There and Back Again

Ilulu's Mind > Sawwar

Stocking was not intimately familiar with how mental realms worked, so she wasn't sure if the collapsing domain meant that shortstack's mind was itself collapsing. She could only hope.

Either way, she wasn't going down with this particular ship. She shot back out the portal in short order, landing gracefully on the other side, and turning her sword back into a stocking, which she slipped back on in one fluid motion.

She spared a brief glance over at the turtle man, who was apparently concerned about the shortstack and also his appearance, so apparently he liked freaking out over things that didn't matter. "Well, she's waking up, so I'm sure her mind is fine. And no one cares that you're a turtle. Tortoise? Whichever you are."

Actually, she wasn't sure if the whole anti-nonhuman bias in this town applied to beastfolk as well as dragons. To that end, she brushed her hair back and strode towards the guards, preparing to sweet talk them away.

"Hello, sirs. There's no need to worry. Nothing uncouth is going on here. " She greeted with her best angelic smile, clasping her hands daintily and letting her halo shine into existence above her head. "That short one with the headband encountered an evil spirit, you see, so my companions and I were performing an exorcism of the mind. Stocking Anarchy, at your service."

She was probably overselling it, but just in case she threw in a curtsy for good measure.

Ilulu's Mind > Back to Sawwar's Alleyway (NiGHTS)

NiGHTS couldn't help but start celebrating the fall of the draconic Nightmaren, spinning and twirling and doing all sorts of acrobatic tricks with triumphant, cheerful giggling. After all, no one was at risk (for now) of losing their Ideya!

...That is until the landscape began to break apart. Into nightmarish swirls of colors that gave the dream jester an ill feeling...

Immediately, she hopped into the portal back to the Waking World, reminding herself beforehand to put back on the guise of a Visitor child - but didn't immediately try to play the part yet. She just kneeled next to the waking-up Ilulu and comforted her. ...in a whisper, so her true nature would remain a mystery.

"Hey. Your dream is safe now. I promise I won't let any Nightmaren steal your Ideya under my watch."

Szklana Góra Inn (Meta Knight)

The little knight would obviously try to play it off later, but if C.C. paid attention, she'd see that his yellow eyes had quite the sparkles while he listened to the tale. As if he was absorbing every bit of information the tale provided.

However, Meta Knight once again began to play it cool and serious once the Star Rod came up. "I see. Perhaps, someone who lives here must be aware of how important the Star Rod is to Dream Land. If there is, then I must make haste as soon as possible."

About what Lightning said... well. He kind of wanted to say something, but he kept himself quiet. It wasn't like he didn't personally know a formerly extremely flawed king, but he also didn't have much space to criticize it.

Team A

Szklana Góra Inn

Suddenly, the door to the tavern burst open with a bang. Moments later, a figure swaggered into the bar area. He was dressed in black and gold, with a flowing greatcoat on his back and pieces of copper armour adorning his torso and arms. On his head was a shiny metal cap with red visors over his eyes. With a faint whittering sound, several metal contraptions floated in, and drifted around the man like a loyal flock of birds. They were segmented, slug-like, and with a red glass piece for an eye: the very same design that the burning man from before had been trapped by.

"Gooood evening, harlots and gentle-peons!" the man called out to the tavern at large. "If you could all stop drowning your brains in liquor for a moment, I'd like your attention, please! Now then, which one of you fine reprobates has seen...this man, hm?"

On cue, two of the little machina came up beside him, gripping the top and bottom of a Wanted poster, depicting the burning man with scraggly long hair.

"Come come, don't be shy," the man said, as the poster slowly orbited his head. "You want a better look? Maybe want to get closer so your eyes can focus?"

Edited by LizardOfAus on Feb 20th 2024 at 11:34:37 AM

??????-Glass Mountain Summit

If the strange limbless child (because ultimately, thats what he was) heard or understood any of the worried comments being thrown his way, he didn't react to them. Instead, he watched the gathered crowd with innocent curiosity, his large eyes taking in the assembled gawkers with childlike wonder.

He wondered what everyone was here for. Was it someone's birthday? Was it his birthday?

....what was a birthday?

Polokus's question shook him from his thoughts and caught his attention, and his head roatated in midair to look at the God with rapt attention.

"What do you...call me?"

Oh, thats right! People had names, didn't they? And he was pretty sure he was a person. So he needed a name!

A name. Hmm. What to call himself...Jimmy? No, nope, no to that. He was definitely not a Jimmy.

He floated a hand to his chin as his face scrunched up (rather adorably) in thought. Davide? No. Michel? No. Romsobnamular? Ugh, definitely no.

