PG is playing detective. She's my archetype of pissed off older sister. They'll eventually get along :) Also Stylist just be like why am i here.
I'd like to thank everyone who leaves me reviews. You have no idea how it makes my day. Thanks Nam & Duke. You guys are champs.
NAM: I'm so happy that you remember that little snippet about the 3 day policy change because it's gonna fk up The Party Girl. If PG returns to The Capitol/runs into any of her collegues/any imperial army guys, she's to be treated as a POW. And we know how Yharim treats POW's (Dungeon time bois lmao)
Duke: The Hero is big brain boi, haha. The Reason Guide hasn't died yet will be explained soon and I swear it's a decent explaination. Just wait for Dryad and she'll tell
Thanks again bois.
Armour: Victide Armour (Ranger)
Weapon: [UNUSABLE]Mandible Bow (Jester Arrows); Arkhalis
Acc(11/11): Band of Regeneration, Amidas Spark, Sailfish Boots, Luxor's Gift, Ocean Crest, Counter Scarf, Crown Jewel, Tsunami in a Bottle, Frog Leg, Aero Stone, Shield of the Ocean
Health: (400/400)
The Castle was larger within than without.
The moment the heavy iron door shut behind her, she felt as if she'd been transported to an entirely different world. The air was colder here, somehow clearer, frosty, and more regal. The pounding din outside was muted almost to silence; she basked in the quietness. With a long sigh, she craned her neck to lose herself staring into the cone of the tall castle spire.
Phew...
It was cathedral-like, the ceiling stretching upwards to a needle point and surrounded on all sides by swirling carvings. At first glance, The Party Girl thought they were the intricate etchings of some master sculptor, but closer inspection revealed the carvings were merely rudimentary, yet perfectly geometric shapes jumbled together in a symmetrical fashion. Although the style of this castle was very different from the five identical houses outside, the otherworldly preciseness made it clear that the same person had built every structure in The Compound.
So...The Experiment can just build things? Did he just generate the materials too? I didn't see any evidence of lumber being harvested...
Well, it wasn't impossible persay...
Wait no, it actually was impossible, but The Party Girl had a sense that The Experiment was someone created to accomplish impossible things. What a strange manner of creature he was. He looked human from head to foot, but his abilities screamed something utterly supernatural. She herself was a modified human and had seen her share of aberrant abilities... but even so, she had never seen someone as strange as The Experiment.
I wonder what Draedon would think of him... if this place were actually a secret base, things would make a lot more sense, but then again there's no way Amidas would have come here... and he definitely wouldn't have the clout to commission a castle.
What a confusing situation. It was obvious that The Guide and his Experiment weren't affiliates of The Resistance. It didn't appear they were imperialist either. The occupants of The Compound behaved like a new, third party - but the fact they were so well supplied made this theory tenuous at best. Even if The Experiment had somehow built this entire compound, added the magical barrier and fed and watered everyone here all on his lonesome - then where did The Experiment come from? Somebody must have created him. A person like that didn't just appear in the woods.
Strange phenomenon in this area... Is this somehow connected to The Lunatic Cultist?... no... The Cultist wouldn't leave somebody like The Experiment here...
She sighed once more and turned her thoughts away. There was no benefit in wondering about things that didn't pertain to her. Where The Experiment came from was probably none of her business. What was her business was Amidas and finding definitive evidence that he had indeed returned. It would have been most ideal to go back to Central carrying Amidas's head, but alas - he wasn't here and she wasn't a tracker. She wouldn't be able to kill Amidas if she couldn't find him.
I wish I'd brought a bloodhound with me, something with a good nose...
She muttered her thoughts aloud as she hobbled about, the soles of her shoes clacking loudly, unevenly, across the polished stone floor. She only managed a to make it halfway across the large foyer before needing to slump against one of the cold stone pillars to rest. As she carefully maneuvered herself to the ground, she took care to lean her back against the gray brick. The coolness soothed her fevered flesh, which - although doing well to heal, still sported evidence of bullet wounds from The Arms Dealer's shotgun.
Ow...
How long before she was fit to travel? A few days, at least - but she knew (at least timewise) - she had a good deal of leeway. After all, Central's policy was for Agents to report in-person at least once every two weeks. They also liked for agents to communicate via comms, but there have been many instances of comms equipment getting damaged or going missing during a mission. The Party Girl had always been good about communicating her whereabouts, so the fact she stopped communicating meant Central already knew she had broken her equipment. They would probably have another set ready for her when she returned.
