Evergreen shook her head. That's a waste of taxes, building a statue - and of herself, no less! She glanced at Peri to see what he thought, and it seemed like he had the same idea. "Alright!" Maria said. "Then if the elder went into hiding, would you have any clues where that might be? Any sightings?"
@Tala "Hey Mel, do you want to come along with me to search for clues?" Kiseki asked the little girl, quite worried about leaving her on her own.
@122 Generation "He left strict instructions not to tell anyone unless we could trust them." the innkeeper explained. "You don't seem to be one of Lady Blackburn's spies..."
That would be difficult, to explain whether we're spies or not, Evergreen said. What would it take for you to earn our trust? "Ooh! Maybe they might have heard of us! We're heroes, aren't we?" Maria nudged the Gardevoir's side. "I'm one of the 'Heroes of the Realm', right? Maybe I might have a reputation here." Evergreen seriously doubted that would work. After all, they were in another world.
@122 Generation "Hero? What kinds of heroic deeds have you done?" Sure enough, the innkeeper was confused.
We fought together with a group of heroes against this demon monster called Necrozma... That happened in our home in Chiron... Evergreen explained. Great. Now she was feeling like a madman. Who would believe her and Maria? Unless there was some subtle link that connected this world to Chiron, like Kiseki's dreams, it was unlikely her position would hold. She bet even Peri would think she had gone mad. "See? That seems heroic enough. We stopped the world from being covered in the dark." Maria grinned, as if Evergreen's explanation was no problem.
@122 Generation Luckily, the innkeeper didn't seem to hear Evergreen. "Sounds exciting! Maybe you could ask a kaitan to record it, so we all can read it?" (Kaitan are this world's equivalent to minstrels)
(Suppose a kaitan would know of the lore?) "If it would mean getting you to help us, then why not?" Maria said. "We need all the help we can get if we want to find that elder." Evergreen sighed, and motioned to Peri to come along.
@122 Generation (A kaitan would know of the other world in the context of a bedtime story or fairy tale.)
(Suppose everyone else would be interested to hear it. That would be exciting!) "So... where would I find the kaitan?" Maria asked. Hey... Don't get sidetracked, Maria! If this innkeeper knows where the elder is, then we ought to bring her with us, Evergreen reminded. "Hey, hey, I haven't forgotten." Maria smiled.
(Right. Almost forgot - Maria could tell the story herself. But then again, a local kaitan may be more convincing sometimes) "Right," Maria turned to the innkeeper again. "Can you take us to the kaitan?"
A quiet melody caught Maria's ears, and that led to Maria to a certain minstrel in th inn. She and Evergreen tried to get he kaitan's attention. "Excuse me," Maria said. "We were wondering if you could help us?" We were wondering if you could convince this innkeeper that we can be trusted. That is, if you've even heard of us! Now Evergreen felt like she was going insane.
@122 Generation "How can I help?" the kaitan asked as she retuned her harp. "Is there a tale that holds a clue, or a poem close to you?"
Maria smiled nervously. "Uh... We were wondering if there was a tale or song about the 'Heroes of the Realm'. Have you ever heard of them? My name is Maria, if that helps... Maria! The book! Evergreen said. I doubt our names would be written in song, though. "Oh right. There are pictures too..." Maria took out the Book of Knowledge and showed a few pictures to the kaitan.