(@122 Generation Small correction - Blacky doesn't wield the Sword of the Stars yet, he's just collecting pieces right now.) Xuehua picked up one or two raw aquamarines - not quite the Sword of the Stars ones, these seemed more fragile. More like the other spell-infused stones they had.
Not far from the Ice Beam scroll, an ice tome (Blizzara / Blizzaga?) could be seen laid open in the snow. Blacky picked the tome up, dusted it off, quickly flipped through several pages (despite his inability to decipher its contents -- this stuff was more of a mage thing), closed it, then picked the Ice Beam scroll up. That, and with the special aquamarine safely tucked in his bag, he looked around once again. Who knows if he could find the Dragon King's stash -- most likely full of people's stuff -- or something?
@WavePearl @122 Generation @ChocoChicken A few moments later, Blacky gave up. No caves, no more random stuff, just... tundra. Feeling empty handed despite the scroll and tome he'd been carrying, he went back to town.
(It could be Blizzaga, at this stage of the RP) Atelier caught up with Blacky afterward. "You okay? I could curl up with a bowl of soup." Behind Atelier, he had managed to haul a stash of goods that he recovered from the Dragon King's lair. If there was anything that was of use to the townsfolk, let alone recovered, then they would take care of it.
"Huh?" Atelier's concern snapped Blacky back to reality. As much as Blacky wanted to say "Nothing", "I'm fine", or anything similar, this Eevee had been astute enough to not buy it. Instead, he sighed at the sight of Atelier hauling a stash of goods from the lair. I mean, how couldn't he notice that? "Uh... yeah, that would be nice."
"Right. On that note, how... are we getting back? Should I lead the way?" Xuehua prepared her Ice staff, placing the spellstones in her satchel for now. She'd split them with the others later. First, they had to figure out how to get back, unless Calyrex was offering - but she was sure they could make it on their own if he had to stay or something.
@SAF @122 Generation @ChocoChicken Peace...I will guide you home. Calyrex assured Xuehua. It is the least I could do as thanks for your heroic deed.
@122 Generation @WavePearl @ChocoChicken (I thank 122 for the reminder in the OOC thread.) And then both Xuehua and Calyrex offered to lead the way back to town. "Huh? Sure," Blacky offhandedly replied. Not that it mattered to him either way.
@SAF @122 Generation @ChocoChicken Calyex closed his eyes, and focused his power...sending the group back to town! There...if you have need of my aid again... A glittering crystal whistle materialized in Aine's paws. Only sound this Aurora Whistle, and I will come.
Xuehua blinked, and the world around them seemed... different. There weren't houses out on the iceberg moments ago, were there? No, wait. They were back in town. Well, everyone was tired. She gave Calyrex a bow of her head as thanks. "Atelier, if you need to rest, I can deal with the recovered goods. That goes for the rest of you, too." She'd last longer in the cold. Besides... it would be nice to take her mind off what was up ahead.
Before the Umbreon knew it, he and the others were already back in town. It sure was nice to have someone other than Aine to do the teleporting for a change. That, and the glittering crystal whistle caught Blacky's eyes, but not for that long with a Fletchling mailmon heading his way. A letter? Blacky thought upon receiving a letter from the mailmon. He thanked both Calyrex and the mailmon with a "Thank you," before the latter flew off. A letter Dear Blacky, Our town's adventurers' guild recently lost their guildmaster again. Should you find him first, ask where he's going to and take him there. Josson And then the warrior blinked. The guy his master talked about -- chief of the Expedition Society -- was pretty well-known for his knack of getting lost in random places. Was the letter trying to imply that he could've been somewhere in Ludester?
@SAF Aine thanked the mail Fletchling with a nod, then noticed Blacky's shocked look. "Is everything okay?"
@WavePearl @ChocoChicken @122 Generation (Now introducing Chief Ampharos...) Chief Ampharos After a long, staggered walk with a lot of stumbles here and there, an Ampharos arrived at the town of Ludester from Kickenham's direction. "Phew-ee… I’m pretty thoroughly lost now! Having such a terrible sense of direction is indeed a burden. Yes, undeniably," he mused with a quite satisfied look all over his face. "But..." the satisfaction didn't last long because now he shuddered due to the drop in temperature. "...is Spikeford always this cold?" (Tl;dr, Chief Ampharos thought Ludester is Spikeford. ) Blacky Meanwhile, Aine's concerned question snapped Blacky from his train of thoughts. "Huh? Well..." cue the awkwardness when he shook his head at the content of his master's letter. "...the guildmaster at Kickenham got lost again."
(Classic Chief Ampharos) Atelier gratefully accepted Xuehua's help in moving the goods as they returned to the town just like that. The next thing he wanted was to curl up with a good book and a hot bowl of soup. It was only then he realised just how cold he was. Even then, he wanted to make sure that everything that the Dragon King had taken would be rightfully returned. Now he was also reminded that he needed to repair his tomes, and his sword could use some upgrades. He wasn't prepared to do that now - not when he had just come fresh from fighting. Instead, the arrival of a Fletchling and the news of a lost guildmaster made his ears perk. "Eh? 'Again'? Does this guildmaster always get lost?"
"All the time," Blacky affirmed with a snicker of awkwardness as he looked at the townsfolk on their way back home ASAP out of fear of the resident Dragon King's raid (they probably had no clue of said dragon's demise yet). Coming from a foreigner, as if Piquedilly guildmaster's antics weren't weird enough, the Kickenham one might've sounded even more facepalm-worthy to Atelier. "Why, Epona once had to teleport him back to Kickenham when he got lost in Luminrinth Forest. That Ampharos is really that bad with directions, I swear," the Umbreon recalled that one time when the guildmaster in question suddenly popped up in the middle of Blacky's training session with his liege. (Friendly reminder: Luminrith Forest is this world's Glimwood Tangle counterpart. Also edited my post because I forgot to have Blacky mention the guildmaster's species and needed to make the townsfolk's behaviours a little more believable.)
"Right, and you've been tasked to find him?" Xuehua asked. She... wasn't sure what to make of this information. Sure, they could put off their next destination for a bit... would that be better, or just running from the inevitable?
@ChocoChicken @WavePearl @122 Generation "More like a forewarning, actually," Blacky wasn't that sure what exactly was in Xuehua's mind but replied to her question anyway. "For what it's worth, he could've ended up in the royal city or something," he offhandedly added, all while being unaware that the guildmaster in question was actually in the same town as the group. That said, Blacky made his way to the local guild for a mission report. (I'll see where our MCs are going before rolling RNG for who's gonna bump into Chief Ampharos.)
First Wigglytuff. Now Ampharos. If Atelier didn’t know any better, he was noticing a trend with guildmasters. For now, Atelier could worry about this later. His priority was to repair his equipment or - if the blacksmith was closed - rest up with a meal and bed.
Xuehua pulled the sack of goods Atelier had give her over her shoulder. She'd have to dole these out first. Get her mind back in order. And of course, be prepared to lie to the party. A lot. Did that make her worse than the worst-case Aine she'd imagined back in Summerton? ...No, it was for the better they didn't know. Trying to shake those thoughts out, she headed towards the closest guild - mage's or not. Any help would be appreciated to get the loot back to its original owners.