"Yeah, we need to give Viveka her shawl!" Maka's stomach loudly growled in agreement.
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After they’ve packed up all they can carry outta here, Fin looks up. ”So, we ready to go? First to Cesseer and then to Viveka? We can go the short way round as it’s in the same direction as the patrol goes…”
When he gets the thumbs up from Quasit, Fin will listen for the next patrol; once it passes by, he’ll move out into the passage, waving his friends forward, and quietly head south to Cesseer’s room…
Though he doesn't need scales for his own armor, he sees Selena gathering some so he moves to help her. He studies the body for a moment, remembering what he'd been taught about the best scales for the purpose then sets to work.
Given you're going in the direction of the patrols, it's not hard to avoid the golems. You can see they are continuing their circuits, apparently entirely oblivious to the fate of their master.
The group slips into the arena where they met Cesseer, and one of you knocks on the door she retreated through. After a few moments Cesseer opens the door and looks you over.
"You return... victorious?" she half-states, half-asks.
As the group approached Cesseer's door, Maka hurriedly attempted to clean up her appearance. However, she succeeded in doing little more than smearing the blood and sweat around. As some loose strands of hair remained matted to her face, she silently wished she had thought to redo her hair braid.
As Cesseer opened the door, Maka did her best to take an impressive stance. "Yeah, I burned a hole through his head!" Maka replied with morbid cheerfulness.
"Good. No less than he deserved," Cesseer replies.
She thinks a bit on Fin's translated question. "If you have any way of transport, I would be grateful to get back to Ning, but I could scarcely ask such of you after what you have done."
"You can return with us to Spurhorn. If they cannot send you back home immediately, I'm sure they would be happy for you to continue your diplomatic mission with them rather than Yrax. Our people are always looking for loyal, trustworthy allies," Kalchine steps in.
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Fin nods in agreement with Kalchine and smiles. ”We’ll do our best to get you home; get your gear and follow us, we have to see Viveka first…”
Turning to Quasit, he says, ”Sorry if I overstepped my bounds, Q…but we could at least get the Triaxians at Spurhorn to give her a lift…she might be able to help us get past the dragon creature you talked us past last time as well…”
When everyone’s ready, Fin’ll repeat his movement, waiting till the next patrol passes, then leading his friends on to Viveka’s kitchen…
"You can return with us to Spurhorn. If they cannot send you back home immediately, I'm sure they would be happy for you to continue your diplomatic mission with them rather than Yrax. Our people are always looking for loyal, trustworthy allies," Kalchine steps in.
"Yeah you should come back with us!" Maka nearly shouted as she clasped her hands in excitement. "They can definitely help you out and that way we could get to know each other better!"
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Turning to Quasit, he says, ”Sorry if I overstepped my bounds, Q…but we could at least get the Triaxians at Spurhorn to give her a lift…she might be able to help us get past the dragon creature you talked us past last time as well…”
Quasit smiles easily and gives Fin a whap on the back. "Don't be silly, it's fine. If they can transport an 800 pound gorilla, what's an extra monk or two? I would have made the same offer."
She turns to Cesseer and addresses her in Triaxian. "Once we get outside, we'll be signaling some dragonkin outriders to come pick us up and carry us to Spurhorn. I'm sure they'd be happy to bring you along as well."
"And I'm sure Maka would be delighted to have the time to tell you all about our encounter with Yrax."
Cesseer grins just the tiniest bit. "I would appreciate that, thank you."
Viveka whirls as you enter. "Did you find it?" she asks insistently.
Cesseer grins just the tiniest bit. "I would appreciate that, thank you."
Maka did her best to contain her joy. "I can't wait to tell you about the fight with Yrax, it was one for the stories!" Maka awkwardly placed her arms behind her back before stepping closer to Cesseer. "I'd also like to hear more about you and your order. Maybe we could show each other some techniques?"
Viveka whirls as you enter. "Did you find it?" she asks insistently.
"Don't worry we found it." Maka said with a smile. A sudden idea lit in her eyes. "Could Viveka come with us to Spurhorn!? They could probably help her get home to, right?" Maka turned to give her best puppy dog eyes to Quasit.