Besides, its only been five days since Lord Yharim gave me the go-ahead... I have plenty of time to investigate. I hope I find something decent...
She sat there awhile longer before gritting her teeth and stirred her body upright. She could almost hear her bones creaking against each other as she compelled them to move. No matter, she was a soldier. She had a mission. Just like always, she would push forward to the sake of The King. (She repeated this to herself over and over, but for some strange reason, it didn't illicit the fiery emotional response it always had. Perhaps she was more tired than she'd imagined.)
In any case, enthusiastically or otherwise, she would fulfill her duty. As she limped down the long stone hall, she scanned the ground, searching for anything that could confirm or deny The Experiment's words. Had Amidas really been here? Lord Yharim would certainly want to know this information... If she could obtain some evidence that The Sea King was truly alive, then surely it would be valuable to The Empire. Ideally, she would also find a map of The Resistance's safehouses, but such documents were more precious than gold-
Huh?
She blinked and squinted in the cathedral's dim light. Was that- Yes, it was clearly a gold bracer that had been tossed into the shadows. Perhaps it had been accidentally left behind when The Sea King evacuated? It was certainly possible - as the size of the bracer indicated it wasn't made for a human. It also sported a great number of strange and archaic inscriptions. The Party Girl was not learned in the language or culture of R'lyehians and did not recognize the engravings... but perhaps The Experiment could definitively confirm to whom this artifact belonged.
But he says he doesn't know anything... well, it can't hurt to ask again.
The Party Girl limped over, moving past the watery throne to pick up The Bracer. It was solid and hefty in her palm, and the way the metal deformed when she pinched it assured her that it was real gold. She rotated it in the light, admiring how the light glowed off of it. 'What a lovely piece of metalwork', she thought as she turned a corner to see the rest of The Castle.
'If he left a golden bracer, surely there may be some documents as well', she thought, just as the tripped headlong over a pink haired woman's unconscious body.
There were now two pink haired women.
One was laying asleep in the grass (in much the same fashion The Guide was, but she was breathing. He was not) the other was hobbling around and pestering him.
The distraction wasn't particularly welcome, but then again, he wasn't doing anything purposeful. He forced himself to tolerate her, after all, she - who had introduced herself as 'The Party Girl' - had allied herself with The Guide. Given by how badly she'd been injured (he could smell the gunpower on her, courtesy of The Arms Dealer, no doubt) it was reasonable to assume she had fought in defense of the only person The Terrarian could call a friend. For The Guide's sake, The Terrarian would treat The Party Girl graciously... or as graciously as he knew how, anyways.
And he was pretty certain he wasn't doing a stellar job.
"Why are you still building?! Stop playing. There's something important that needs to be done! Who is this woman! Is there anyone else hiding here?!"
The Party Girl had stumbled out of Amidas's Castle about half an hour ago, dragging the pink haired woman and waving around a golden bracer like a battle standard. She immediately began to pester him and he had responded by grappling up 'The Coffin's' structure until the mist shrouded their view of one another. Unfortunately for him, his cold shoulder policy didn't seem to deter The Party Girl at all, and she continued to nag. As she continued to nag, The Terrarian became acutely aware that her frustration far outclassed his. It came to the point where he was almost afraid to come down and confront her.
"Don't you want revenge on those Resistance Scum? I know you're procrastinating! Come down here and face reality! You're the only remotely conscious person here and I need information!"
...
Coincidentally, 'facing reality' was exactly what The Terrarian dearly wished to avoid for as long as he possibly could. It wasn't that he was somehow deluded into thinking this sort of issue would work itself out. No, it was just that the current events were far too weighty for him to process right now. The Guide was Dead? Yes? Well, The Guide showed every sign of being dead. He had said the words. The cold, rational part of him said it over and over... he had even told The Party Girl he was going to bury his only friend...
But there was no way he could actually accept it. The Terrarian had never dreamt before, but he had seen The Guide groaning and writhing in his sleep. Perhaps right now, he was trapped in a similarly terrible dream... one could only hope.
