p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh wasn't kidding when he said lunch was going to be a VIP banquet for their stomachs! Once they were outside his tent, presented was a well made-shift dinner table with a nice silk cloth draped over the piled trunks; It was what was on the table that would make anyone's mouth water. There was grilled salmon with slices of fresh lemon, a basket of loaf rolls and a variety of fruit, but that wasn't all! There were shiskabobs, steamed yams, roasted corn, and of course-dessert which was a fine looking Apple Tart with tiny fruit tarts circling around it like it was arranged in an artistic manner that would deem it worthy to be in an art museum!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Welll~Didn't I tell you that lunch would be a feast for the eyes and stomach?:He slyfully smirked at his compatriots, hands behind his back as he rocked slowly on his heels.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: You were not kidding! It all looks so good! Including the mini fruit tarts! I bet I could fit FOUR-no, five in my mouth!:Her eyes locked on the fruit tarts, licking her lips softly upon how delicious they looked.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hermes: Please mind your manners and sweet-petite.:He sighed in annoyance as he scolded her about minding her table manners.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Gemma: The setup does look...extravagant, yet it seems to be-:She was cut off by Vesh upon hearing her comment.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: You're absolutely right! Something is definitely missing!:He turned his attention toward the table as he zipped over, inspecting each area in order to determine what was missing until his wandering eyes laid on the center-there was no centerpiece.: Gasp! We don't have a centerpiece! It can't be a fancy lunch without a centerpiece otherwise the whole table is flawed!:He dramatically placed his arm against his forehead in woe.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hermes: What kind of centerpiece is needed to make a common lunch buffet look elegant?:He turned to his friends in confusion, then back at the table.: Can't we just dine without a centerpiece?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Prince Eccentro: Hmph! You Rabbot have no class! It is important to have a centerpiece when you're dining. A centerpiece not only brightens one table, but also the room. Why, back at the castle-I ensure that there is a fresh vase of roses nestled in the very center of my dining table before me and my team enjoy a nice meal together./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: Awwww~That's so sweet. Its so nice that you and your friends have meals together-it shows just how strong your friendship is with them. And I bet your dining hall is very exquisite! If we ever go to your castle, I cannot wait to see it!:She placed her hands together, beaming at her Uncle.: Flowers are always a perfect choice for a centerpiece, that or a lovely origami bouquet. At this one café I went to, they had this lovely origami bouquet at my table and I swear it looked so real to me at first until I plucked a petal that felt quite...papery./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: :He regained his composure as he bopped his fist into his palm, his melodrama shifting back to his cheery self.: Of course! Flowers! That's what's missing! Jeff! Fetch my finest vase and Lavender Roses!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jeff: Yes sir!:He saluted to him before zipping off like a Road Runner.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"In a matter of seconds, he returned with Lavender Roses nestled in a gem-encrusted vase as he carefully placed it in the center of the table, lining it up and turning it at a 90 degree angle so the flowers gave off a pleasant glow in the sun's light. It took him a minute until giving his boss a thumb's up upon completing his task before rejoining the others at the other side of the camp, who were enjoying their lunch at their own make-shift tables and sitting on barrels./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: There we go, all settled.:He clapped his hands together as he began to lead the group toward their seats.: Come, come now before it gets cold./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"They took their seats at the table while Hermes just stood beside Diamond and didn't take his eyes off Vesh, who sat at the end of the table. Gemma kept her eyes on him as well while grabbing an apple from the basket, inspecting it at first for anything suspicious like if it was laced with poison even taking a whiff to ensure it was safe to consume before taking a careful bite as she chewed slowly. Diamond grabbed one of the shiskabobs, yet she too gave a careful whiff, but all she smelt was ground ginger and soy sauce? It smelled similar to soy sauce, but the odd scent stung her nose slightly due to the strong spice that emitted off the juices causing her to move it away from her face./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: W-w-hat is that stingful scent I smell from the kabobs? Is it wasabi soy sauce?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Ah, that would be Salamander Cayenne Pepper you're detecting. It brings out the natural richness of the meat. Soaked overnight in a special marinate and grilled to perfection, Jeff prepared the kabobs himself, got a knack for spices. Collects a whole lot of em' during our travels even has his own spice garden, been doing a little slicing, dicing, and fusing of a few spice seeds here and there to make his own unique spices./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: Oh wow, that's amazing. Sounds to me that he's quite the chef. To collect various spices around different realms, make his own fused spiced plants and apply it to cooking. It's nice to see a hobby turn into a passionate career in the culinary arts./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Indeed and one of the many reasons he's my Right Hand Man and confidante.:He placed his hand on his heart, closing his eyes softly with a smile on his face.: If it weren't for him to secure a boat and a crew to get me away from home, I wouldn't be here today./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: That's right, you mentioned that you were of noble blood. Just as my Uncle is of royal blood. Tell us, Mister Vesh-where in Monworld do you hail from and how did you become a Treasure Hunter?:She placed her kabob down onto her plate, curious about Vesh's backstory as to how he became a Treasure Hunter with a gang of fellow treasure seekers.