And then, as if divine inspiration had struck (and it had indeed), a name came to him.

...Rayman...

Rayman's face lit up as the name came to to him, and he knew without a doubt that that was him. His face wasn't the only thing that lit up-everyone assembled would witness the ring on Raymans chest glow white with holy light for a few brief moments, an undeniable mark of his unique creation.

"My name is Rayman, sir!" The newly named Rayman said with enthusiasm, thumping his chest with a fist in pride.

"But uh, who are you?" he then asked, his earlier curiosity returning to him. "And what's the special occaion?"

Szklana Góra Inn

C.C. seemed amused at Lightning's analysis. "Why sit by yourself over there, Lightning?" she asked, beckoning to her fellow cynic with a hand. "You can at least enjoy the company of myself and this Knight while we tear down the dreams of revolutionaries with our analyses, heh!"

Before the pinkette could respond, however, a rather loud and obnoxious distraction barged in and made himself known, alongside his off-puttingly familiar mechanical minions.

"Even if I had seen him, I should think I'd be quite disinclined to help you by saying so, considering you just called all the women here harlots and all the rest peons, you ostentatious oaf!" the verdant-headed woman called over to him with a scowl. "What's the name of the fool who'd look down his nose at the very people he seeks the aid of?"

Sawwar - Out of Her Mind, Into Awkward Conversation (Jason, Eve and Fred)

With the Nightmaren fallen, Jason smiles behind his helmet in relief. "Man, that thing never stood a chance, huh, Fred?"

"Ribbit," is Fred's sole comment on the matter, in apparent agreement with his master.

Of course, since Harry pops in and warns the party about the impending collapse of Ilulu's mindscape, Eve is the one to call to her Blaster Master boyfriend about it. "Jason! We should go!"

Seemingly, on Eve's cue, Fred manages to cue up a portal for Jason to traverse to where Eve is, joining up with her before Eve gives the Min-Ilulu a brief hug before heading through the portal leading back into the mortal realm.

Now that the trio are back with the others, Eve kneels down to Ilulu's side, relieved that the dragon is still okay. "It's okay, I'm sure it'll pass," she says while smiling at NiGHTS.

Speaking of freaking out, though, Jason moves to Leo's side and taps him on the shoulder, before removing his helmet, and giving his blue-streaked hair a brush. "Hey, uh, Leo? Don't worry about it. I actually know a plant girl that hangs out in... uh, Stranga? Yeah, Stranga. Trust me, you're not the strangest thing we've seen."

Szklana Góra Streets (Master Chief and Cortana)

Cortana can't help but be curious about Tights' notes. "Was there anything weird about his behaviour before he disappeared the first time? Was he having trouble with someone?"

"When we found him entangled, whoever did it wanted to make sure he stayed there. Maybe whoever left him there wanted to make it personal," Chief comments, the two of them ironically oblivious to the fact the very likely culprit behind Master Stein's predicament literally slipped past them into the inn.

Edited by G2BattleConvoy on Feb 20th 2024 at 12:57:31 PM

Nia and Pyra, Clearing -> Szklana Góra Tavern: Douchebag Alert!

The two of them kept quiet about the whole deal, not willing to say something wrong about something they likely have no idea about. They knew that they've stumbled onto something massive, but they didn't know what it was. For now, they kept their heads down. The weird mechanical things hovering around did concern the Driver for a bit before she dismisses it. It's not like they're tied to the ritual or something.

That is, until a man in black and gold swaggers on in with the same floating metal slug-like things. Nia's ears flattened in annoyance as he introduces himself, "This guy... I'm tired of him already."

Pyra looks on and sees the slug-like things hovering around the man and looks at Nia and the group, "Wait, are those the same things we encountered earlier?"

"Bloody hell, they are. You think they're under his control?"

"From the look of that helmet, it's likely."

Nia replied to the man dryly, "Never heard of him."

Ilulu's Mind -> Sawwar

While the Nightmaren had been soundly defeated, there wasn't any time to celebrate, as it was time to hightail it out of there, so Amy was right on the heels of everyone else. As she made her escape, the chaos energy that had empowered her faded away, restoring her quills back to their normal pink and making her eyes go back to their original color in the process.

"Oof!"

That was the sound of Amy hitting the street once she'd made it out. A graceful landing, it was not. But she'd escaped none the worse for wear, and was able to stand and brush the dust off of her dress.

"Well, that was...enlightening." She said, then knelt down to check on Ilulu, though her gaze flicked over to Spyro and Jake. "Once she's awake, we need to talk. There's something I need to make clear, but she needs to be part of the discussion too."