"Do you think if you wait, The Guide is going to recover?! Look! I'm from central, help me and I'll pull strings to get The Guide into a clinic in The Capitol. The doctors there might be able to bring him back, alright? So get your sorry ass down here!"
He was only half listening, so it took a moment for him to process the statement. Once he did - he startled and nearly fell from where he'd been clinging. As quickly as he could manage (read: not very quickly, as he had only one arm attached), he rappelled down to a tolerable fall-distance, and dropped to the ground with a loud thud.
He straightened out and - as painful as it was - raised his head and took in the rancid scent of everything to identify where The Party Girl was standing. He walked through the smog to confront her and demand a more thorough explanation of how The Guide might be saved. She, however, was more interested in the gold bracer she had been waving around to punctuate her words. When she caught sight of him, she nearly leapt upon him to demanded he identify it.
"You! Took you long enough. Tell me who this belonged to."
"...How will we wake up The Gui-"
"No." He was taken aback as she cut him off. Her voice was sharp and annoyed as if she were rapidly running out of time and this was all his fault. "You will tell me about this bracer first. Are we going to work together? Or are we going to argue."
He closed his mouth and watched her from behind his visor for a moment. She stared up at him with none of the fear or reservation she had initially expressed. Perhaps this 'mission' she had set herself on gave her the courage to confront him? The Terrarian pondered it for a short moment, then abandoned the mental exercise. It was futile for somebody like him to delve into the minds of men and women ten times older than he.
With a sigh, he pointed at The Bracer and answered the question.
"It belongs to Amidas, The Sea King."
"You're sure it was Amidas... and you saw him wearing this?"
She waved it in front of him again as if it would cause him to answer more quickly. The Terrarian just stared at her, troubled by the answer he was pigeonholed to give. Was the fish man actually the person The Party Girl knew as 'The Sea King'? He hadn't the foggiest idea. If The Sea King were an imposter, The Terrarian would have been none the wiser. Now that he'd been asked to give a guarantee of The Sea King's identity, how was he to answer? He tilted his head and thought carefully of the words to say.
"... a creature introduced himself as The Sea King. He had a castle in the sea beneath The Desert... The Guide said he was The Sea King... and the bracer belongs to him. I did not see him wear it, but it smells of him."
The Party Girl opened her eyes wide and, after a moment of consideration, grew tremendously excited. Her sour and annoyed expression broke into a wide, and slightly malicious grin. She began speaking so quickly, The Terrarian was having a hard time keeping up.
"Smells? You can track the scent of The Sea King?! You can, can't you! Okay, follow The Sea King. If you find him then I'll bring you and The Guide to The Capitol. I'll even request that Draedon put in a consultation, and- "
"No."
She froze. The grin dropped off her face and she turned to look fiercely upon him. If The Terrarian weren't absolutely certain she was no threat to him (in her current state) he might've feared for his safety. He hadn't caught most of what she said, but it was clear that she wanted something of him. She might be an ally, but it was not his practice to give without receiving. His pride wouldn't allow it.
The Party Girl glared at him. She spoke with dripping venom.
"What do you mean 'No'."
He responded evenly, attempting to mimic how The Guide dealt with unhappy people.
"You will find my arm first. I spared you for this purpose."
There was a long moment of silence between them. The expressions that flitted over The Party Girl's face were incredible. The Guide didn't emote quite so much. He seemed to have a great deal of control of himself and generally didn't express negative emotions. The Party Girl had no such reservations. Annoyance, Anger, Fear, Obstinance, Grudging understanding. By the end, she sighed, glared at him, and began a purposeful hobble towards the front gate, not even stopping to shout over her shoulder at him.
"Fine, we find your arm. Then we find The Sea King. Let's go."
*Dinner, Slayer and PG Fighting over portions*
Guide: *sighs, glances at the two idiots yelling and crying over salad* "Hero, if you would..."
Hero: *places down his wineglass filled with grape juice cuz he's underaged* "With Pleasure"
*Kids get thrown out the window*
G: Thank you. Now hand me your plate, you're eating that salad.
*Hero yeets himself out the window*
-Duke
Lmao so far The Hero's greatest enemy isn't Yharim's army - it's the veggies.
Btw, I want to give credit where credit is due. The Hero is actually a character developed by 'McMake' whos a guy from discord.
Sorry for late entry this week its beenhectic.
Love and kisses