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Now, now...:He waved bashfully at her while his hand rested on the side of his cheek with a cheery grin.: You don't wanna hear all about little ole me. I don't wanna steal any more attention to my fellow guests./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: You're not stealing any attention at all, I'm just really curious about your backstory. A dashing noble venturing the world with fellow Treasure Hunters in search of rare treasures and rescuing people wherever he goes!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hermes: I don't he ever mentioned rescuing people, in my opinion is more like parading as thieves to scare the daylights out of his acquaintances.:A sweatdrop appeared beside his head while he sipped on some Carrot Oil.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: :She placed her hands together, eyes twinkling like stars as she begged him to tell his story.: Pretty pleasseee with a giant strawberry on top?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Gemma: I'd save that giant strawberry for a parafait, Diamond. If I'd have to guess being of his noble background, my guess is he high tailed it from home to avoid being forced to marry a suitor that his father chose for him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Heh!:He turned his head upon spatting at the mention of "father".: Not even close! My father wanted me to follow in his footsteps upon being a knight!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: Your dad was a knight!?:She rose from her seat, stars exploding around her head.: Let me guess-he's a big wig knight that everybody knows and as his son, he wanted you to follow in his footsteps while living in the shadow of doubt of ever living up to his expectations and legacy!?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh:...0_0 Almost on the dot./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: Sorry...:She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head and seated herself down.: I've watched and read a LOT OF anime of some characters coming from noble backgrounds and following in one's footsteps especially in Dragon Quest 11 when Sylvando left his home because he didn't want to be a knight like his father, instead wanted to travel the world to perform and bring smiles to all the people in need of a pick me up! He's one of my favorite characters in the game./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hermes: Sighhh~...:He planted a metallic paw on his forehead and shook softly in annoyance.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: I guess me and this Sylvando do share a similar tale. We both wished not to be something we were not destined to be just because of our family's history or grandeur-we did not wish to be tied down to just one thing in life. We both wish to be free, free to explore the outside world...free to become whatever we wish to be. Free from responsibilities, free from being stuck being one's shadow and free to find our own destiny then having it decided for us. No one should be tied down by their father's wishes or expectations and be caged up like a bird from the endless sky above one's head./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Prince Eccentro: :Tears began to swell in his eyes as he was moved by his words. Quickly, he wiped his eyes and stared directly at Vesh with a glimmer in his left eye.: I completely agree! Tanaka wants me to become a proper bad guy because of some silly promised he made to my father, but the training regiment and punishments are so ridiculous and painful!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Ha! I'll trade you your training regiment on Bad Guy 101 for Knighthood 101 even the advanced classes. I bet his training course doesn't compare to the hell I went through! Waking up at dawn every morning when I should be getting some well deserved beauty sleep, having to wear stinky and smelly chain mail and nearly avoiding having my precious face bruised and cut with hand to hand combat and sword play!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Prince Eccentro: At least you didn't have to sit on a giant ice pack for a week after having your royal hiney poked by steel spikes at the end of a swimming pool as the current speed increases!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: And the sores-Ohhhhh~The sores on my body were the worst! I couldn't move for a WHOLE day! The servants had to escort me back to my chambers!:He stroked his right arm softly, pouting as he recalled his knight training days.: And I had to moisturize after each shower. I just hate the smell of sweat and B.O., you know?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Prince Eccentro: I loathe sweat above all else! It's just so...sweaty...:He shivered at the thought of sweat.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Sighhh~...:Placing a hand on his chest as he gaze into Eccentro's eyes.: We are very alike, Prince Eccentro. Cut from the same cloth even if that cloth is from two different fabric. We've had our fair share of troubles and stress in our home lives, but now here we are-Out in the wide open realm, enjoying a nice lunch on a beautiful day and having no care in Monworld./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Prince Eccentro: Nothing is sweeter then freedom.:He returned a similar gaze into Vesh's eyes.