Szklana Góra Tavern

"...The more you open your mouth, the more I realize how screwed up things are with you and the kid here." Kazooie said, finding the circumstances regarding Sagi and Marno to be just a bit concerning.

Before much else could be said, the tavern received some...interesting company, and before Banjo could hope to stop her, Kazooie was already opening her beak again.

"Cover the girl's head. This isn't safe for my eyes or ears, let alone hers." Kazooie remarked, then proceeded to mimic gagging.

Spyro and Sparx-Ilulu's Mind—>Sawwar Alleyway

Spyro let out a mighty whoop as his new attack dealt the final blow against Gullwing.

"Woah! That's new!" Sparx said, impressed. Eve was right-Sparx really had been worrying for nothing. His best friend was growing up and getting even more powerful. Rash and hot-headed he may still be, Sparx could stand to have a little more faith in his best friend.

"Ha, I know! Oh man, I need to try that again out in the real world! Man, what a rush!"

That rush wouldn't last long though. Ilulu's quickly mindscape started collapsing after that, and some guy stuck his head in the portal and said it was time to amscray.

The Dragon and Dragonfly duo would stay behind with Mob to make sure that everyone else made it through safely. Then, once they were the only ones left, they would quickly fly over to land in front of Little 'Lu.

Spyro knelt down so he was eye level with the little dragon. "Don't forget, Little 'Lu. You've got friends waiting for you on the other side."

"So wake up soon, okay?" Sparx added.

Having said that, Spyro then gave the girl an affectionate hair rustling before taking off with a mighty flap of his wings. The two of them swooped into the portal as the mental scape collapsed around them.

Back in the real world, Spyro's astral form would rocket out of the portal like a blazing white comet and shoot directly into his physical body (still thankfully in his (mostly) human form). Spyro gave a large yawn and stretched himself out like a cat (which was a bizarre sight to see on a mostly human looking teenager, let me tell you, Spyro down on all fours and his butt and tail sticking up in the air as he stretched his spine out).

Now that all the mentalscape escapades were done with, there was a new itinerary of things Spyro felt he should figure out and deal with. Namely, figuring who all these newcomers were, why Gullwing had it out so bad for Ni GH Ts, what he was going to do about this Azad character, and of course dealing with the racism of Sawaar.

Before he did any of that though, there was something a lot more important he and Sparx had to take care of-making sure Ilulu woke up alright.

Sparx flitted over to Spyro's side as he fully got up, and then the two would move over to Ilulu, settling down at her side. Spyro would sling an arm over Ilulu's side to help hold her steady while Sparx returned to his position atop Ilulu's head. "C'mon, Lu...no way a strong dragon like you is gonna let all that keep you down for long..."

It was then Amy spoke up about needing to talk. Spyro had a feeling he knew exactly what it was about (namely Ilulu's past, both distant AND recent), so he gave the Hedgehog girl a nod of the head and sighed, "Yeah, yeah. Boy, that's gonna be a fun talk."

This is what he gets for adopting befriending a traumatized dragon terrorist, he supposed.

Szklana Góra Streets (Tights)

"...Come to think of it, Okuu, he was acting...kind of odd. Like a different person or something."

She pauses, listening to Chief's account of the events.

"...He was tied up? Maybe a rival researcher...lessee, who has a magic lab around here...?"

She flips through her notes again.

"I took the liberty of bringing my father's contact list with me, magic researchers keep in contact so they can brag about breakthroughs, everyone knows where everyone else's 'secret lab' is...Frappe...Wheelo...Halsey...Gero...Baelheit...Magatsuchi...Stockman...a lotta these are probably outdated...those 'Shinra' weirdos with that magic startup, that'll never get off the ground...Okuu, you remember Master Stein ever mention someone he had drama with?"

Szklana Góra Tavern (Sagi, Marno & Milly)

Milliarde gets up from the table and addresses the newcomer, speaking in exact unison with C.C.

"Even if I had seen him, I should think I'd be quite disinclined to help you by saying so, considering you just called all the women here harlots and all the rest peons, you ostentatious oaf! What's the name of the fool who'd look down his nose at the very people he seeks the aid of?"

The brunette stops, blinks a few times and looks at C.C. as she finishes, completely silent until Marno charms in.

   "...So weird...it's like having Milly and a Future Milly at the same time..."   

"I'll give you a closer look if you don't watch your tone, Mr. Machina. Like Nia said, we haven't seen your scruffy-looking friend."

