Sister Idril was naturally suspicious of the Juliet. Experience had taught her that the younger woman attracted trouble like a flame would a moth. In addition to this, the beads of sweat on Juliet's forehead and the fact she'd scurried off a little too quickly, was enough to raise an alarm. But apparently there were people who'd come to the church in need of help related to ghosts of the dead, so there was no time to investigate.

"Good day to you, children of Iris," she said on approach to Lillianna and Fenna. "How may I be of help to you?" After listening to Lillianna, Idril considered the best course of action. "Your information is unfortunately sparse," she told them. "But perhaps there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The sister of the deceased... it is possible you might be able to track her down. Just a moment."

She left Fenna and Lillianna in the antechamber at the end of a corridor, disappearing through a door. The wait was no more than twenty minutes and when she returned, she handed Lillianna a piece of paper.

"Here is a list of village churches in Central Mytheria. I have used my best judgement to narrow down the possibilities. If the woman is from the local region, you will find her in one of these places. If or when this list is exhausted, we can always broaden our search to the regions beyond. I am afraid this is the best help I can offer you." She showed them out of the church. At the entrance, her old eyes managed to miss the mess that was drying up. "I hope you find the peace you looking for. Best of luck to you."

The shortlist was only five names long. Sister Irdil had managed to strike out a great deal of possible locations. Once Lillianna and Fenna cross-referenced the names with a map of Central Mytheria, they would see that the villages were spread quite far to the north, west and south of Valhiem. One village however would be the obvious place to look first:

Cherrad - It was right next door to the big city. And it just so happened to be on the way to the Temple of Hades.

Barracker entered ‘The Mended Drum’ after Zell, his eyes scanning the room. He was familiar with the name of this tavern. It held quite the reputation and its name reached the far ends of the city. He had never visited the place before today. His tavern of choice was ‘The Brass Monkey’, not that he preferred the roguish and criminal clientele but he felt he fit in better than the other choices of establishments. Ironic for a paladin but then again Barracker’s life was full of irony.

Zell walked over to a table with two people seated and introduced Barracker to the two of them. Barracker walked over and gave a salute, “Adam. MacKensie," he greeted as he looked at each of them respectively. "It is nice to meet you.”

The paladin could not determine which class the two adventurers belonged to, judging by the clothes. The one thing he did notice though was the red eyes of the young man. Which was strange for someone who was clearly human. A trait like this normally meant something bad, something to be wary of, as a paladin. But Barracker knew not to judge a book by its cover. As he had been judged for his appearance and his condition for the last few years.

Barracker took a seat at the table and did his best to make conversation for the rest of the evening, he stayed fairly late, long enough to get to know his new companions and to be introduced to Lillianna and Fenna, when they got back from their errands. He also saw James again.

Barracker bought everyone a drink and toasted to good fortune and health for the future. After people started retiring to bed, Barracker also took his leave and went back to ‘The Temple Of The Quinity’.

He thought to himself, I will see Areleth in the morning. A quick prayer was said to Hades and then he tried to get a few hours at least.

"And you're right about Fenna also. She was so brave yesterday. She could've ran from that wolf, but chose to charge at it anyway. Braver than I am."

"We were all extremely brave in that labyrinth," MacKensie said firmly, holding Adam's gaze. She would not abide any argument to that. If he was about to persist down this road of self-blame and self-pity, then the frenchwoman was ready to have the conversation she'd initially tried to avoid. But judging by her instinctive and immediate response just now, she knew it would be a bad idea. Fortunately, he said,

"and I hope you can see your family again also."

And she smiled, inhaling a sharp breath that she hoped he did not identify as relief. "I appreciate you saying so, Adam," she said. She didn't hold out much hope for herself. In spite of the vivid flash of a memory of her last seconds on that plane before the crash, she bobbed her head in gratitude. "I wish the same for you."

It hurt that she was forced to admit to herself that she was in no mental state to be a true friend to Adam and handle his confidence issues with the kind of care and kid-gloves he required. She would, right now, be too tough with him. Firm. Harsh maybe. And not because she didn't know how to be anything else. But because whatever words she had for him would be words for herself too. For her own confidence issues that were growing in her own mind. "We will find a way home. All of us. Even if I have to grapplehook us all the way across the universe," she added with a chuckle.