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"A sparkling background appeared behind the two as they smiled at one another-could this be what friendship between men was like? Especially two flamboyant men from noble and royal backgrounds? It must be fate that has brought these two together, but suddenly the sparkles vanished when Gemma cut in./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Gemma: You know what could be sweeter right now?...KEEPING THE Royal Bromance to a minimum while were eating!:She chimed in upon raising her voice so they can hear her.: And getting back to the most important matter: GETTING YOU AND Diamond BACK HOME?!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Prince Eccentro: Of course, Witchy Lady.:He waved a hand at her as if to brush her off for he was busy having an actual conversation with his kindred spirit friend.: I haven't forgotten: We find this Solaris Temple where her mother is waiting for us, you get us there, my pals will come for me when my phone chargers, I take them home and you can be on your merry way./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Gemma: It's Solaria Temple. Solaria TEMPLE.:She mumbled to herself.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: Oh, that reminds me. Gemma, can you let me have the map for a second please?:She beamed a kind smile to her.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Gemma: Of course, Diamond.:She returned the smile before carefully handing her the map.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: :She opened the map, laying it out as neatly as possible so none of the corners got onto the food or stained by the sauces.: Do you happen to know where Solaria's Temple is? Gemma said we have to traverse this forest to get to the Dune Desert in order to get to the temple./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh rose from his feet to get a closer look at the map. Studying it thoroughly like he was an archeologist figuring out the location of an ancient city's whereabouts by looking at the markers on the map./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Hmmm~The Dune Desert? Its quite treacherous from what I've heard. There are Sand Worms and Sand Scorpions that roam those sands. Not to mention Sandpits, those are not as easy to escape from as Quicksand./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Gemma: Do not worry, there happens to be a town that isn't too far in the Dune Desert. Just a few miles from the forest's exit, once we arrive in town we'll acquire transport to get us to the temple./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Pffttt~:!:He chuckled as if Gemma just said a joke upon looking at her.: You'd rather buy smelly camels to ride on to get you across the desert?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: If they have Chocobos, those'd be good for transportation. They're really fast and oh so adorable!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hermes: This isn't Final Fantasy, this is Real Fantasy, Di!:He glanced over at her as a tiny anime vein formed on his head.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: Well, there could be a monster bird similar to a Chocobo that they ride on here!:She glared over at Hermes.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Listen, me and my party just so happen to be heading in that exactly area to stock up in that quaint little town. Which is why I would like to propose a little deal with you all./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Gemma: A deal?:She raised a suspicious eyebrow toward Vesh.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Yes, we'd be obliged to escort you and your party to not just the town, but through the Dune Desert to get to Solaria's Temple. In exchange...:He turned his attention to Hermes, who was just finishing his Carrot Oil.: I would love to have your Companbot./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hermes spat out the small remains of his carrot oil and had a coughing fit due to the shock to Vesh's deal! He wasn't the only one, Diamond was surprised along with Gemma and surprisingly Eccentro./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hermes: Say what!?:He rose his paws up in the air in protest.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Why yes, you. Your unlike anything I've ever seen before. Sentient, metallic, multi-purpose, and ladies would swoon over a "robotic rabbit" with your charm and snazziness./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hermes: :He blushed a little, rubbing the back of his head from the flattery.: Well, I am pretty charming and snazzi-hey wait a minute, Buster!:He shook it off and growled angrily at him.: I ain't falling for your boyish charm! And I am not up for sale!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Oh come now, surely your owner has another one of you lying around back on Earth. She wouldn't care less if she gave you up in exchange for getting back to her dear mother. Don't you want her to be happy?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: I do want to be back with my mother./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Ah!:He turned to Diamond, then back to Hermes with a gleeful smile.: See! She wants to b-:He was cut off by what Diamond was going to say next.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: But not without Hermes./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Ah!:He fell back before regaining his composure as he looked Diamond's way.: I'm terribly sorry, senorita, but I must have misheard you...You said you didn't want to be happy without your dear Hermes by your side?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: That's right...Even if my mom were to make a new Hermes, he wouldn't be MY Hermes. My Hermes is the one who scolds me when I stay up too late when I play video games or binge watch a whole anime season. My Hermes always has a snarky comeback or witty remark that make me laugh or at times annoyed at how corny they can be. My Hermes that would do all he can to keep me safe like how he did his best against the Giant Bugs. My Hermes...My Hermes isn't just a companion robot to keep me company, he's my best friend...he's...a member of my family. You don't replace family and I would never give up Hermes for anything in the whole world-Not even a Special Limited Edition Blue Eyes White Dragon Statue!