Glass Mountain Summit

"I am Kami, guardian of this world we call Foteinigi. Gracing us with his presence is Polokus, the Bubble Dreamer - a deity of creation. It was through his power and my magic that you were brought into existence, Rayman. This world is facing...an impending crisis. Or several. I've noticed many an ill omen in recent days, and they only continue to grow in number. Fierce armies that know no country, turncoats and traitors turning misguided leaders against their own brethren, pirates treating the world like their own personal coinpurse, stolen artifacts that should never leave their holy sites...the world is in need of heroes."

"And when ya can't find enough, ya make one. Name's Korin, martial arts master, how ya doin'?"

Polokus merely smiles, observing the newly-born Rayman interacting with the guardian and cat.

"...Something interfered with the ritual that created you, Rayman. A foul presence, the likes of which not felt on this world in-"

"About one thousand years, I'd say. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was Malpercio."

The King of Glass Mountain's eyes widen - even down here, he knew that name from many a story. However, rather than frightened, he almost looks...intrigued.

"Living gods, dead gods, all gracing our humble mountainside. This is a development! ...A...concerning one, actually, was Malpercio not an evil god that rendered Duhr unlivable?"

"A story worth investigating. Rayman, if you wouldn't mind? My dear Teensies sent a small group down towards town, hoping to investigate this dark magic. I'd be grateful if you could help them. Knowing their luck, they've been locked in a cage by now."

Sawwar

"...If the hatchling doesn't stop hugging me...I'm gonna bite his face off."

Yup she's awake. Ilulu sits up, glaring daggers at Stocking.

"And who're you calling 'short,' Angel Food?"

"Biggs, I think these people are cra-did the purple kid just say 'dragon.'"

"...We won't tell anyone please don't eat us bye."

The pair take off sprinting. At the same time, Fred may feel...off. Something just seems wrong, like hearing a muffled, distant sound that unsettles the soul. Eve feels it too, but more faintly.

Now that the threat has passed, the group may become aware that a few posters have been put up in and around this alleyway. They're more of the usual, Sawwar-branded racism against dragons but one series in particular is different.

['Queen of the Seven Seas' Moves Onto Land - Be Wary Of Weaponized Metal Wagon Near Sawwar]

Edited by ZodanTheUnbounceable on Feb 24th 2024 at 10:12:23 AM

Team A

Szklana Góra Inn

"Oh, an oaf am I?" The man spun around on his heel to face C.C, Milly and the others. "Well, excuse me for not expecting great wit from a place where proletarian louts come to kill off their brains with fermented grain. As for the name, dear synchronous madames, you may call me The Thinker- it's what I do better than most, after all."

"Oh, good, good," said the Thinker with a most insincere grin. "I'd hate to think you were just saying that to make me go away. After all, you wouldn't just be rude..."

Suddenly, his grin twisted into a snarl, and his voice took on a terrible edge.

"...you'd be harbouring a murderer, too."

Lightning Farron || Szklana Góra Inn ||

It's surprising, the offer to join the others - she knows she's kept herself separate from the group, because it's easier. Still, Lightning thinks for a moment, and stands up - apart from anything else, its always interesting to talk to someone with similar views as herself. She knows she gathered them over time - the consequences of eternity. Maybe C.C. is the same - it's certainly easy, to be cynical when you have infinity.

She's still standing when the poorly dressed idiot with the familiar magitek walks in, and insults everyone in the tavern. Lightning stares at him, huffing a quiet laugh at C.C.'s response. The fact that he was looking for the burning man is concerning, as is the accusation of murder - but he's certainly making a terrible impression.

"Did you eat a thesaurus, Thinker?" Lightning replies, voice cold, and then scornful. "We haven't seen him, and you're simply going to have to take our word for that - unless you have proof otherwise?"

Szklana Góra Tavern

"Give him green skin, and I'd swear he was Grunty's brother." Kazooie said as she watched the byplay between the Thinker and Lightning.

"She knows what big words mean. I'm not sure he does." Banjo replied, keeping his eyes trained on the newcomer all the same. At the suggestion that they were harboring a murderer, his brow furrowed. That was a pretty serious accusation to be throwing around...then again, coming from a guy like this, he felt more inclined to give the supposed murderer the benefit of the doubt.

Sawwar

"Yeah. Real fun." Amy replied, knowing just as well as Spyro did that this would be anything but fun. Before Ilulu woke up, she'd take a look around the alleyway and notice one of the new posters that had been put up. "'Queen of the Seven Seas'...?"

Once Ilulu spoke up and made it clear she was awake, the hedgehog turned her attention over to her as she spoke up to try and defuse any brewing tension between her and the angel among them.