I am sorry, Adam. I am failing you.

When Zell arrived with their new recruit, MacKensie stood up from her seat to return Barracker's salute with a short curtsy. "How do you do?"

The four of them shared amiable conversation through to the evening and Barracker proved to be a very interesting person. He talked very formally and properly, which MacKensie liked very much. He was polite, very calm and measured, and not least of all, seemed like a quite capable addition to the party in terms of fighting ability. As James, Fenna and Lillianna returned, another table was dragged over to connect with the original, creating more room for chairs so anyone who wanted to could sit down. Overall, it was a nice and relaxing evening.

When Barracker took his leave, MacKensie decided to get up and follow him out of the building. "Barracker," she called as she got outside. She went up to him. "I just wanted to say again; thank you. For lending us your experience and skill. It might not seem it, but you've really turned up in our hour of need." She bowed her head slightly, then lightened the mood. "You are one of us now. I hope the world is ready," she smirked and arched a cocky eyebrow. "Sleep well."

Back indoors, she stayed for a little longer, finished her glass of mead then bid everyone that was still at the table goodnight. "Sleep well. See you tomorrow."

In bed, she was bothered by 'ifs' 'ands' and 'buts' for a while, but eventually sleep took her.

"I hope you find the peace you looking for. Best of luck to you."

The mage began to turn her head back to speak for a moment, holding the list tightly in her hands, speaking as she did so.

"Thank you, sister, and have a-"

But the nun was already gone, and the front door shut. Whether it meant they were busy, or someting else was going on, Lillianna had no idea. At the same time, however, she would let out a quiet sigh and turn her head back toward Fenna and give the other woman a small nod. Success. They had managed to get something of a sort to look at, even if...well, it was just the two of them. It was just something the mage herself had wanted to do at that, and she hadn't even the time to explain things further before they'd even come here so they could maybe get it done earlier and more quickly. It was...a mess, and all due to her hesitation and nerves about the matter.

"Thank you for coming with me, Fenna. I wish I had said something more about all of this business earlier. But, ah, let's head back to the Mended Drum....yes."

A twinge of regret seeped into the tone of Lillianna's voice as she spoke, though she didn't seem to elaborate beyond it or say more. She was at least happy that someone else had come with her to do this, or had been able to at least, but even so she still felt bad enough for dragging someone along for such a selfish reason all the same. Not that anything about this new world business, and getting yanked away, and all of that was normal. She was trying to look into the past of a ghost who had helped them out back there, for pity's sake! Ghosts, monsters, magi-tech hospitals, lightning shooting from her hands, none of this was anything like that!

So why had her attention been caught up in this particular matter, of all things? Perhaps she was still figuing it all out, really, but it was at least...at least something to focus on for the time being.

With all of this in mind, the mage would pull up the list and take a look over it.

The shortlist was only five names long. Sister Irdil had managed to strike out a great deal of possible locations. Once Lillianna and Fenna cross-referenced the names with a map of Central Mytheria, they would see that the villages were spread quite far to the north, west and south of Valhiem. One village however would be the obvious place to look first:

Cherrad - It was right next door to the big city. And it just so happened to be on the way to the Temple of Hades.

Cherrad. It sounded like a small village, had a nice ring to the name and all of that. It was also located along the way toward their mission! Perhaps, well, perhaps she could convince the group to try to look into this matter along the way. A little detour for something she was interested in, even if it was as selfish as she was feeling it to be in her mind right now. She did want to bring it up to the whole of the group, though, rather than say nothing about it. Everyone seemed friendly enough thus far, and they'd be getting a new member to the group to boot, so perhaps it woudl bode well for her chances.

Whatever the case, she'd walk with Fenna back to the Mended Drum and get herself winding down and ready to sleep. Another shower, making sure her things were in order back in her room, making octuple sure the maid she'd nearly fried was still ok, etc. But she'd have to go have a think about things for the time being, perhaps....at least before trying to get some rest.

Once they had the list and were kindly escorted out of the church, Fenna turned to Lilliana. "I had a good time," she assured the younger mage before heading back to the Mended Drum with her. As they walked the falcon soared overhead, circling back when she got too far ahead and followed them to the inn, where she perched on the roof and preened her wings.