Maka's stomach growled as if to remind her. "Oh, and Viveka do you have anymore food?" Fear suddenly flashed across her face. "Not that you have to cook for us or anything! Your food was just really good and I'm really hungry." Maka looked ready to run in case she had made a faux pas.
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"Don't worry we found it." Maka said with a smile. A sudden idea lit in her eyes. "Could Viveka come with us to Spurhorn!? They could probably help her get home to, right?" Maka turned to give her best puppy dog eyes to Quasit.
Quasit hands the shawl over to Viveka. ”Yrax won’t be needing any more steaks, rare or otherwise. He’s dead as mutton.”
”We’re leaving here as soon as Maka’s tummy stops growling. You can come with us if you want.”
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While Maka sates her hunger, Fin looks to Quasit. ”Q, how do you want to play this when we get back to the gate? If the dragon creature/guard proves belligerent? Try to talk our way past it again…or perhaps Cesseer or Viveka can smooth the way?”
Anxious to be gone from Ivoryglass before it becomes common knowledge that Yrax is dead, after talking with Quasit, Fin awaits by the kitchen door listening for the patrols…or any alarm that might be set off once Yrax’s corpse is discovered…
…once they’re ready to go, Fin’ll lead ‘em towards the exit in the usual patrol-dodging way…
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"We're gonna just march right past that thing like we own the place. As far as it knows, we're still official operatives of its master."
"And if it looks like it wants to cause trouble, I'm gonna give it a choice -- mess with us and suffer the same fate as Yrax, or let us go and become the new Lord of Ivoryglass."
She shrugs nonchalantly. "It'll probably work."
"If you want an escort to get back home, Chest Thumper and I can go with you," Kalchine tells Viveka. "Or, I guess maybe you're looking for a new home. We an help you with that, too. If you come with us to Spurhorn I can think of a few places nearby that you might like or you could stay there. We can always use good cooks, if that's what you like to do."
"Trying to add more lost girls to our group?" Selena asks teasingly.
"Yes, more girls!" Maka said as she turned her attention away from Cesseer and food. "There are too many stories about boy heroes! I want our story to have a bunch of girls." Maka spoke with her usual enthusiasm and honesty, but her affection towards Cesseer suggested there were perhaps more reasons than that.
"Not that I don't love our boys!" Maka blew a kiss to Bulvi before turning back to Cesseer and Viveka. "We've got some good boys in our group." She said with a toothy grin.
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Seeing the girls relaxed and enjoying themselves, Fin gives a winsome smile…it’d been a hard slog to this point, so it was good to see his friends let off some steam…something he intended do in the hot baths at Spurhorn. As for more girls potentially joining their party, Fin saw the irony; two more females he literally wouldn’t be able to understand, he thought as he reached down to stroke between Izzy’s eyes…
"If you want an escort to get back home, Chest Thumper and I can go with you," Kalchine tells Viveka.
Knowing how Quasit reacted when he first brought it up, Fin figured it couldn’t hurt if he broached the subject with Kalchine instead.
He nods to the Triaxian. ”That’s mighty noble of you, Kal…but I was hoping you and Chest Thumper might reconsider and join us in the hut as we continue our quest…we could bring you back once we complete our mission, or at least Baba Yaga could. Please give this some thought; I consider both of you friends and you’d be most welcome…”
"Or, I guess maybe you're looking for a new home. We an help you with that, too. If you come with us to Spurhorn I can think of a few places nearby that you might like or you could stay there. We can always use good cooks, if that's what you like to do."
Fin snorts. ”Aye, her cooking would go over well there…and perhaps she could improve the swill, it could use some work…”
Awaiting their departure, Fin wanders over to Sakitu and sits next to her, holds her hands, and sighs. ”Wasn’t sure we’d make it past the dragon, Hlao-roo…looking forward to a hot bath and some swill when we get back to Spurhorn…be nice to have a short break…maybe they’ll have a celebration with Yrax dead…it’d be nice to dance with you again…”
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Sakitu takes Fin's hand eagerly and squeezes it tightly. "I was a little worried but then I wasn't worried. You know? Like, we've been through a ton of dangers and it was always scary but somehow we always make it."