"Good, you're awake. You feeling alright? Roads don't make for very good beds." Amy said, managing to smile at her dragon friend.

Edited by Bored_Man on Feb 29th 2024 at 8:15:09 AM

Nia and Pyra, Szklana Góra Inn: The Roast of The Thinker

Nia visibly rolled her eyes at the Thinker's boast about his epithet, "Yeah, you certainly think more than us. Shame all that brainpower couldn't make a more original nickname."

When he told the scraggly guy they rescued earlier is a murderer, she did pause for a moment... Until Lightning asked him for proof. That little moment of reflection soon gave way to another barb, "And I'm the Emperor of Mor Ardain, but you wouldn't know that unless I showed you some proof. So, how 'bout it? Got some proof or are you gonna keep making an arse out of yourself?"

Sawwar

Part of her was annoyed that the guardsmen ignored her heavenly beauty, but any annoyance at them was quickly defeated by continued annoyance at the gremlin - who, apparently, was also a dragon. Which made sense, now that Stocking thought about it. Horns, great power, probably ate people and burnt villages for fun.

"I don't know if you noticed, but that form you're in is almost like a baby, other than your ridiculously oversized chest." Stocking replied, meeting the shortstack's glare with her own dead-eyed gaze. "I, on the other hand, have the proper proportions of a petite yet buxom woman. Honestly, it's hilarious for you to call someone else a 'hatchling' when you both look and act like a child smuggling melons under her shirt."

Then she smiled smugly. "Fortunately, as an angel, I am willing to forgive your sins. You're welcome, by the way; I helped save you from your little nightmare. Despite your attitude."

Leo (Sawwar)

...nobody cared.

No one even seemed to consider it worth mentioning, that Leo was an anthropomorphic turtle. Even though he'd been dreading people's reactions since he arrived in Sawwar—no, since he started this quest.

...

Relief—warm, glorious relief—swept through Leo, and he visibly relaxed, giving Jason a small smile. "Thanks," he whispered.

Plus, Ilulu was waking up and they hadn't left her brain-dead! That was also good!

The posters surrounding them were...less good. Leo's mouth twisted into a frown, and he walked right over to them and started tearing them down, emboldened by the others' acceptance. No one would miss them, anyway.

He did, however, pause at the 'Queen of the Seven Seas' one, staring at it in befuddlement for a few seconds before ripping it off the wall and showing it to the group.

"Hey, uh, you guys probably know this place better than I do, this something we should be worried about?"

Szklana Góra Streets - (Master Chief and Cortana)

Cortana ponders for a moment over the names mentioned in Tights' notes. "Well, we can definitely rule Halsey out. Last I heard, she was in Reach, and well..."

Chief doesn't say anything, but if Tights looked in Chief's direction, she might notice his fist tightening for a few moments. Cortana, for her part, looks away out of guilt from noticing. "Sorry, big guy."

Chief turns his head to look at Cortana, and nods slightly at the machine-spirit. It's Chief's way of saying that it's not Cortana's fault.

Sawwar - Alleyway (Jason, Eve and Fred)

Fred, listening to Stocking bragging about how she, apparently, stopped the party from getting in trouble with the guards rolls his amphibian eyes, clearly unimpressed. Jason had a similar issue, too.

"Stocking, all of us just went inside Ilulu's head. Maybe we should give Ilulu a break?"

"Jason's right, you're not being fair to her! And your attitude's worse right now."

Of course, before any of the Blaster Master Crew could get another shot in, Leo grabs Jason's attention.

"A Metal-Wagon? Eve, is that—?!"

"Ribbit, Ribbit!" Fred croaks, the nuisance in his head being vindicated by the apparent spotting of their trusted vehicle.

"It could be! Fred thinks that's Gaia-Sophia, too!"

Team A

Szklana Góra Inn

C.C. raised an eyebrow at Milly as the heiress spoke the same words at the same time as her, then wore a small, amused smirk, at least until "Thinker" accused the man on the poster of murder. At that point, her expression slid into a neutral frown.

"You should remember the old adage that you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, 'Thinker'," she advised evenly. "Maybe then your search would bear more fruit. As for your claim that this man on the poster is a murderer, I suppose I must take it at face-value, despite your lack of social graces. As she said, however—" she gestured to Lightning, "—none of us have seen him. Are you an official lawman in some capacity, or a mere bounty hunter? And if we do learn of where he is and want to contact you, what's the easiest way to go about that?"