Once inside she took a moment to eat something and have a drink, before retiring for the night. The first thing she did when entering her room was check her bags to see if nothing was missing. Thankfully the people handling them and the staff of this establishment seemed to be trustworthy because all her belongings were here. After washing she went to bed.

The nights alone were the hardest part. Just like the night before, it was lonely in this room, in this bed. She had slept with the same man in the same bed for many years, and throughout the day were enough things happening to keep her occupied. The night did not have the same distractions. After turning in the bed a few times she went to the window, opened it and whispered "Sil?". Nothing. She repeated the name of the bird a bit louder and there she came.
"I'll leave the window open, maybe you can sleep here."

It was impossible to say how much the falcon understood of her words, but Sil remained on the window sill when Fenna went back to bed. It wasn't a living person next to her, but knowing Sil was there helped her relax enough to fall asleep.

It was a fairly warm night. In the dimly lit room, Zell was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, a hand behind his head, in nought but his boxers.

Barracker seemed to fit in well, he thought as he went over the evening. The vampire had stuck around for most of the night and had a good laugh with the gang. He was a decent guy. Easy to get along with. Zell imagined that the man's enemies would beg to differ. The Enlgishman couldn't wait to see that claymore in action.

Adam was in better spirits, was his assessment of the Druid. Hopefully the young man was on his way back to his usual self. Zell was glad they hadn't lost him completely. It wasn't everyday you see comrades getting killed. Second Chance had been through the mill twice already. And with war surrounding them, the adventurer profession thrust upon them, death was going to become a familiar sight.

Everyone else seemed to be doing alright, as far as he could tell. MacKensie shone with her characteristic brightness (and was looking absolutely stunning, like what in the actual fuck! As a matter of fact, all three of the party's female contingent were dressed to impress tonight. They'd been busy in the Bazaar, that was for sure.) Fenna was her usual quiet but approachable and friendly self. James was, as always, a mask of grim and mild annoyance. Lillianna's permanent air of hesitation, confusion and anxiety seemed unbreakable.

Second Chance appeared to be ready for action. Just one more day of lounging about, then they'd be back on the road into the unknown, fighting their way to answers. Zell was prepared to do whatever it took. Whatever this 'Source' was - whether it was an actual God, or magical energy, or whatever - it had to have some kind of intelligence, because it knew to make Marsel Brooks a frontliner: Simple, strong and sure. Head first into the chaos, no questions asked, no fear, no doubt.

What else could a man like him have become? He was born for this.

Re-born, I suppose, he corrected himself with a goofy grin.

Adam met MacKensie's eyes. So determined, so lovely. Just like always. She was handling the events of yesterday better than he was, anyway. She didn't cause a woman to be electrocuted though-don't think like that right now. Instead, he nodded and smiled when MacKensie voiced her appreciation and  desire for him to see her family again.

"We will find a way home.  All of us.  Even if I have to grapplehook us all the way across the universe," she added with a chuckle.

The man responded in kind. "Right. Considering the magic here, I wouldn't be surprised if that was really possible" he said, partially because it was true and partially as an attempt at humor. Shortly after this, Zell and another big guy showed up. The latter introduced himself with a salute as Barracker, the newest member of their team. Adam returned the gesture, not wanting to be awkward. "Nice to meet you, Barracker. Welcome to Second Chance." 

The Druid stayed with the newly-formed table of four for a while before realizing I should probably get going before the stores close unless I want to starve on my hike. After apologizing for needing to leave ("I have errands to run before our mission" was true without getting into the details of his trip), the red-eyed man thanked Barracker for his help on their future mission and went on his way.

"Great guy," Adam thought in reference to the claymore wielder, "and he's probably good in a fight also. I wonder if he's better than Zell? Whatever "better" meant, in this context. Not that it mattered, really - a fight without purpose was pointless to the Druid. A more relevant question, he realized after walking around for about ten minutes, was "is wandering around at random really the best way of finding a store?" He had just navigated the team through the Mazy Hillocks! There had to be a better way of-

Before the man could act upon these thoughts though, he stumbled upon a place; Green's Grocery, which looked like an old-timey general store if it was in medieval times. Upon entering, he was greeted by a half-orc clerk who then asked if he needed any help.

"Yes please. I'm looking for some shelf stable food, some clothes - similar to what I'm already wearing, nothing fancy - and a bag to carry it all in. Maybe one that can hold an infinite amount of stuff, if that's possible?"