She leans into Fin and puts her head on his chest. She enjoys hearing the steady heartbeat.
"More than a hot bath, I look forward to some alone time with you."
After a few more moments of feeling his warmth, she straightens up. "But that will never happen if we don't leave. What are we waiting for?"
By now dodging the golems in the halls is almost routine. The creature in the entryway darts into a corner of the room as you enter, doing its best to hide itself in the shadows.
The huge double doors out of the fortress await you.
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"More than a hot bath, I look forward to some alone time with you."
Fin arches an eyebrow. ”What do you have in mind, m’Lady?” he says with a playful wink. After a moment he continues. ”I’d like that too, Hlao-roo. Spurhorn is large, so I’d imagine we could find a private nook somewhere…or perhaps take a nice walk together on the parapets overlooking the mountains at moonlight. But believe me, I think you’ll want me to take a hot bath first to wash off all the grime during this leg of our journey…”
"But that will never happen if we don't leave. What are we waiting for?"
Fin snorts. ”For Maka to finish eating; I think she has to recharge all that energy she spent going nova…well, I spoke too soon, looks like she’s finished…”
When the guard creature lets them pass, Fin breathes a sigh of relief and quietly exits the double doors and takes a look around…
He nods to Quasit. ”How far out do you think we need to be to set off a signal?”
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”Those guard patrols are still out there. And as far as they know, they’re still guarding their master. I think we should retrace our steps to about where we emerged from that underground ravine where we found the spear. We should be safe enough there to signal. And we’d have some shelter in case of a storm, or if we have to wait for the extraction.”
”I’m not sure how much daylight we have left — I’m still not really accustomed to how long days last here, the sky is always either light gray or dark gray. But I think the farther we can get from here before nightfall, the better.”
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Fin nods. ”Aye, Q, that’s prudent…I’ll scout ahead as usual…”
He draws his bow, brushes his lips lightly on Sakitu’s before pulling up his hood, and stealthily heads back towards the crevasse they emerged from earlier, looking out for any tracks or signs of foes in the area, in addition to being alert to any other danger…
Maka ate as quickly as she could. Stuffing enough food for two people down her throat so fast that she nearly chocked. But with a gulp of sake and a few smacks to her chest, she managed to get everything down the right tube. "Bhojan ke lie dhanyavaad!" She said with a smile and a bow towards Viveka.
The fire monk quickly followed behind the others, making sure nothing sneaked up behind them. As they made their ways past the strange creature in the entry way, Maka kept a defensive stance, ready to act at any wrong movement.
As they made their way past the large double doors, Maka jumped in accomplishment and excitement. She nearly yelled as well, but remember they weren't out of danger yet. Landing with a look of slight embarrassment, the fire monk did her best to resume her impression of a gruff mercenary.
Fin peeks through the doors and sees a pair of dragonkin and seven rhyphorians arguing at the guard post outside.
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Fin quietly turns back from the door and returns to Quasit. He whispers, ”Looks like we’ll have to fight our way out, 2 dragonkin and 7 rhyphorians outside those doors at the guard post; they’re arguing about something so we could probably surprise ‘em…
“How ‘bout we go right at ‘em, Q? Saki casts that invisible spell on you, then does that open door spell…you, Bull, and Chest Thumper charge ‘em while Maka and I give covering fire and then Kal and Selena give what spell support they can?”
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”Hmm. Maybe.” says Quasit slowly. Then she looks back to Cesseer and Viveka.
”Cesseer, do you have any authority over these fools? I imagine they found the doors unguarded and now they’re arguing about whether it’s allowed for them to come in here.”
“Viveka, now that you have your shawl, is there anything you can do in case we have to fight our way out?”
"I have an alternate idea," Kalchine replies to Quasit. He hadn't really been paying attention to much until now, his mind lost in contemplation of Fin's offer.
