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Post by Rider on Jan 14, 2010 2:01:04 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Tabloid Town Hospital[/glow]
"Just like a pirate to jump to conclusions when hired help and ninjas are around."
"Well, you haven't given us a lot of reasons to trust you these past few years. Which reminds me, have any of you seen a dragon running around?" She paused and looked at Gil. "And who the heck is he? Why is he dressed funny?"
[glow=red,2,300]Brassport[/glow]
"Alright, what happened here?"
Adeline put on her best wounded-little-girl face. Finally, an authority figure she could speak to. "Ma'am, we're not from here. We were pulled in... and these mages, they attacked us for no reason. One of them's gone, but the other is right here. All we really want is to go back home."
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Post by Rikku on Jan 14, 2010 2:26:40 GMT -5
Brassport Assembly Hall
Rikku started plotting.
Alright, she was in a bit of a tricky situation right now. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Often, being taken prisoner merely meant you could get close enough to your enemies to strike at them when their attention was elsewhere.
But you couldn’t do any amount of damage if you were half-dead from exhaustion. Rikku had been driving herself far harder than usual, and it showed; her face was pale, her magic all but gone. Her thoughts were sharp and clear, but her body was slow in responding to them. No amount of ‘deep influence could make her do the physically impossible, or at least not for very long.
So, with absolutely no regard for the drama of the situation, she settled down as comfortably as she could, and promptly fell asleep.
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Post by Draco on Jan 14, 2010 2:28:16 GMT -5
<<The Healing Place... OF DEATH!>>
"Well you should be happy to know that there base is no more. I was there personally when it blew up. Most recently I hired them to help with what ever problem my superior warned the ninjas about." He turns his head at the man who started to warn him about something called the Underdeep, "I have no idea what that is." Turning once again to Rider, "As for a dragon. Haven't seen one. There was however a man with a sword who blew the bars off of the hospital entrance, which I intend to follow."
Gil looks at everyone, and how they are dressed, while Draco speaks. When he is done, Gil begins, "Gil of the Steam Machines Maxwell, from the city of Brassport, and I believe I am dressed proper. It is you lot that are dressed weird. And what would pirates want with a dragon?"
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Post by Jina on Jan 14, 2010 4:00:23 GMT -5
Tabloid Town "This can't be a coincidence. A dozen other entrances and they all gather around this one? No, something's going on. Oh crud, mercs. I can smell them from here."
Jina pulled over by the mercs, and Rider held a conversation with... apparently, a ninja and someone from something to do with steam. Some kind of sauna worker?
"It is you lot that are dressed weird."
Hey!
"And what would pirates want with a dragon?"
"Oh, y'know. It stole our treasure. What are you doing trying to get in a hospital that clearly doesn't have sanitary conditions? Seriously, how much rubble can one building be surrounded by? You'll get all sorts of infections coming here. And the power's off, too... yeah, if this hospital is treating people, it shouldn't be."
Brassport Assembly Hall "Ma'am, we're not from here. We were pulled in... and these mages, they attacked us for no reason. One of them's gone, but the other is right here. All we really want is to go back home."
Patri looked down out the mage. That's her. Sandra seemed to have come to the same conclusion.
"Alright, we'll take her back with us. We might need some people to come back and explain what happened... and while you're there, we'll see if we can set up a meeting between you and the Spacefleet guild. They might be able to help you get back to... wherever it is."
Patri bent over and whispered in her ear. "Are you sure about this?"
Sandra nodded. "Ah, yes. We came here looking for a conman we've been chasing. We don't believe he would have gone any further than this city. If you have come from somewhere else, I'm sure you'd have noticed any newcomers, might we see if we can find our man amongst them? Also, any transport you have that could help us get your mage and any witnesses back to Tabloid Town would be very helpful." She smiled. "If all goes well, we can have this entire situation sorted out in no time at all."
Outside the city, Halin had arrived. "What's going on?"
"Sandra's found who we're looking for, but now she wants to get some people going back to Tabloid Town, with their transport... apparently, they've come from some other place, got attacked by the mage we're looking for, and now they're trying to get back to where they came from."
"Maybe she's trying to figure out what the mage was up to? We won't know until we talk to her."