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hermes: :His eyes wobbled, tears dripped down his metallic face as he was moved by Diamond's speech.: Ohhh Diamond~.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He wasn't the only one moved by her speech, Eccentro was holding back tears upon remembering the time when he went in search of Teddyornaut when he tossed him off a cliff due to thinking he was defective. Then later finding he was brought to life by electricity by Wolf Scientists, he told Teddy how much he means to him-He created him and though he can be harsh at times, he took good care of him. He can relate to Diamond's bond with Hermes-Teddyornaut was his Hermes and he wouldn't give him up for anything in the world either. Despite the budding friendship he has with Vesh, he knew that he had to side with Diamond on this matter./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Prince Eccentro: I have to agree with my niece, Vesh. I know how it feels to have somethin-no, someone in your family that you made with your own hands. Seeing it as not just a simple appliance or machine, but as a friend. The last thing you want to do is discard what you made and having to scower the realm to apologize for your actions and nearly falling to your doom in a Giant Moving Castle were it not for your creation's sacrifice to turn it off in exchange for losing its free will./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh lowered his head as he contemplated to what he just heard-Diamond doesn't wish to give up her robot. That robot, a rare and marvelous wonder that nobody not even he has ever seen before, she refuses to give it up in exchange for safety and transport? He gripped his fist as anger began to boil within him like a pot of soup slowly bubbling on the stove top./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: I know! What if I gave you something else that equals your equivalent! I got a lot of neat earth stuff! I'd have to see which ones will appeal to your tastes. Surely those would be enough to earn free safety and transport. No need to get upset, Mister Vesh.:She saw how he lowered his head for a brief moment in disappointment, hoping that any trinkets or do-dads she had would satisfy him enough to earn safe passage to the temple.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh:...Heh, I think I know something better.:He rose his hand as he swiftly snapped his fingers.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Suddenly his men surrounded the table, unsheathing their weapons and pointed straight at the heroes (And Villain wannabe). Diamond and her friends rose to their feet upon seeing his men gather closer toward the table, almost in arms' reach!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Sigh, you know if you would have agreed to hand over your Metal Golem, this would've been much easier. You could've had FULL access to the benefits of traveling with me and my boys, but you had to go and say no. Tsk, tsk, tsk...:He shook his head in disappointment as he rose it up to look at them, a wicked grin formed on his face.: A shame really, I really like you all-including the elf mage. I like her moxy and spunkiness./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Gemma: Ewww...:She held her arms as she shivered with disgust.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Now let me repeat myself: HAND OVER Your Metal Golem and we'll make sure we get you to the Dune Desert in one piece. I'd hate for your dear mother to find out that her precious daughter and her compatriots became Worm Food while me and my men did our best to save them.:He began walk around toward the other side of the table, rolling up the map before crumbling it into a big paper wad, and tossed it up in the air.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He raised his left hand as a silver ring began to glow bright red and suddenly a powerful burst of fire came flying out and struck the wad of paper in the air, burning it into ash that fell like snow onto the ground./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Gemma: Our map!:Her eyes widen as she was about to cast a spell, but felt the tip of a blade at the back of her head causing her to pause her action.: Ugh...grrr.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: I wouldn't do anything rash if I were you, Mage Girl. Unless you want to be known as the "Half Mage".:He flashed a sinister smile as a devilish chuckle rose from his throat.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: Mister Vesh, why did you do that to our map! We needed that to get to the temple!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Prince Eccentro: More like-HOW He burned up our map!? I saw a fireball come right out of your hand!:He pointed at Vesh's left hand.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Ohhh~...:He lowered his hand down and flashed a gorgeous silver ring in the shape of a monster with a ruby inside its mouth.: You mean the little fire trick I just pulled using my Ifrit Ring? It's a nifty magical accessory I picked up while I was in the town I got those throw pillows from. Really came in handy a few times during our little raids and exploits, plus it matches my outfit so well!:He gave it a fond peck kiss as he stared at the heroes.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Gemma: I knew there was something fishy about you from the get-go. Your no treasure hunter, your nothing, but a criminal!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Awww~What was your first clue? The shady camp set up? The way my men usually dress or the broadway performance we put on to let your guards down?