He'd only paused to stop Chest Thumper from going after the cowed guard beast, the frost ape settling for a warning hoot to it before moving on.
"If either Viveka or Ceseer will take a little risk for us and tell a little lie, perhaps we can hide in a side room while they go out and pretend like they have found out intruders are attacking Yrax and that he needs assistance."
"While the guards are investigating, we can slip out. Perhaps Selena can wall them in somehow once we get out the doors."
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”Hmm. Maybe.” says Quasit slowly. Then she looks back to Cesseer and Viveka.
”Cesseer, do you have any authority over these fools? I imagine they found the doors unguarded and now they’re arguing about whether it’s allowed for them to come in here.”
“Viveka, now that you have your shawl, is there anything you can do in case we have to fight our way out?”
"I have an alternate idea," Kalchine replies to Quasit. He hadn't really been paying attention to much until now, his mind lost in contemplation of Fin's offer.
He'd only paused to stop Chest Thumper from going after the cowed guard beast, the frost ape settling for a warning hoot to it before moving on.
"If either Viveka or Ceseer will take a little risk for us and tell a little lie, perhaps we can hide in a side room while they go out and pretend like they have found out intruders are attacking Yrax and that he needs assistance."
"While the guards are investigating, we can slip out. Perhaps Selena can wall them in somehow once we get out the doors."
Fin smiles wryly as he listens to Quasit and Kalchine. They think outside of the box while I think tactically…and that is why I should just stick to being a scout…
"Doing that will probably draw the front room guard into the fight and I'd rather avoid that after it has been so cooperative. Besides, if we can avoid further fighting, we should. We aren't here for the kills after all." Selena responds quietly but seriously.
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"Doing that will probably draw the front room guard into the fight and I'd rather avoid that after it has been so cooperative. Besides, if we can avoid further fighting, we should. We aren't here for the kills after all."
"Actually, we literally were. But I take your point." says Quasit as she waits for a response from the two denizens of Ivoryglass.
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Bulvi wrinkled his nose at the idea of using the dragon scales for armour. He was sure they would be very functional but given how intimately he knew Maka and that there was elements of draconic ancestry plain in her form it would be hard not to remember it was armour made of a sentient person, that person might have been an evil dragon but still. He held his tongue so as not to offend Kalchine.
He picked up the book and examined it a little while his wounds healed.
Once Maka had been fed the subject of escape is discussed he was feeling much better... though loaded down with many goods. Having not overly cunning suggestions he made himself as close of an approximation to a sandwich as he could though he recognized none of the ingredients. The look on his face as he chewed it gave testament to the dangers of such uninformed culinary exploits. He looked at Maka. "Well if you want more stories with female heroes I'll do my best to get kidnapped at some point so you can rescue me? It should make for a good tale. One with a suitable way of thanking my heroine at the end... because this sandwich is terrible."
He very much got the impression Maka had interest in Cesseer after their fight earlier. He sometimes wished he had her openness but it's not the way he was built. She had his heart and he cherished their time together but he had understood as best he could how her mind worked on these matters before they got more involved.
He smiled and spoke
"You've really excelled today and pushed yourself to your limits. It's not fun seeing you get hit but you must have honed your skills to a razors edge. If you choose to celebrate with me later I'll do my best to push you to your limits in other ways. That said if you seek to avail of more fleeting opportunities that is your choice. Know I am happy to the opportunity to fight beside you again and hold you in my arms when I can. I love you."
He wasn't sure if he had said it before but their close call earlier fighting a dragon left him feeling like he should take the opportunity, He leaned in and gave her a light kiss on the cheek wishing to spare her taste buds the experience of his ill informed creation.
"Well if you want more stories with female heroes I'll do my best to get kidnapped at some point so you can rescue me? It should make for a good tale. One with a suitable way of thanking my heroine at the end... because this sandwich is terrible."
Maka laughed at her lover's suggestion. "Ohohoh we could call it 'The Dragon and the Prince'! It will be a love tale full of action, one for the ages!"