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Post by Strife on Jan 14, 2010 4:04:31 GMT -5
((Tabloid Town Hospital))
"It's interesting, really..." a familiar voice called out in the distance. The metallic echo of heavy footsteps pierced through the dark hallways, stopping abruptly at a woman who was laying on the ground in a fetal position - the same woman who had terrorized his group earlier that night.
Strife knelt down, staring at her as he spoke softly. "When one is consumed by such monstrous forces, they will do and say anything to justify themselves to the world." He reached out and grabbed a few strands of Celestial's hair, raising them in front of his eyes. "A personal quest for power... a desire to cleanse the world of evildoers... or my favorite one of all, claiming to be the messenger of an unfathomable cosmic force."
He opened his hand, letting the hair strands float down. "You can tell these people whatever lies you want about the Underdeep... but I know that it's all in your head. I've been there. I've been consumed by powers I could only dream of in the past... and I believed with a passion that I had been blessed by a greater force. I believed that I had a destiny."
He lowered his head, speaking in an even deeper whisper. "The more you resist the truth, the greater the damage will be. The only way to free yourself from the nightmare is to become the nightmare yourself. Let go of who you used to be, and embrace who you have become."
His sword let out a hiss as he stood up and held it in front of him with both hands. "Time to finish what I started."
Strife raised the sword over his head and took a swing, aiming for the mid-section of her body.
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Post by Nasuella on Jan 14, 2010 7:20:29 GMT -5
Near the Hospital OF DOOM - and yes, I did just use a different colour.
So much for making herself inconspicuous. If she had a little more presence of mind, Nasue would probably have been kicking herself for speaking. Instead she was clearly surprised at the sound of her own voice, to the point of speechlessness.
Still, at least it was the captain who had noticed, rather than anyone else (aside from that blue rodent). After a few moments, Nasue finally prepared herself to actually speak. She opened her mouth, and--
Someone else began to talk. Well, that was relieving, in a way. Glowing eyes and strange voice aside, she was still a very nervous coati.
So, for the time being, she resigned to staying quiet and listening to the conversation between the two pirate captains. (Somehow, Rane wasn't quite what she'd been expecting. This was the mightiest of pirate captains? He looked - and acted - more like an ordinary person... which he probably was, in a way. But I digress.) It was a tad hard to focus; the strange colours were shifting in and out of her vision once more, causing the world to alternate between coloured shapes and her regular vision.
And while Rane didn't look too intimidating, something within Nasue did not like the colours around him. Or was it the gem? It was hard to tell.
Somewhere near the hospital, a message written in blood began to glow.
--
The River Tigris
"Apparently the watchmen have their hands full. It's hardly been a night, and suddenly we got tons of crap all over the place."
"Strange openings, stranger creatures, people disappearing, people acting weird..."
"Stuff like that, yeah. Oh, and someone tried to kill the janitor."
D-Man, downing large mugfuls of tea and clearly trying to stay awake, paused for a moment. Were they talking about him...? Oh, right. They would be. Barely a fortnight, and already he was a big part of the team. The tavern's unsung hero, if you will.
It was kinda funny, in a way. Hardly anyone knew anything about him. People had offered theories, but so far there wasn't anything concrete.
"He's good with a mop, though!"
The black-scaled dragon allowed himself a chuckle before he resumed his binge-consuming of caffine. Having to stay up all night was not his friend, especially thanks to that idiot assassin.
Though, come to think of it, why would anyone want him dead? Was this some old enemy he didn't remember?
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Post by PFA on Jan 14, 2010 10:47:00 GMT -5
((Hospital entrance))
Jernath was about ready to go inside, when that blond-haired guy from before started talking to them... warning them about something inside the hospital, it seemed. What the heck is going on in that building? Jernath wondered. Seems everyone's spouting ominous things about it today...
"Underdeep... um... I think I might have heard of it?" Jernath responded. "I dunno, some of the more magicky types would mention it sometimes... something about realizing your greatest fears?" A pause. "Oh. That's a bad thing, isn't it..."
Around then was when the entire RP started congregating behind them. First, that guy they ran over woke up, questioning them, and then the pirates came riding in on their blarf...
