The ruckus from the kids forced Beth and all the seniors to slowly gather near the run-down entrance of the town.
"Why are you all so noisy?" she asked them.
But it seemed that the kids were far too excited to even acknowledge Beth. They simply pointed towards the horizon, where an envoy of carriages seemed to be coming from the very forest itself.
"Miss Beth! Are they the help that you've been talking about?"
"Ooh! Are they the Heavenly Knights that are going to save us?!"
The kids' imaginations went wild, especially since the horseless carriages weren't anything they had ever seen before or had ever thought about.
But Beth knew that they weren't from the Order, nor were they from the Guild of Arcana. Matter of fact, they weren't even from the Queens region at all.
If they were, they would have come from the other side of the town facing northwards and connecting to the Golden Road. The very reason why they weren't getting help from anybody was because it was extremely hard for carriages or just peddlers to get through the hazardous environment caused by the earthquakes.
But now, these carriages—if it could even be called that—were coming with an army's worth of envoys with it.
Beth and the other seniors were certain. They weren't from the Queens region.
Not only that, but they seemed to be coming from a place in the Queens region inaccessible to anybody. After all, the dwarves had created for themselves an impenetrable wall on the other side with which no human or carriage could ever trespass.
"Are they here to conquer us?" an elderly man asked Beth.
"What could they possibly get in this town?" an elderly woman answered.
"Well, who are they?"
That was the question on everybody's mind. They could only wait with bated breaths as the horseless carriages approached their town at unbelievable speeds.
"That's faster than a horse!"
"And they're made of metal?! How is it faster than a normal carriage if it weighs so much more?!"
After a few more minutes, the camper van automobile in front of the envoy finally arrived at the gates of Orcus Town.
The kids excitedly approached the strange vehicle, regarding it as some sort of wonder of the world. They looked through the tinted glasses of the automobile, trying to see who or what was inside them.
"Beth, do you recognize that emblem?" one of the elders asked her.
Despite how little she remembered during the age of the Golden Road, there was one thing that she was sure she would never forget. And those were the emblems of all the families and businesses that used to frequent Orcus Town for trade.
From what she remembered, having complicated symbols adorned with gold designs was indicative of its stature in the global market.
The Vanderbilt business symbol depicted hands holding the world, which were all adorned with real gold.
The Osborne Consortium's insignia depicted that of a carriage traveling through a road, symbolizing their ability to sell any and all kinds of products all over the world.
The Hephaestus Company's crest was that of a golden hammer striking a golden anvil.
The Goldstone Group's sign was a wooden house built upon fertile land, showing their expertise in all things real estate and housing.
Sinclair's Elixir, headed by the famous alchemist and healer Sinclair, had a company logo showing a golden wreath representing health and prosperity.
Those were the only major companies that Beth could think of that had the wealth and manpower to create something as strange as this vehicle. She didn't know how these horseless carriages worked, but she knew from the material alone that it was not cheap to produce.
However, when she looked at the symbol by the side of this car, her memory came up blank.
It had a simple 'R' on the side of its door. It was elegant, but not gaudy or flashy like most companies liked to have.
"I don't know who owns these," Beth admitted. "But I do know that they weren't present during the age of the Golden Road. And they are certainly not from the Queens region."
If what she said was true, then there was only one possibility that they could think of.
"Are they from overseas?" one elder asked.
Beth could neither confirm nor deny their guess. But judging from the 'alien' horseless carriages, it seemed to be the only possibility.
The rest of the elders and seniors regarded the automobiles with curious but cautious attitudes, which was completely opposite to the kids who were simply happy-go-lucky in their approach to the vehicles.
"Helloo~~? Is anyone there?"
"Are you here to help us?"
They were crowding the camper van automobile before the door finally opened with a resounding CLICK that surprised the children.
They all slowly backed away from the door, letting its inhabitants finally show themselves to everyone.
"Ahhhh! We're finally here. Where's boss?" Jaku said as he stretched his body. Ever since Michael disappeared on them, they traveled through the roads nonstop in an attempt to catch up to him, which meant no breaks in between travel.
"Where are we? Is this Orcus Town?" Sheina asked as she surveyed her surroundings. She wasn't expecting it to look so…destroyed.
"Uh…there's people looking at us," Umisu muttered, shyly walking to Jaku and hiding behind him.
The kids looked at the Dragonborns with wide eyes, amazed at their cool scales and curved horns at the top of their heads. They had never seen such cool-looking demi-humans before.
"Woah!"
"That's really badass!"
"Mister…what are you?"
One of the kids approached the red-scaled Zion and looked up at him in admiration.
"Oh…OH! Me?! I'm a mighty Dragonborn!" Zion said, flexing his muscles and performing a few jabs for the kids, which they seemed to love as they cheered for every punch he released in the air.
Meanwhile, Beth and the rest of the seniors looked on at the Dragonborns and realized their similarity to the famous Draconian race, especially with their scaled bodies and the draconic frills on their heads.
They could only come to one conclusion:
They came from overseas.