Team B

Sawwar, Alleyway

As soon as the rest of the team is through the portal back into the waking world, I sweep my hand at the portal and mutter a spell to close the rift. No sense in leaving open a portal to the Collective Unconscious. Who knows what sort of nasty things might leak into reality, otherwise? Then I step over and smudge a bit of the chalk Circle I'd drawn using my boot. The Circle itself is already broken by dint of the people who've moved over its boundary, and there's probably no chance of anybody closing it again and using it for nefarious purposes, but I like to be thorough. Besides, getting rid of a non-permanent Circle after I finish using it is pretty much force of habit for me, at this point.

"Mission accomplished, I guess, or at least part of it," I sigh to myself as Ilulu awakens, the two men at the mouth of the alley flee, and Stocking and the pint-sized dragon start arguing. As the group begins to get distracted by various things, I clear my throat and clap sharply a few times. Stars and Stones, I can already sense herding these cats is going to be a hassle.

"Your attention please, ladies, gentlemen?" I intone, slamming the butt of my staff onto the ground and calling up a bit of superficial wind if the clapping doesn't do the trick. "I take it that all of you are part of the same party that Lucoa asked us to join up with? The two guy dragons match up with what she said, at least. For those of you just meeting me, I'm Harry Dresden, an investigator-for-hire. Specifically, I was hired by a local noble to try to figure out a solution to various 'hauntings' that have been plaguing the city's people, which, if my hunch based on what just happened is right, isn't due to ghosts at all, but rather Nightmaren. In any case, I need to go report this news to my employer, who I still haven't actually met yet."

"Artur!" I call, waving over one of the pages who had been guarding the mouth of the alley for us. "Where can I find your Lord at this hour? I have something to report to him."

"Uhhhh, before I left, he said he was going to the King's palace to try to stop some kind of law from passing, Maester Dresden..." he replies a little nervously, probably from the assortment of weirdos in the vicinity, then adds to Leo: "Um, Mister Turtle? You shouldn't tear those down. They're official notices by order of the King, after all..."

"Alright, palace it is!" I confirm, then look to the rest of the party. "Any objections to heading to the palace, folks? It's not like all of us need to go, but I have a feeling it would be a good idea to stay relatively close together. By which I mean at least deciding on a place to meet later, and not leaving town."

Edited by darksidevoid on Mar 3rd 2024 at 11:36:12 AM

Spyro & Sparx-Sawwar

"Theeeeeeere she is!" Spyro said playfully as Ilulu woke up, completely and flippantly unconcerned by any threats of face monching, though he did give her some space by scooching over a little. "Hope you don't mind, but we kiiiinda did some impromptu dreamweaving to help you deal with some unresolved trauma."

And then, two complete randos Spyro hadn't even noticed yelped about dragons and booked it out of the alley. Spyro and Sparx watched them skedaddle with completely flat looks on their faces.

"This is one of those things that's probably gonna come back to bite us, isn't it?"

"Probably."

Spyro gave a weary sigh and a headshake. Later. He'd deal with that stupidity later.

Speaking of stupidity, the angel who'd showed up to help fight Gullwing was apparently trying to insult Ilulu. Spyro gave the angel a look that said really?, and several roasts came to mind-about her "contribution" to a fight they were already winning before she showed up, about her attitude, about his disbelief that *she was an angel (nevermind that he could feel her holy energy). Before he could say any of that out loud though, the scruffy dude in the coat spoke up.

Both of Spyro's brows rose as the 'investigator-for-hire' mentioned that Lucoa had asked him to join up with their group (and had apparently pointed out both him and Jake specifically). This better not be Lucoa thinking he needed some sort of babysitter. Still though, Harry seemed decently powerful, and if he was headed to the castle...

"Shenron and I were planning on hitting up the palace at some point. Don't know if you've noticed, but this town has some really backwards views on Dragons. We're hoping to turn things around, and that starts by convincing the king to give us a chance."

Edited by Dezmo on Mar 4th 2024 at 8:42:22 AM

Leo (Sawwar)

Leo tilted his head in confusion. "Gaia-what now?"

Then the wizard—Dresden, apparently—said he was there to meet up with some lord, who was at the palace, because of...similar incidents. (Leo's eyes widened to dinner platter size at the thought of there being more of those things like what had been in Ilulu's brain.)

"Uh, I can't exactly stick these back on," he said to the page, casually gesturing to the posters that were now lying on the street. "And what's he gonna do, arrest me? I don't even legally exist."

Then came the big question...was he going to keep accompanying this group?