Oh crud, pirates, he realized. The last time he'd seen the pirates was about a year ago, back during that war. That was back when he was accompanying Cyborg and the gang in beating everyone up, with the pirates at the forefront of it all. Basically, he wasn't sure they were going to be exactly friendly to the mercs.
"Do you really have to tell them that?" Jernath grumbled to Draco as he started telling the pirates about the little exploding base incident. Mainly because he really didn't like to advertise their newfound lack of a home, especially not to potential enemies. To the crowd in general, he added, "And what's this about a dragon, now? And the hospital... can't somebody tell me what the heck is going on?"
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Tokala
Fan
Rider's gonna kill me for this...
Fox in Box
Posts: 92
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Post by Tokala on Jan 14, 2010 13:51:15 GMT -5
"Hold on just a minute now." Blackstone's voice was quiet, but it still seemed to ring throughout the remnants of the Hall. "I don't know who you lot are, what you're doing here, or if you're friends of the ones who attacked this peaceful city. I don't believe we can just let you walk out of here with this," his voice tightened into civility, "woman, without knowing more and being convinced that you're not just some of her friends come to get her out of trouble. I have to watch out for this city's well-being and the well-being of all its inhabitants. No one else will right now. So if you would like our cooperation, you first explain yourselves satisfactorily, and then perhaps we can discuss helping you."
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Post by Jina on Jan 14, 2010 17:04:42 GMT -5
Brassport Assembly Hall "Hold on just a minute now. I don't know who you lot are, what you're doing here, or if you're friends of the ones who attacked this peaceful city. I don't believe we can just let you walk out of here with this... woman, without knowing more and being convinced that you're not just some of her friends come to get her out of trouble. I have to watch out for this city's well-being and the well-being of all its inhabitants. No one else will right now. So if you would like our cooperation, you first explain yourselves satisfactorily, and then perhaps we can discuss helping you."
"Ah, so you're in charge, then? Well, like we said, we're with Tabloid Town city watch, and we're looking for a conman. We want to take the mage because she is, technically, under our jurisdiction. I agree this is a special case, but it is one that has been dealt with on occasion before. Our world is very magical, so sometimes things do just get dragged across for no reason. Under those circumstances, our law is used until we can arrange some sort of treaty. After all, this is our land. Now, as I said before, we do need witnesses, so you are all welcome to come along and oversee that she is handled properly. After that, we'll put you in contact with Spacefleet, they should be able to send you back - and I say should only because I am not entirely familiar with their technology, they haven't failed so far - and then this'll all be over. As for this conman, he often chooses people that are in similar situations as yourselves, he considers them easy targets. Makes me think that this mage might have been just another trick of his... may I ask who subdued her?"
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Post by Rider on Jan 14, 2010 18:25:21 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Tabloid Town Hospital[/glow]
"There was however a man with a sword who blew the bars off of the hospital entrance, which I intend to follow."
"Oh, him? he's with us. As for the dragon, well, She sort of... attacked us. When it wasn't in her nature to do so." She paused, as if considering choosing her next words carefully, then throwing caution to the proverbial wind. "And what the heck is a Steam Machine? I've never heard of Brassport before. If you ask me, you're just as fishy as the dragon."
A deep breath. "But going into that hospital looks dangerous, to say the least. Even if the Underdeep itself isn't down there, there may be bits of it, aftereffects. You're going to need our assistance to survive, and heck, maybe that dragon hit me a little too hard, but I'm feeling charitable. We'll help you with your investigation if you'll help us find the dragon."
[glow=red,2,300]Brassport[/glow]
Tabloid Town? This certainly wasn't Kansas anymore. These people seemed to be more trustworthy, though. "What sort of conman are you looking for?"