The worker chuckled, then explained himself with a "customer service" tone. "Sorry sir, those are 250 gold a piece. We don't carry those here. You could try the magic shop down the street though? Or we have a nice leather bag that will reduce the weight and dimensions of what you put inside, within reason. Would that work for you?"

"That will be fine, thanks." After trying on the clothes to be sure they fit, the red-eyed man paid for everything and was on his way. He decided he would take the long way back to the Mended Drum, though he wasn't sure if it was because he wanted to see the city or if he felt he didn't belong with the rest of the group. Nonetheless, Adam would end up talking with someone in Second Chance later, but of course had no way of knowing this at the time.

To say things had been exhausting for the day was an understatement, or so Lillianna felt as she sat on the roof of the nearby inn. It was just outside of her room, but the part of the roof there had been flat-ish enough, she figured, to at least climb out without the risk of falling for the most part. Simple as that. All the same, though, she figured surviving a fall from the roof of an inn was going to not be the worst thing she had happen to her in the last 24 hours alone perhaps. Two party members dead before she’d gotten the chance to know them better, committing the electrical equivalent of self-immolation against a cyborg water ninja, and outright just getting stuck in a hellscape filled with spirits of the dead who had apparently accumulated there quite a bit by the time they’d arrived. What else? Nearly killed two hospital staff, got patched up somehow before that, and had learned about her own sleep-talking coming back to bite her at some point during the last leg of the trip to Valheim. Still didn’t even have the full story on after she’d nearly died either!

Yet alongside the MacKensie-led shopping trip, finally getting the cube off of their hands, and getting to the Church of Iris in time…it felt almost ‘safe’ to say that sitting and watching the stars from where she was right now was helping that weight slide off a bit. At least a bit. New world, new people, near-death experiences, and other new things that couldn’t even be imagined by those back on Earth as anything but fantasy fiction were enough of a thing to try to process already. It was as absurd and terrifying equally as much as it was somehow all still a bit exciting at the same time. It was…how could she describe it in words? Like feeling a big swirl of clashing things all at once inside of herself, though at least not overly overwhelming to her in the acute sense right now. 

It had been quite a day for Adam Phillips. Not that today had been objectionable, but what had happened the day before was still weighing down on him. 

Navigating the maze from Hell, fighting awful creatures and somehow surviving before finally getting rid of the cube…it was a lot. And now the Druid had returned to the hotel and noticed Lillianna Steiner on the roof. It was time for what the man thought was the most important thing he could do today.

After a quick stop in his room, Adam joined Lillianna on the top of the building. He didn't know if she had heard him climb up there, so he figured he should speak up to avoid startling her. "Hi Lillianna, do you mind if I join you?" 

The mage’s head slightly turned in Adam’s direction, silent for a second before she gave a silent nod to him. After this, the Druid sat down next to her and continued speaking. It was best to start with the apology so she would know he was sincere. "Listen, I wanted to apologize for what happened in the Hillocks. If I hadn't led you all there, you wouldn't have had to electrocute yourself, we wouldn't have had to fight the centaur, and Arthur and Clive would still be alive. I know my words can't make up for the fact that you had to be carried by me to the hospital, but I do hope you'll let me know if there's anything I can do for you." The man's tone was one of regret and guilt; it was clear that he felt terrible about what happened and blamed himself for everything.

“Your fault? For all of that? You are blaming yourself entirely for what happened?”

Lillianna let out a small, but audible, sigh before she turned her head to look at Adam properly this time. Her tone of voice was a bit unamused, but likewise seemed to question what Adam had just told her audibly to an extent. Her deep, blue eyes then swiveled over to look back at the man’s face almost blankly for a moment…before she raised her left hand up like she was going to chop something and-

BONK!

-she…lightly hit him on the head? Nothing with proper force behind it, just chopping at the Druid’s head silently with a lighter touch than normal. After this, the mage would retract her hand before speaking again. 

“Don’t be an idiot! First you remain silent when the group votes on what mission to do, and now this? 

Your fault? It might as well be my fault instead, then, for toying around with the stupid cube and alerting the enemy to our location in the process by accident! We could have taken our time better if I hadn’t messed around with it…or would you like to blame yourself for that as well?” 

