Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

They're open just a crack, Xlentia laying on her back and messing with her tail in boredom.

"Hi, robot."
"Hello."
"Good morning!"
There's broken bookshelves, piles of books, pieces of broken brick, and a few corpses that have already been picked by the raptors.

 

Shadow Stephanie looks around for a mask shop, curious.


"I shall!" Katie says happily, before leaving with Angela.

"T-That wasn't as s-scary, I guess." Angela says, smiling slightly.


"Well, many people do know of Gaia, she just hasn't interacted with many people. When did she go missing though? The last time I checked, Gaia mostly stayed in her own sort of realm to look over Earth with some of her children she deemed worthy of eternal life with her." Artemis explains, taking the basket and putting the fruit into it.

 

Sure enough, there's sort of one... at least, enough of a mask section in a costume shop for "MASKS" to be a part of the main sign.


She waves before going back into her nest.
Alice separates from Katie.
"You handled that well. So... we could go up and look for the pet, or we could see if we can get any more puzzle pieces while we're down here."


"Gaia doesn't have her own realm." The dryad says. "Maybe there are, like... two Gaias?"

 

Shadow Stephanie heads inside, smiling, Stephanie following.


"We could go look for the pet, and if we get lost, head back here for more information." Katie says.


Artemis seems to realise something, before facepalming.

"Right...different universe, I got confused," Artemis says, "I'm not from this universe, I'm from a different one where different things happened to create it."

 

Costumes of all sorts line the walls, a harpy in a bat costume hanging upside down from the ceiling.
"Hiya! Looking for anything in particular?" They ask.


"It'd be a fair amount of time unless we took Rineth... but that leaves the others stuck here with days of travel time in between."


The dryad looks at you funny before shaking its head, trying to understand.
"Well... have a nice day, miss!"

 

"I'm looking for some masks, actually." Shadow Stephanie says.


"Maybe we should regroup with Aj to see if he has some other modes of transport?" Katie asks.


"Thanks!" Artemis says happily, taking her basket of fruit and heading to the butchers to meet me, still looking over the beef.

"I don't know what to get..." I say.

 

"Any particular style?" They ask, doing a bit of a flip as they drop and land.


"The spaceship took days. Walking could have taken weeks. The fastest way to get here and back is a Voidwalker, and last time I checked you didn't want to have Linoa be the one opening portals."


The beef's pretty plain.
"You could'always hit the bake shop. I would'recommend the glazed berry brownie any day." The butcher says, shrugging.

 

"Something mystic?" Shadow Stephanie asks.


"Well...I guess we could take Rineth..." Katie says.


"Really? Well, I guess I'll get a glazed berry brownie from there then. Thanks!" I say happily, leaving the butchers.

 

"We talking illusionist stuff, or something that lets the mind wander?" They ask.


"Again, if you do, I'd let the others know. They'd be kinda stuck without him."


He nods, waving once before going back to cleaning a few more cuts of meat.

The bake shop smells about as amazing as you'd expect a bake shop to. The window display has common things like cookies, brownies, cakes, and the like, but it also has some more unusual pastries... one being what seems to be dyed bread and another simply being little colored cubes that look like frosting.

 

"Something cool looking I guess." Shadow Stephanie says, shrugging.


"Ok, we should head back and find the others to tell them we're going with Rineth." Katie says.


I head up to the counter of the bake shop, Artemis glancing around.

 

"That's broad, but I'll see what I've got." He says, walking off past a bunch of capes.


"I've got that covered. Meet Rineth at the city gate you entered, and I'll keep the line of communication intact." Alice says.


There's a few people in line, the cashier seeming to be the baker's child.

Well-decorated cakes, cookies of many shapes and sizes, rice cereal treats, brownies, doughnuts, bread... the bake shop's prices seem pretty high, but the variety makes it almost a guaranteed one stop shop.

 

Stephanie heads over to the capes, curious, while Shadow Stephanie just waits.


"Ok, thanks!" Katie says, offering a hand for Angela.

Angela nervously takes Katie's hand, and Katie freezes a quick-melting path in front of her which she skates along, Angela trying her best to stay upright as she's dragged along.


Artemis and I wait in line.

"This place must be popular with all these people." I comment.

"Mmm." Artemis hums, agreeing.

 

Some are simple monochromatic with a bit of glimmery crystals woven in, while others seem like a literal window into space.

The harpy soon returns with a couple masks. One of them is blood red and black and has odd patterns that direct attention to the eyeholes in the mask. The other is a grey, teal, and white with a few crystals to add pop and visual anchors to a design that makes the mask work as an optical illusion.
"Anything like these?"


Alice sends a brief telepathic message to Stephanie, Shadow Stephanie, and the couple.
"Katie and Angela got a lead, they're bringing Rineth with them to pursue it. Let me know if you need a quick way out so I can get Rineth back here."


Once you get to the front, the cashier smiles.
"Have you decided what you're buying?" He asks.

 

Shadow Stephanie seems stunned.

"T-That one..." Shadow Stephanie says, pointing to the blood red and black one.


Nobody responds, but it seems like the message got through.


"Yes, I'd like to buy a glazed berry brownie please." I say happily.

 

"Sure. Uh... is something wrong, miss?"


As Alice said, Rineth is waiting at the gate.
"Back to the surface, huh? Mind sharing the lead?" He asks, lowering a wing.


"Heh, I'm going to guess you were just at the butcher's?" The cashier chuckles. "Regardless, that'll be a quarter gram." They say, changing the weights on a scale mounted on the counter.

 

"It looks amazing..." Shadow Stephanie says, smiling.


"Do you know of any fiery kingdoms around here?" Katie asks as she climbs onto Rineth with Angela.


I take out a pouch of gold dust, and it weighs just over a quarter gram.

"Keep the change." I say, smiling.

 

"Thanks. Will that be all?"


"Yes, due east of the portal I believe. Does your lead involve a trip there?"


After weighing it, they smile.
"Thanks. Give me one second, please."
They turn and go back into the kitchen, walking out with a warm brownie on a little paper plate that has three berries and some glaze topping it off. Another one is in a small cardboard box.

"Father said no tips from first time customers, so you can give the extra to your lucky lady or brighten up the butcher's day. Funny guy - keeps trying to save up to buy a pet but can't help himself from one of those once a week." The cashier laughs, putting the two pastries on the counter. "Anyhow, have a good day."

 

"Yes, it's perfect." Shadow Stephanie says, summoning some gold.


"Apparently a fire queen had a pet which buried something here, so we were going to talk to it to see if we can find the relic." Katie says.


"You too. Best of luck with your business!" I say happily, taking the pastries and leaving.

"Do you want one of these?" I ask Artemis.

"It's fine, I have some fruit to eat anyway. You should give it to the butcher, since he recommended it to you." Artemis suggests.

"Alright. I'll be right back then." I say, kissing Artemis before heading to the butchers.

 

"Two ounces... at the counter, though." They say, jogging up to the counter and putting a couple weights on the scale.


"Can the pet talk?" Rineth asks, a warped portal starting to open in front of him.


The butcher glances up at you, mostly focusing on his cutting.
"I can smell that you took my suggestion. How was it?" They ask, making a couple more cuts as they talk.

 

Shadow Stephanie appears at the counter, the capes and costumes being blown by a breeze in her wake. She summons a few pouches of gold, putting them onto the scale.

"You have a very interesting monetary system." Shadow Stephanie comments.


"A-Apparently." Angela says.


"I haven't tried it yet, but I thought I'd get you something for suggesting it to me." I say, offering the boxed pastry.