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Post by Fraze on Jan 14, 2010 19:20:47 GMT -5
((Skies Over Tabloid Town)) Though he wanted to be where the action was, Fraze felt it necessary to survey the damage done. He flew over Tabloid Town, observing what areas had been hit hardest by the small battle. Street lights illuminated some of the better areas of town, while he had to rely on his own night vision and a nearly-full moon for everything else. It seemed that the upper-class residential areas had sustained the most damage. He once again tried contacting Spacefleet to get a relief crew to the planet to start rebuilding; however, the satellite net was apparently still down. Just wonderful. He monitored all short-range communications to keep up with events--particularly, whatever came through the comm he had slipped to Huntress at their first meeting. Monitoring communications was a privilege granted to rank, and such privileges were meant to be quietly abused when necessary. He knew that he would be needed back at the 'Fleet, but even at top speed, it would take too long to get there. He had already flown over the hospital once. The Underdeep seemed to be breaking loose from there, but now events seemed to be coming to a head. After completing his circuit, he returned to the hospital. He thought it best to hover above the action, which would offer a tactical advantage should things get too much more out of hand. Through a skylight, he saw Strife approach--yes, indeed, that was the attacker from earlier in the day. A battle flared up in Fraze's mind. She is clearly incapacitated and doesn't look like she will be causing any more trouble. She should be taken and held in captivity, until she can stand trial. No, she clearly has a goal that would harm other people, and won't easily be persuaded to give it up. And she might be too strong to keep in captivity. Capital punishment is justifiable if there is no other way of protecting society from an individual. But look at her, she's clearly no longer a threat. Don't be so stupid, you know full well appearances like that can be deceiving. Animals know it instinctively--if you're cornered by the enemy, the two best ways to survive are a) fight like mad, or b) play dead. It's completely possible she's using the latter strategy. But it looked like she was being controlled by something, something violent and aggressive. If it were still there, it would be more likely to fight than play dead. Again, you don't know that. Always assume your enemy has something planned. Besides, stopping Strife now would cause difficulties with this already unstable alliance. When did you get so cynically pragmatic? You admit that you're allowing someone who may very well be innocent to die, just to keep an alliance with someone who wants to kill you and take your place. Innocent or not, she's still a significant danger. And Strife is powerful. I'd rather keep him as a powerful ally than turn him into a powerful enemy. In the end, Fraze decided not to intervene. Instead, he unslung the plasma rifle and unclipped a grenade from his belt. If the enemy made a move, he would be ready.
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Tokala
Fan
Rider's gonna kill me for this...
Fox in Box
Posts: 92
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Post by Tokala on Jan 14, 2010 19:42:18 GMT -5
"Jurisdiction?" Athars laugh was mocking, "My dear, you have come into this city and are trying to extradite one of your own who has murdered? I do believe you are out of your mind." A hand on his shoulder stopped him as Blackstone stepped forward again.
"Yes, I am in charge for the time being, of at least these volunteers and of the majority of the workers in this city. As for this Space-people you keep mentioning, the witches told us to talk to them as well, and you can see how much their word is going to be trusted now. Seeing as how you are friends of hers who just appeared out of nowhere, I see Athar's point. You will do well to cease acting as if you are in charge here, and to stop condescending to us. As for your con-man, if you're talking about the large reptile, it left." Blackstone's annoyance was obvious, but just as obvious was that it was not entirely directed at the newcomers, nor entirely at Sarn.
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Post by Jina on Jan 14, 2010 19:57:53 GMT -5
Brassport Assembly Hall "What sort of conman are you looking for?"
"I'm afraid I can't give you a physical description, he's able to change his appearance through magical means. I don't think it's the mage, as blatant attacks aren't really a conman's style, and especially not his. However, he might have paid or forced them to attack you for his own purposes."
"Yes, I am in charge for the time being, of at least these volunteers and of the majority of the workers in this city. As for this Space-people you keep mentioning, the witches told us to talk to them as well, and you can see how much their word is going to be trusted now. Seeing as how you are friends of hers who just appeared out of nowhere, I see Athar's point. You will do well to cease acting as if you are in charge here, and to stop condescending to us. As for your con-man, if you're talking about the large reptile, it left."
"I think you misunderstand. We aren't friends of the mage, we just come from the same world. As for the Spacefleet, well, it's your choice. We're just trying to help you get back. And I hate to have to tell you this, but we are in charge, as far as any criminals from our world are concerned. You can try and stop us from taking them away for punishment, but we would have to come back with more officers and simply arrest anyone that did so. We don't want to do that, but we know from experience that this is the only way things will work out. It's all up to you, but bear in mind the consequences. As for the large reptile... it could be the person we're looking for, although leaving wouldn't be his style."
Tabloid Town Hospital "But going into that hospital looks dangerous, to say the least. Even if the Underdeep itself isn't down there, there may be bits of it, aftereffects. You're going to need our assistance to survive, and heck, maybe that dragon hit me a little too hard, but I'm feeling charitable. We'll help you with your investigation if you'll help us find the dragon."
