Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"You don't have a crystal wrench?" They ask, a bit surprised. "I thought you were a critic coming in to give feedback."


They pause.
"What name did they give you?"


They nod, nobody else following you.

 

Stephanie smiles.

"I'm just a sorceress in search of things she likes," Stephanie says happily, "Though I must admit, you have an extremely nice store, and your wares are very good quality. It's nice to see people using actual magic instead of tricking people with a short-living charm that runs out of magic quickly."


"Varen, I think." Katie says.


Once out of the black market, Artemis takes out her necklace again and activates it, changing herself back to her forest guardian form. The pair of us head back to the commercial district to buy some food.

 

"O-oh, really? That's great to hear! I didn't know there were shops that did such petty things." They say. "Well... that crystal wrench is four ounces. If you can't make that work, check with the owner for negotiations."


She nods.
"Then I suppose I can trust you. You said you wanted to know about a relic?" Varen asks.


Pastries, groceries, butchers, fruit stands... take your pick.

 

Crystal looks at them curiously.

"Not at all."
I say, then head to the castle,

 

"Oh, uh, I'm not fully experienced with this, so excuse the lack of knowledge, but what does a crystal wrench do?" Stephanie asks, summoning some pouches of gold dust.


"Yes, my friends and I are looking for elemental relics and artefacts, and we were directed here. We all guessed this place would have something to do with a fire relic." Katie explains happily.


Artemis heads over to a fruit stand while I enter one of the butchers, surveying the meats on display.

 

They seem to have gotten back from a battle, and their faces don't suggest victory.

"Thanks."
The entrance is still a bloody mess, but the way in is still clear.

 

Crystal runs in the direction where they came from.

I go in, and look around, uncovering debris and rubble to do so if needed.

 

"Really? W-well, it's used to track bindings and makes binding things easier. You use interruption frequencies to do all that, and if you want I can show you." They offer, pulling out a scale and putting more small weights on it.


"Yes, the fire queen Liv. She just vanished, but her pet had... something it buried down here, if I remember correctly."


The fruit stand has apples, peaches, and lemons. Everything else is out of stock.
The butcher has a few basic meats like beef and pork, but also things like hellhound, feral Arachan, and wyrm meat.

There's a portal closing, a bloody battlefield visible.

Most of the castle is in bad shape, a few rooms collapsed. You can hear a few voices in the library, but nothing that sounds like humans.

 

"Oh, yes please. This sounds really useful." Stephanie says, putting the pouches on the scale.


"Do you know where it buried it?" Katie asks, smiling.


Artemis quickly heads back to me for some money, before returning to the fruit stand.

"Two of everything, please." Artemis asks.

I decide to go the safe route, looking over the beef the butcher has on offer.

 

"Most shops have them. This shop just focuses on more eye-appealing types of things." He says, measuring the gold out and returning the excess. "Now, if you'd come back over here, I can show you how it works."


"I don't, sorry. Her pet can talk, though, so you may be able to get a little bit more out of it."


"Sure! Would you like a basket? I do charge, but it's just a twentieth of a gram extra." A young dryad offers, peeking up from the back of the stand.

 

Stephanie and her Shadow head to where they're told.


"Where is the pet?" Katie asks, smiling.


"No thank you, I can hold them myself," Artemis says, "It's funny, where I come from, a lot of my kind are confused for you."

 

"Okay, so I'll start with binding this pen to the paper. Watch me, then try it yourself." He says.

He takes the figurine, points it at the pen until it highlights, then waves his hand in front of it a few times before doing the same with a paper.
"...and that's it! Watch!"
He takes the pen and writes on the air, ink showing up on the paper as he writes "Now you try!" and hands Stephanie the figurine and another pen.


"I'm afraid I don't know. You may want to send a more fiery friend to find out, since the heat protection gear is most of that kingdom's tourist income."


"What do you mean?" They ask, putting a scale on the counter and putting six tiny weights on it.

 

"Ooooh! I see." Stephanie says, understanding as she repeats the process.

"I've used magic like this before. This is a sort of deviation on voodoo, right?" Stephanie asks.


"I have a fiery friend who's immune to fire, but she's been called a murderer and went missing. I've met up with her recently, but she disappeared again." Katie says sadly, "So where could we find the kingdom?"


"I'm a forest guardian, and forest guardians are often called dryads by humans when they encounter us." Artemis says, putting her money on the scales.

 

It works again.
"U-uh, no... it's just binding. Voodoo is... well... the evil way to go about it. That wrench's only limit is it's designed not to be able to mess with the city's bindings."


"That's hard to hear. Unfortunately, you're in for a sour treat... Liv's kingdom isn't down here. Only the relic is."


"A... forest guard? That sounds a bit silly." The dryad giggles, taking the money and handing her two of the other fruits that were out of stock.
"Are you sure you don't want a basket?" They ask, after putting two bananas, strawberries, nectarines, and bunches of grapes on the top of the stand.

 

Crystal darts to the portal and looks through, but doesn't enter.

I make my way to the library.

 

"Well, thank you very much. This will come in very handy." Stephanie says happily.


"Hm...so we just need to look around for a relic buried somewhere?" Katie asks, confused.


"We exist to protect the wildlife and forests, to stop things from going extinct and to maintain balance in nature," Artemis says, growing a few extra vine arms that wind around her to hold the fruit, "Though I may now you've presented some more fruit."

 

"Thanks for your business!" He says, going into a back room.


"Worst case scenario, yes. Best case scenario, you get everyone who knows something to give you what they know, then hope it's enough to get a location. I'm sorry I couldn't be more of a help."


"Isn't that Gaia's job?" They ask. "And didn't you say two of everything?"

________________________________

Seems about half the regiment is dead.

There are a few raptors playing with torn up books.

 

Stephanie leaves, smiling.

"Can I pick the next shop?" Shadow Stephanie asks.

"Sure." Stephanie says happily, wandering around.


"Well, thank you for everything you've given us in terms of information. I hope you have a wonderful day!" Katie says happily.


"Gaia created us to care for the Earth so she could subtly influence it instead of making herself too well known." Artemis says, offering some more gold for a basket.

 

Still a ton of shops left. Name something and it might be here.


"Thank you, and I hope you have safe travels. If there's anything else I can help you with, let me know."


The dryad measures it and takes it, handing Artemis a basket.
"That doesn't make sense. Miss Gaia is well known everywhere! It's just strange she went missing."

 

Crystal, a bit freaked out, runs to Xlentia's chambers.

"Morning."
I nod to the raptors, looking around the library.