"You've really excelled today and pushed yourself to your limits. It's not fun seeing you get hit but you must have honed your skills to a razors edge. If you choose to celebrate with me later I'll do my best to push you to your limits in other ways. That said if you seek to avail of more fleeting opportunities that is your choice. Know I am happy to the opportunity to fight beside you again and hold you in my arms when I can. I love you."
Maka's pupils widened as she starred into Bulvi's eyes. Her Bull was strong, kind, and gentle. His open heart had always accepted her, she never had to fear the sorts of social missteps she made with others.
"While I do not have authority to command, my presence and words would certainly make you seem guests rather than invaders," Cesseer responds.
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"Right then, let's give it a try. It might even work."
Pushing the doors open, Quasit leads the way outside and confronts the assembled minions of Yrax.
"Well, well. What's going on here?" she asks in Triaxian. "Aren't you all supposed to be on guard duty?"
She looks back over her shoulder at Cesseer.
"What do you think, Lady Cesseer? Does Yrax need to hear about these lazy, untrustworthy creatures abandoning their posts? I hate to delay our mission with you, but the Master may find this..."
She looks back around at the assembled guards.
"...disturbing." she says with thinly veiled menace and a cruel smile.
"Well guests don't walk around with their weapons drawn." Bulvi put his weapons and shield away before putting his arm around Maka's waist, his hand coming to rest on her hip as the group left the kitchen. The feel of her body was somewhat concealed by his armour but the warmth was conducted quite well.
Bulvi runs his fingers along a small patch of scales near Maka's elbow for emphasis. He was genuinely curious but was also mindful at the same time that Maka was earnest and open by nature. Having her mind further away from here could help with their ruse and not pushing their luck seemed wise. So they appeared as they were two people engaged in conversation in a lull between adventures even if there was tension.
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"Tell me about the Monastery where you trained? In my minds eye I've always imagined it on some barren cliff edge overlooking a stunning valley... maybe carved into the volcanic rock. But for all I know it could be located in a city or distant island where waves thunder against the rocky shore. Does everyone learn to harness the elements their or just those with curiously exotic ancestries?"
"Some of it is carved or tunneled inside the mountain, sort of like Spurhorn. Grand Master Isa lives at the top, but that's just because it's more comfortable for his true dragon form up there. There is not a ranking system from bottom to top." Maka waved her hand dismissively, seeming to have a negative view of such systems. "Also he can get up there real easy. It can take days to get to the summit on foot."
"As for the elements. Well, elemental combat techniques and magic are pretty common. Most famously, the 3 houses of perfection focus on air, earth, and fire. But they are hardly perfect if you ask me. They just try to beat everyone into a mold! Real perfection is..." Maka took a breath to calm herself. Though she had plenty of opinions on the Houses of Perfection, it was a philosophical and political topic. One of which her lover had no context nor a reason to care about.
"Anyway, but not everyone has a connection to an element like I do. There were only 4 of us at the monastery: Admani, Suji, Suji's mom Master Zaci, and then me. Admani has a connection to earth and Suji and Master Zaci have a connection to water. Oh, and actually there's also Master Gyatso who has a connection to air! But he's never at the monastery, I've only met him a handful of times.
There is a village not far from us. We get most of our supplies from them in return for chores. It used to be just a small fishing village but trade has been picking up and its getting pretty big. When I was leaving Admani was rebuilding all the roads.
The forests around the monastery and village are well maintained, but once you get past the monastery the forest turns to thick jungle. The edges are similar to other jungles but the heart..." Maka struggled to find the words. "..I've never been anywhere else like it. The plants and animals are infused with energy, many of them literally glowing with it. It's never really dark there. And it's really dangerous so you have to be alert all the time which just...forces you to take it all in? I don't know, I can't say it properly. I wish I could give my memories to Quasit and have her describe them for you." The more direct solution of giving her memories to Bulvi not coming to her.
Kalchine follows the rest of the group, keeping Chest Thumper from attacking the guards as they exit.
He waits to see how the gambit goes, ready to spring to the attack, if necessary.