"Woah, woah! Rider, I think we can find the dragon on our own. Although... seeing as these two don't seem to mind hiring help, I supposed we could assist in return for something more... spendable."
((Also, quick note, me and Rider aren't on the Blarf with the other pirates, we're in the hovercar I stole, with possibly other pirates (read: Zylaa or Goosh) should any come.))
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Any relation to real people
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Post by Any relation to real people on Jan 14, 2010 20:51:24 GMT -5
It didn't hurt. It didn't even damage him. But he was stories, and stories were him. He could control them, but just as much, he was controlled by them. The anorexic horsewoman chick expected that what she said would somehow destroy him. It was dramatically appropriate at that moment that he live up to that expectation. He knew every story that had ever been told. He had watched all of them as they were created, and was there every time they were retold. In a nothingth of time, he recalled all the myriad ways that had ever been invented for a supernatural being to die. He chose crumbling to dust. Nice, tidy, not too gruesome, and more or less in keeping with the rest of the story. Besides, it was pretty clear that they didn't need him. Had they accepted his offer of assistance, he probably wouldn't have chosen the dramatic exit. There wasn't really any practical way of destroying him. He lived in every story that had ever been and was currently being told. As long as new stories were being created, he would exist in all of them. This creation would never stop, short of megaverse-wide genocide committed against every last sentient creature. His instructions had been to pay particular attention to this story, and to keep it running if needed. He didn't know why. Usually the higher-ups sat back and let him do his job. He wandered among the stories, nudging the plots here and there and providing inspiration to particularly promising storytellers. But in this case, he was apparently needed for something particular. He didn't yet know what yet, all he was told was that he should push the story forward if it started to stall. It hadn't started to stall yet, but he decided to make preparations, out of boredom. He could have directly affected the story, had he really wanted to. He could destroy it, then and there, at that very instant. All he needed to do was steal away the story's impulse, and it would fade to nothingness. On the other hand, he could have turned it into a grand space opera with thousands of characters that would take decades to tell. But he didn't, because this would disrespect the story. This was what those characters who so blithely sought to "break" him failed to recognize--the story was a living, breathing thing. It had a heartbeat, it had a life force, it was real. The fact that, somewhere out there, minds and hands were relating the story didn't mean that the events weren't occurring. Quite the opposite: the story was being told somewhere--another universe, perhaps, or maybe a different part of this same universe, this wasn't his area of expertise--precisely because it was really happening. It was for this reason that he himself never stepped directly into a story--doing so would cheapen it. So, he would insert a character into it. But being the essence of storytelling, he could create neither a story nor a character of his own. Anyway, all stories were borrowed. All stories that had ever been told ultimately boiled down to a handful of basic plotlines. Telling a unique story was impossible, despite how hard some have tried. The value came from retelling an old story in a new and creative way. The ancient Greek playwrights understood this, which is why he honored them by using one of their masks as a face when he took a physical human form. He thought back through the multitude of characters that had ever been created. Interesting, but not too heady. Something that would fit in the story. Preferably something recent.
Ah, yes, that would do quite well.
--------
She knew things. She knew that she had just been created only seconds ago. At the same time, she knew that she had been alive for a long time, but not always in a physical form. She also knew that other people looking at her would not know these things, since they would see a teenaged girl with a pretty smile and long, dark hair. She knew that the first two of these things were contradictory, but she also knew that both of them were nonetheless absolutely, undeniably true. She knew this the same way one might recall the memories of a dream: look too closely at the events of the dream, and they would seem to be disjointed and completely nonsensical, but step away and view the dream as a whole, and it falls perfectly into place.
She knew other things as well. She knew she was a reincarnation of another character who had been removed from another story plane. She knew that she had a Backstory and a Motivation. She didn't know what any of these things meant, but somehow they made sense and she knew that they would fall into place when they became necessary. She also knew that she had something to do. She didn't know why she had to do it, and she didn't know when, but she knew that she would know when the proper time came. Lastly, she knew that people would be watched, and that people would try to figure out who she was. She knew that very few of the things that she knew about herself, except for her physical characteristics, would help these people to figure her out, since her character had not yet become sufficiently developed. She didn't know what this meant.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2010 3:21:26 GMT -5
<<Brassport: Assembly Hall>> -Ro-
Ro couldn't help but bury her head in one hand after Sarn's very visible apology. "Tonto," she muttered. Ah, well. It had to come out anyway.