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Gemma: How's about when you were scolding your men, the way you spoke to them sounded like a viper striking its fangs out to its prey to paralyze them.:She crossed her arms as she huffed.: Or how it's a coincidence that your men were around the same area we were traveling when a bola wrapped around Diamond's legs during the race, her falling into the quick sand just to distract us so your men can capture us because you mapped out specific spots on your map where travelers go by./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: How'd you figure that out, Detective Sexy Sorceress?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Gemma: Ew-uh! No! P-Please don't call me that...It's so...revolting..:She was disgusted at the nickname he'd gave her before recomposing herself.: Let's just say you really need to tidy up your tent because when you were giving us a tour of your room, I couldn't help notice upon placing the Gaze Orb down onto your stand, there was a map underneath it with X marks around this very forest./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Hmph...clever girl, you got sharp eyes to have seen my little target map. But you forgot one important detail. Though the X marks are roads and shortcuts travelers take, there are different colored X's in which we mark where monsters would gather-including a specific Carbuncle that's been hanging around these parts for quite sometime. You see were not only treasure hunters, but monster hunters.:He flashed a sickening smile as he guffawed with his head held back.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: Monster Hunters!? You mean you hunt poor innocent monsters and cut em up into pieces to sell at the market even their scales and horns!?:She was horrified at the thought of cute monsters being killed and sold piece by piece.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Oh no, no, no!:He raised his hands to calm her nerves.: We would never carve up such precious creatures./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"This made Diamond sigh of relief, but it was just for a brief moment until another theory popped into her head as her fear resurfaced./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: Wait! So if you don't kill em'-you sell em! Your poachers!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Poachers is...a VERY STRONG word. I think of ourselves as..."Monster Entrepeneurs" as well as "Treasure Seekers". Anyway, my men were on the trail of a Carbuncle when they noticed your party traveling with the creature./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jeff: When you and the critter had that silly race, we thought it'd be the perfect chance to capture it, but we didn't expect to capture a Guardian when you got in the way of the bola which was intended for the creature. Didn't expect it to take to the trees./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: It seems to move quite quicker by treetop, but we weren't aware that you were watching us race./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jeff: Not only that, but we were also taking bets./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bandit 2: AND THAT'S why Chris screwed up on throwing the Bola late because he was deciding who to bet on!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Chris: I was thinking of the statistics each combatant had from size, appearance, agility and cuteness./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: Cuteness?:She blushed a little bit at the compliment.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Chris: Well yeah, both you and that carbuncle are quite the cuties in the 10 out of 10 range./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: 10 out of 10! That's amazing! My mom always said I am quite the cutie. Thank you so much, by the way Chris was it? I really like your um...Earring on your right ear. Classic and matches the color of your eyes./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Chris: Aw thanks, see that? SOMEONE noticed how my earring matches my eyes.:He boasted to his friends with a big smile on his face.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hermes: Uhhh..Diamond...Flamboyant jerk showing true colors, held at sword point, bandits are poachers./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: Oh! Right, right, sorry got side-tracked there.:A sweatdrop appeared by the side of her head and sheepishly smiled at Hermes.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Now then, since you refused to hand over your Metal Golem-we'll just have to take him from you the hard way. Secure the Metal Golem, take their belongings and take them to the Pit Dungeon./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bandit 3: The one we just made four days ago, sir?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: The very same. You remember to make sure the bars fit securely in the opening? Not like last time when the hole was too big, the door fell through and we had to send Hutch down to get it, the rope broke and we had to get the backup rope to pull him out?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Bandit 3: Yes, boss.:He saluted to him.: We made sure to use the measuring tape this time to measure the hole and the material to make the door./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Good work, measuring is a very vital in everyday life from making outfits to creating fitting prison latch doors to put over our Pit Prisons to keep our captives in./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond couldn't believe what was happening before her eyes: Before they were all having a nice luncheon and talking about spices, freedom and dreams-but now it would appear that pleasant dream has turned into a nightmare that's unraveled before her eyes. Weapons pointing straight at them, their map destroyed and worst of all-Vesh wasn't the friendly noble they were rubbing elbows with a few minutes ago, he was acting like someone else...could it be? Could Vesh have been acting all this time without her knowing it? Another facade over another facade? It was rather confusing and infuriating at the same time that Vesh would lie and threaten to steal all their belongings including Hermes! She had to do something, even if she didn't have her powers right now-She had to do something!