The captain’s translation amulet doesn’t really have a way to control volume. Troublesome when doing stealth missions without a shared language. Improvised solution the captain came up with this morning, wrap the amulet in wool scarves to muffle the sound. 

“How much time does invisibility possess? Wait until enemy enter, follow?”

She's wrapping them in a bubble of silence, it's not a problem, did she forget to explain that?

Not the time. She feels around her magic and makes as best a guess as she can...

"...Up to three hours before risking being unable to enter the Woods with many guests. Cell door and enemy captain's door will also be locked."

“Understanding. Force then.”

Tone of voice sounds a bit nervous about being surrounded and in enemy territory, but dealing with it by staying very focused.

She raises one single claw on her left forepaw. It glows pale white.

She scrapes it deep into the metal of the door and frame, where she sees a bolt, and patiently saws back and forth. Muffling the two of them and the door while also maintaining the claw takes almost all of her focus.

Captain invisibly keeps watch as the door is dealt with. 

The hinge is sawed in twain and the door rendered openable!

Beyond the door, a hallway with doors to several rooms. These doors have small windows, so it’s easy to tell where they lead: A barracks for sleeping, armory with equipment and spare weapons, office, recreation room, and holding cells. The door to the holding cells is already open. 

The hostages, a small group of one-eyed Eyerarchy workers, are instead in the recreation room. They sit around a table with three of the armored guards, all playing some kind of complicated dice game. 

She is genuinely surprised? Well. Guards must get bored, too.

...She does her best to join the bolt back up properly with an interstitial illusion, once they're behind this door. It should work where a key wouldn't, because people will be interacting with it. She gives it a good chunk of oomph; It'll last a few days, at least, and hopefully remain Mysterious for at least that long.

"So they are well treated... Wait now? I can't fake them continuing to play without knowing them. And the game."

Frustrated muttering about weak wills and fraternizing with captors. But waiting is fine.

Eventually the dice game ends in an argument over rules technicalities, and the prisoners are sent back to the holding cell.

She takes herself and Mr. Captain to the cell to wait; If she stays in a corner and listens for anyone approaching she can drop the invisibility and save energy. Definitely invisible for the re-locking-up process, though.

And then she does her best to muffle the general area against the inevitable shouts of surprise and nudges the Captain forward and drops him from her invisibility.

The inevitable shouts of surprise do follow the sudden appearance. The captain snaps at them to be quiet and then explains in a hushed tone that they’re being rescued by the same powerful fox they were hired by. 

(Yes hi, visible now.)

0.0

wait that’s inaccurate to these guys specifically 

0

Hi!! Very appreciative of mysteriously appearing fox protector but also confused as to what this rescue entails. Captain tries to explain it but he doesn’t seem to get it either and, out of mistranslation and confusion, seems to think the next step involves being turned into ghosts?

"I will invite you all to... My secret hex. It is a little ghost-like but not very much. You won't be hurt. You might feel strange. Then when we leave my secret hex, we will step out onto the Kitsunes' hex, not this cell. All you need to do is be willing. We'll leave the package here, Captain."

Sheesh, the odd patterns of the translation amulet are starting to infect her speech.

Okay, nearly every people has some folklore explaining why it’s a bad idea to do that exact thing. But they trust the captain and by extension their new fox benefactor. Into the secret ghostlike forest!

Package dropped off, ready to go. 

It's like blinking and suddenly realizing you're somewhere else, like suddenly wondering why you went to the kitchen.

This is a forest. Warm wind gently blows through the trees. Soft golden light seems to spill forth and diffuse through everything, like pooling water. Cedar trees, tall and proud, contrast with fallen logs and low brush. There are rabbits and berry bushes and songbirds off in the distance. Everything looks almost - mutable, almost seeming to promise that there could be something different, if only you look at it the right way.

Their fox benefactor looks different, too. Smaller, a bit scruffy even. Covered in dirt and small plants. She looks... Tired.

They feel different here, too. Any lingering aches and pains are gone. They each look a bit more like their own self-perceptions, rather than what they ordinarily do.

"Home..." Weiss says, and walks down a trail that is obvious once you're looking for it.

It's a short journey. Only a couple of minutes. There's a red gate like the one they had been asked to build at the end, standing tall and proud.

"Through here," she says, and passes under it, seeming to turn a corner into nowhere and vanish.

Even with the vague cultural background knowledge that following nice spirits into otherworldly forests is a bad idea, they can't help but look around with wonder at the beauty of the place and of feling more like... themselves. The head of the work crew is too practical for that and instead notes which trees are of the best kind for building. 

Looking closer to their own self-perceptions is somewhat disconcerting, the ways of the Eyerarchy generally frown on that kind of thing. Most just look a bit younger or a bit older, which is safe. A few have slightly different clothes, even a flicker of a tattoo on the forehead of another eye or something. A few individuals even have features borrowed from other peoples. Good news is, no one knows it's a self perception thing, so this can just be passed off as otherworldly forest illusions of no importance.

The Captain is the only one who doesn't look at all different while in the forest. 

Some of the guests are eager to get out of the forest, others linger a few moments before leaving.

The all find themselves standing before the smashed husk of the red gate in their neighboring hex.

Weiss sighs wistfully. "All are safe. Now the waiting."

Joyful reunions with friends and family across the street in the apartment buildings! 

Head of the work crew stays behind to look sadly at the broken gate, promising to get a crew together and rebuild it as soon as protection is arranged.

Kitsunes follow towards the party... Mostly. Megi seems to enjoy the festive atmosphere, especially. 

"I can't be a guard forever. There are only so many Kitsune, and so many who'd want to come here. This whole situation has left a bad taste in my mouth."

The party the Kitsune are heading for has not yet materialized, but there are rumors of a victory celebration. The ‘master of ceremonies’ is meeting the ‘community quartermaster’ which usually means the two are discussing whether the stores have enough supplies for a proper feast. The family living next to the designated important meeting room can hear the conversation through the walls, and says the odds are looking good. Some laborers have taken the initiative and started setting up chairs and tables and decorative lanterns.

Tessa is looking for some alcohol. It's been nearly two days without any. Also maybe for the Bringer of Baked Goods to ask if bugging Weiss to make a horse archer scene would be nice?

Megi is discussing recipes and badgers Weiss for her spice jars! She knows you have some, Weiss. Hand over the chili powder!

Mati is playing with little kids!