"...And I hate to have to tell you this, but we are in charge, as far as any criminals from our world are concerned. You can try and stop us from taking them away for punishment, but we would have to come back with more officers and simply arrest anyone that did so."
Ro gritted her teeth. "I don't think your jurisdiction holds in a place that is not of this land. Especially not when there are other members of Guilds here. This is not Tabloid Town, and you will not drag a dangerous mage away because of silly whims."
The knight was a judge of character, and she based her decisions on that when she could. Even if she had a duty as a knight. Currently, even with hostility from some, the Brassport people, especially this leader figure, weren't people she felt inclined to distrust.
This pair of prodding people, however...
"You're seriously just waltzing in here and expecting us to hand over this woman?" It was Asta, who adjusted her goggles and folded her arms across her chest. "You're kidding. Did you see what happened just now? I don't think so. If we can't handle this ourselves, we will at least not just leave it to more random visitors." She frowned, speaking a little more quietly. "How do I know who to trust?"
You don't, Ro thought immediately, but she left it at that. "What proof do you have of being with a 'city watch'?" she asked the pair, thinking. She didn't know much of Tabloid Town, or how it worked, but on the other hand, it would never hurt to ask.
<<Brassport: Assembly Hall>> -Asta-
Urgh. She put a hand to her head, pressing as it throbbed. This is stressful.
Well, of course. After having... No, it was too much to list, even mentally. She shoved attempts to try and sort through the mess of events to one side and focused her eyes on something else. The handle of her shortsword. Then the blade. It wasn't made by her, though she'd help to synthesize some of the materials, but it was custom and she loved the feel and look of it...
A stray glance, and she looked at the red scarf fastened at her side. The bird...
Asta stepped back from the others, turning away a bit. "What kind of 'main conflict' were you talking about?" she asked, taking a moment to stroke the bird's head. It was cute.
The muscles in her back tightened, and Asta looked over her shoulder uncomfortably. Her eyes met Ro's critical stare, and she stiffened as the knight walked the few steps over. "What?" she questioned, trying to avoid her gaze.
"What did it say?"
The chemist stared. "Don't mock me," she said finally, glaring.
"I am not. Is it a Mystic?"
"What are you...what 'mystic'? I..." She trailed off as the knight just bent down and looked carefully at the bird.
"No, not a Mystic," she murmured, speaking to the bird itself. "A weewoo. To who do you belong?"
Alright. So something that communicated mentally like this apparently wasn't weird here. Or something like that.
Explanations, answers, from anyone would have been nice at this point, but she had a feeling that there would be too many things to take in at once. Like trying to memorize the dictionary in day. It just couldn't be done.
Asta sighed and rubbed her temples. Please, someone. Let me get back to where I can understand what's happening.
<<Mage Manor --> Ninja Dojo>>
Aly watched Owen and Kiddo come out, giving them a short wave. "Ready to go?" she asked, pushing herself off the wall she'd been leaning against. "We've got a while to walk. Or, well..." The mage frowned and glanced over at Owen. "You. Guy I don't know. You said you had a faster way to get there, right?"
"Is there any chance that the largest Underdeep entrance is located somewhere in Tabloid Town? "I'll take that as you're not sure if it is.
Aly looked back at the speaker, tilting her head slightly. "Come along and find out?" she said, shrugging. "The more the merrier."
It was early morning when they left, or sometime around then--Aly was usually handy with dates, times, the position of the sun, and the like, but that was back on Gaiar. Here, it was a struggle for her body to keep up with it sometimes.
The suit was impressive, she had to admit, though at least she'd gotten used to seeing more modern technology than when she'd first come here. More importantly, it was fast. They reached the foot of the mountains a while later, and Aly jumped off immediately and massaged her legs. "Alright, Kiddo," she said, taking out an apple and quickly polishing off half of it. "Up and back down, and tell us what you find. We'll wait down here." If I don't get bored. "That good with you?"
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