Leo considered. On one hand, he'd spent enough time here as is, and speaking to these guys had gotten him absolutely nowhere. By this point, whoever or whatever he'd been looking for could be on its way out of the city. If he split from them now, he might have more time to find them—and besides, Sawwar's king likely wouldn't take too kindly to a talking turtle on two legs showing up in his house. If the stupid posters were any indication.

On the other hand, he had essentially no leads other than them being in the city. He had stealth skills, he could avoid being seen if he had to, and if the next piece of this "where are my brothers" puzzle was anywhere, it would probably be in the palace, right? If all of this was any indication, these guys...seemed to be magnets for interesting developments. Which was good in some scenarios, bad in others, good in this one because maybe their presence would reveal a clue Leo wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

...

Decision made!

"I'm down!" Leo declared. "...from a distance," he hastily added. "Hang on, lemme just..."

He grabbed onto the nearby wall and started climbing, using the stone bricks as hand and footholds. With some effort, he managed to get himself onto the roof, then leaned over the edge and called out, "I'll follow you guys from up here! Probably not a good idea for me to walk in through the front door!"

Outskirts of Glass Mountain, An Hour Ago (???)

“Think we’ve made…a breakthrough here. Gonna be honest, didn’t expect to make much headway with this idea.”

A man in a red bandana sits on a large rock, affixing a green glass eyepiece to the left side of his face as he talks to his companion.

“And what’re the odds we came across a merchant selling old surplus gear on the cheap? Really appreciate you agreeing to help me with this, didn’t think I’d-“

The device beeps upon a pillar of light erupting from the peak of the nearby mountain.

“Picking up something. A buncha…somethings up there…smoke near the mountain trail, and…that group looks familiar. Yeah, ninja, Spartan, bear, checks out…let’s head for Szklana Góra. I think something’s about to go down.”

Szklana Góra (???)

“…Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-huh?”

An armored man with wild black hair and a furry tail wrapped around his waist walks past Chief, tapping him on the shoulder as he does so.

“Been a minute, glad to see you’re still all smiles.”

And walks right into the tavern.

“…Was that a…?”

Szklana Góra Tavern

“Oh, please. You expect us to believe anything you say just because you walk in here with a dumb title, a wanted poster and some army surplus machina? How stupid do-?”

“We got a problem in here? ‘Cuz I’m all for a bar fight but there’s kids around.”

A tall, black-haired Saiyan has just walked into the tavern, accompanied by someone else.

Edited by ZodanTheUnbounceable on Mar 7th 2024 at 7:44:59 AM

Mob: Sawwar

"I don't think making fun of her appearance is very helpful," Mob mentioned to Stocking, speaking up again after a typical period of silence that had rendered him all but forgotten in the background. "I've noticed you do that a lot with other people. It isn't very nice."

He turned his attention then to Ilulu, now that she was awake, and moved in front of her with all the stiff posture of a guardsman on duty, or even perhaps an extremely upright scarecrow.

"It wasn't the kind of evil spirit that I was expecting. I don't think I've ever exorcised one of those before," he said. "But I'm glad it's been handled. Everyone was helpful. I'm sorry I screwed up during the fight, but there were a lot of people who knew what they were doing to make up for it."

A small smile twitched at his lips.

"I meant what I said about being friends. But we can work on it."

He then noticed Leo, who was looking much more turtley than he remembered, and he gave him a nod after Stocking's own acknowledgement of him.

"I wouldn't have even noticed, honestly. I see so many kinds of spirits around that I'm used to that sort of thing. I like turtles, too. Can you tuck into your shell like one, or doesn't it work the same way...?"

There was a slight, childlike glint of intrigue in his eye as he asked this, barely breaking through his monotonous shell. The determined, fierce kid that had fought within Ilulu's mindscape had fully retreated back into the blank face and dull bowl-cut of Mob by now.

Hinata: Szklana Góra Tavern

Hinata had mentally tuned out the abrasive mercenary as soon as he had revealed his crass demeanour, discreetly covering her head and ears with her hands as she ducked her face down towards the table. She maintained this for quite a while, listening to the sound of her own blood rushing in her ears, before someone else stepped into the bar and she turned to look.

The change in her demeanour was immediate. Any discomfort left as her eyes widened in shock, and she practically scrambled out of her seat to rush over to the familiar Saiyan standing in the doorway. She didn't even care about his friend. She just ran right over to Bardock, throwing her arms around his waist to hug him.

She could barely even find her voice, only managing to whisper out a "Missed you," while she was squeezing the life out of him. Then again, he was a Saiyan, so the pressure probably wasn't that much to him.

