@Puppet Master (This is true--we know this, but Aine's not sure.) Aine just decided to focus on tuning up for another day of performing. Maybe some rumors would help clear her confusion and give her an idea of where they needed to go...
"Whichever route gets us to Latermore fastest. We can meet up with the guys once we're at the town, or even at the lair, and being early means we can scope it out or grab some supplies." Xuehua responded. Seeing as Aine was planning on performing soon, she decided to head off for the nearby adventurer's guild - they'd probably get a good idea of the neighboring routes from there.
@Puppet Master “Hmm? Oh, sure,” Atelier replied. He guessed Blacky knew Kickenham well, but to visit graves, Atelier wondered if coming here was a good idea at all. He suspected this must be nostalgic for the Umbreon. “I’ll come with you.” There was a certain tower that looked over the city too.
@SpicySparrow "I do know that we need to pass Kickingham on the way to Latermore..." Aine mused as she tuned. "But the dragon that lurks near there is the most powerful of the Dragon Kings."
"Well, zero plus one half still is a pretty small number, eh?" Aine's warning flying a solid eighteen kilometers above her head, Xuehua turned back to face her. "What say we go send the rest of them a warning?"
@SpicySparrow "A warning?" Aine gasped. "Do you mean a warning about the Great Dragon King of Kickingham?" She wanted to be SURE she was understanding her friend correctly.
"I mean, it would be quite the statement if the other Dragon Kings received the news of the strongest among them being overthrown, wouldn't it?" Xuehua crossed her arms.
@SpicySparrow "This may be true..." Aine mused. "But suppose they improved their defenses because of it? What would we do then?"
@122 Generation That said, Blacky headed to the cemetery located northeast of the city (where Hammerlocke Station is supposedly located in, well, Hammerlocke). Took him quite some time to locate his birth parents' graves among the rows of graves there. "Dad... Mum..." he knelt in front of the graves and whispered, "I'm back..." (Iirc the tower in Kickenham that 122 mentioned is supposed to be what Hammerlocke Stadium would be, right? What's the tower's function here?)
"Well, wouldn't the same happen if we were to take out the smaller ones first? The stronger get stronger, and the land would just suffer more for it." Xuehua countered. Granted, she had not thought this idea through as much as Aine did the longer plan, but in the name of destroying the Kings, wasn't it worth a shot?
@Puppet Master (In this world, the tower holds some of the Royal Archives. The Dragonairs that live in the tower research history, lore, and magic) @SpicySparrow An idea occurred to Aine. "What if we were to travel to the Royal Archives in Kickingham? The scholars there could help us..."
(Xuehua's mentality for slaying is always amusing) @Puppet Master Atelier had opted to give Blacky some space as he watched him watch over two graves. He was then reminded that Blacky's parents were casualties of the Dragon Kings, and that Blacky wielded a Cinderace-based sword for a reason. He looked at the cemetery around him. Were all of these graves also similar casualties? He didn't know too much about the war, but it must be this bad. Just how many casualties were there after the war? No wonder Aine wanted to wage this campaign, and Xuehua's hunger for slaying them.
(If the girls wanna do that, they'll want to notify the boys about it now that they're already there.)
"...I suppose that's worth a shot," Xuehua reluctantly answered. "So long as we can still catch up with the guys at Latermore, that is."
@122 Generation (I believe the plan now is to make a pitstop in Kickenham, then continue on to Latermore)
(I suppose it might be amusing if they regroup at Kickenham without intending to - as Blacky and Atelier didn’t plan on the girls showing up)