, battle she could see some beauty in this world. She settled in to wait while watching the birds.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Edit: Sleepy Kitsune forgot AN *sheepish kitsune* I hope you've enjoyed the story~ *Curls up with tails to nap*

Repost Edit: There have been alterations made to the last scene to better show Ranma's view on the situation.