Edited by Enirboreh on Mar 7th 2024 at 7:12:06 PM

Rayman-Glass Mountain Summit==>Szklana Góra Streets

Rayman listened to Kami and Korin explain what was going on in enraptured silence, and just as surely as he knew his name was Rayman, he knew that what they were telling him was true. That he was here to be a hero, to do good, to help people! Sure, maybe his creation hadn't gone as smoothly as they were hoping, but Rayman wasn't gonna let that stop him!

And it seemed he'd get the chance to do some good right off the bat, as Polokus asked him to check up on the Teensies down in the town below and help them investigate some dark god.

"You can count on me, sir!" he said, snapping into a full salute, then dashed off for the trail down the mountain.

Unfortunately, Rayman didn't encounter any Teensies on his brisk hike down the mountain trail, nor did he see any as he walked into town-though he had to say, the local town and scenery were very pretty! Definitely the most beautiful places he had even been (...and also the only places Rayman had ever been. He was looking forward to seeing more places in the future though! He hoped they were all at least as nice as here)!

Edited by Dezmo on Mar 8th 2024 at 5:33:12 AM

Szklana Góra Streets (A Friend)

“Hold on a moment there, friend.”

A strange, metal man in a tie, white coat and an odd cap jumps down from atop a nearby rock, landing near Rayman. He just…barely sticks that landing.

“Whoa…okay! I’m okay. Any-who, Kami sent you, huh? Yes, I’d expect that from him. I gather you’re down here to take a look around, maybe have a mystical adventure of sorts?”

The strange man paces past Rayman, looking him up and down.

“Young, innocent and eager to help! We need more people like you. I expect you’ll make plenty of new friends along the way, wherever it is you’ll find yourself. Speaking of which…”

He gestures towards the tavern, with the Spartan and young ladies still standing outside.

“I think you might find what you’re looking for over there. And if you don’t, well, keep trying. Look high and low. Go on and search the Earth.”

He leads the newly-made Rayman closer to the collected group.

“But one important thing to keep in mind.”

At this point they’re close enough for Chief and the others to hear, and might even be audible in the tavern itself.

“It seems everyone’s always so caught up on fighting. ‘My guy can win this fight,’ ‘I have to get stronger to defend my honor,’ ‘But can he beat Sun Wukong, though?’ They find themselves forgetting why they fight, what they’re fighting for. Don’t let the goal distract from the journey. We live in a world where anything can happen - men with monkey tails, gods, magic, legendary swords, unbelievable sights…don’t get so caught up on where you’ll end up. Remember to enjoy it.”

He stretches, before looking up at the Sun. A small blue-green bird flutters down from a nearby tree, landing on the man’s hand before chirping in his ear.

“…Tori’s right, it is getting late. Don’t let little old Tori-Bot keep you. I should be on my way.”

The strange little metal man starts back down the street, muttering to his bird as he blends into the crowd.

“…Maybe we can teach a dinosaur to ride a ball…”

Far Away…

In a little hut, on the slopes of Mt. Paozu, old Gohan finds himself in a familiar situation. Little Goku is crying again.

Rayman-Szklana Góra Streets

He may have only known Tori-Bot for a few brief, shining moments, but Rayman can't help but feel that the wisdom Tori-Bot shared will last him his entire life. As he watches the robot disappear into the crowd, Rayman silently promises I will remember to enjoy the journey. Thank you, friend....I'm not sure what a dinosaur is, but I hope you succeed in teaching it to ride that ball. It sounds like it'll be a fun time!

He hopes he'll see Tori-Bot again, some sunny day.

At this point, those with a sense for magic would notice that something with an energy signature identical to the pillar of light from atop the mountain had entered the town and was now practically in front of the Tavern itself.

Turning briefly away from the Tavern Tori-Bot walked him to, Rayman takes a moment to look up and down the street for any sign of the Teensies. Not seeing them, he turns to the small group in front of the Tavern. Tori-Bot did mention he'd find what he's looking for over here. Maybe these nice people know where the Teensies are? One of them is wearing armor, so that must mean he's a soldier, right? And soldiers were there to fight bad guys and help, right? Yeah!

Walking over to the group, if they hadn't already noticed his approach, Rayman would float his right hand over to the armored soldier's shoulder and give it a few taps to get his attention. One their attention was successfully obtained, Rayman would give the man a wave and say "Hi! I'm Rayman! And I'm looking for some Teensies who came into town! They're small little tiny guys, blue with tiny eyes and noses almost as big as mine. Have you seen them around anywhere?"

Edited by Dezmo on Mar 8th 2024 at 10:29:31 AM