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: You're not tossing us into any pit! Not if I have something to say about it!:She glanced angrily at Vesh, grasping the handle of her wooden sword as she was ready to draw it out.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hermes: Uhh~Diamond, now isn't the time to try again at going Guardian!:Panic bubbles popped around his head as he saw her reaching her for bokuto.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: :He laughed at her silly gesture as he pointed at her sword.: Ohhh? And what are you going to do? Bop me on the head with that wooden sword of yours? Even if you were to fight me, you wouldn't stand a chance./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: I won't know unless I try./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Just as you tried to activate your "guardian form" with silly dance rituals and funny one liners from what my men told me? Are you sure your REALLY a Guardian or did they choose the wrong brat to become a guardian?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond:...I'm so a guardian!...Right now, my powers are just...umm...locked, doesn't mean I'm defenseless!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Locked? Now whatever do you mean by "Locked"?:His smile grew as he was intrigued by this new-found information.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: Its...kinda hard to explain, but I kinda...sorta...Can't access my power at the moment...Well, more like...I.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond kept sputtering on her words and the more she tried to explain herself, the more her confidence began to shrink with each passing second. She knew deep down she had a special power, its just getting that power out. The big problem was remembering how she was able to transform into a guardian, all she can recall was Gemma telling her about how she was possessed by a strange spirit that helped awaken her form./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: :She took a deep breath and let out a sad sigh.: I...I was possessed by a spirit that took over me when I first transformed to save my friend. Since then, I...haven't been able to use my power./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Fascinating, simply fascinating. So it wasn't you that fought that Necro Blader then, but a powerful Light Spirit that used you as its puppet.:He walked right up to her with hands behind his back and leaned down toward her eye level.: If it wasn't for that Light Spirit, your heroism would've been for naught and you wouldn't be standing here right now./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Gemma: Hey! Possessed or not! Diamond risked her life to save me and my town! Even when I told her to get to safety, she came running back without a plan in her head, but she stood her ground! Ready to do all she could against that Necro Blader!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Either way, she isn't a true guardian if she had someone to fight her battle for her against an impossible foe. Or perhaps...the reason she can't access her powers or if that so-called spirit resides within her...is that she's simply...Defective. And defective things have no value whatsoever...The only place they belong is in a THRIFT STORE./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond's eyes widen after Vesh roasted her, his words stung like a bee that stung you in the chest, but this stinger stung deep into her soul. Is that why she couldn't access her powers? Why she wasn't able to transform? Was it that she wasn't the rightful chosen one or maybe she can't use her powers because she isn't compatible with the spirit? Her confidence continued to spiral downward while the light in her eyes faded as if hope was slowly starting to shrink within her like it was hit with a shrink ray until Hermes' voice snapped her out of it and caused her to raise her head to look toward her robotic friend./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hermes: Hey pal! Diamond is many things, but defective isn't one of them!:He called out, struggling to break free of some of the bandits who were starting to wrap him in chains.: Sure, she has a screw loose, but her heart is in the right place! Sure, she boasts at times, but she thinks of others before herself! And sure, she's a walking Otaku Dictionary with Trivia on all things nerdy, but she's my Nerdy Otaku who functions with a full tank of Zippy Energy and Peppy Pop! And I've never seen her as defective or even glitchy! The only one defective here is you jer-ughh!:He was cut off when a cloth was tied around his mouth.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Diamond: Hermes...:Tears filled in her eyes upon hearing his praise and truthful words.:/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Vesh: Thank you! I thought he'd never shut up. We'll have to see if there's a way to mute it upon inspection. Take the Metal Golem to my tent along with their valuables.:He turned to his men as he pointed toward his tent.: As for our esteemed guests...take em' to the Pit Dungeon./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"His men saluted as their belongings and begun to take them straight to Vesh's tent to put in his collection. The remainder of his men began to push the group along to escort them to one of the Pit Dungeons they dug up in the ground, as they were being escorted away-Diamond couldn't help, but look back to see Hermes being dragged into Vesh's tent. Panic smeared on his metallic face as he turned to her direction, she felt a knot in her stomach upon seeing her friend in distress and to find herself along with her friends in a hopeless situation one cannot get out of. This wasn't like her shows nor was it a dream either-this was reality, a real life or death situation and after the roasting she got from Vesh-for the first time in her life...she felt hopeless./p