Blue eyes turned into a distinct glare of mild frustration as the mage let out a small huff, all as her tone would shift into something of a lecturing voice.  

“We had no idea what any of us were getting into, and there were things out of our control as well I feel. A lot of things are out of our control for that matter…and I’ve not even managed to get the entire story of things yet to boot. 

I chose what I did after getting impaled, and that was my decision alone regardless of where we were or when. A pitiful, stupid, selfish action that I had hoped would take myself and the enemy out at the same time and keep the cube out of his hands out of sheer spite. My actions likewise brought trouble on us anyways in some capacity, so wherever we would have been on another path someone was likely coming for us anyways. 

Not to mention my screaming likely didn’t do any favors in keeping other monsters away from us…if I had to take a guess about why this ‘centaur’ you mention arrived. Because I don’t remember it one bit, frankly. 

Likewise, none of us knew the true dangers of the Mazy Hillocks back there. Sure it wasn’t my decision, but there wasn’t a perfect answer there either. None of us have even been in this world for more than a day or two at best, for heaven’s sake! Had we taken another longer or ‘safer’ route, the enemy might have acquired the cube or caught up sooner while our backs were turned on some peaceful hike. At least as we were already fighting monsters at the time, and so, we were all already in the mindset to try to do something about it and could react in some capacity.”  

The chop on the head didn't hurt, but it was unexpected so Adam couldn't help flinching in response. It was a more than fair enough punishment for what he did, really. The white-haired mage seemed to not blame him for what happened, and really it seemed that he was alone in assigning it to himself. Maybe it was time to stop doing that and just focus on being the best version of Adam he could be.

"You're probably right," the Druid responded. "It was a tough situation for all of us and we did the best we could. Myself included. Oh! Let me tell you what happened after you lost consciousness." The man wasn't happy about the events themselves, but he was glad he could help Lillianna know what had happened.

…

…

…

"...and so I carried you to Valheim, where we took you to the hospital. Then we waited for you to be healed and, well you know the rest." It really had been a tough situation for the newly named Second Chance. Hearing it from himself out loud did help Adam not blame himself a little, at least. There were a few questions he had for the woman though. "How are you feeling now? Is everything okay?"

The mage pulled a hand up to her own head. Adam hadn’t pulled any punches in telling her, but at the same time it was still a lot to process. It did at least confirm things about that ‘centaur’ the younger man had mentioned, which was certainly better than her own suspicions alone in vacuum for sure, though the fact Clive had gone down as he had and Arthur had gone out swinging were still things to process she supposed. She hadn’t been as attached to either as say MacKensie or Adam or especially her Uncle back home….she hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to them properly at all, and it made her feel a bit guilty as well about the whole thing to boot. They were human beings and people who had died…it was sad and depressing enough as it was with that alone. No one deserved to die so soon after getting a seemingly impossible second chance at life either. 

Though at least Adam had seemed to perk back up a little bit after her scolding. Maybe that would be good for him in the long run, she hoped. Make him one day better than she was feeling some about herself still at any rate…

“Thank you for carrying me, Adam….not sure I could have made it myself at any rate, unconscious and nearly dying and all.”

A small sigh would escape her lips, however, as she did feel a little stressed still in the aftermath of hearing everything the Druid could tell her. At the same time, it was somewhat of a relief to know the truth. Painful as it was, she at least was happy to know the truth about it all if nothing else. No odd questions to haunt her in the coming nights about the things no one had told her in her life, at least not again in this case. 

…A-At the same time, she also had to ask something else important. Majorly important. Something that could define the century levels of importance even. 

“Did, ah, d-did I happen to s-say anything as I slept?”

She would not tell him what James had told her already. No. She needed an unbiased opinion. The mage could not make a fool of herself by mumbling in her sleep where people could hear! It was so horribly embarrassing…

Lillianna didn't really answer Adam's question, but based on the tone of her voice, she seemed somewhat distressed over the information he had shared. And maybe a little embarrassed at the end? The emotional state was understandable, given the circumstances, so the man knew he would do his best to be supportive if needed. "No problem, I'd do it again in an instant. Not that I want you to be unconscious, of course" Adam sincerely responded. He then paused to think about the mage's question. "Hmm…oh, right!" The man's face lit up as he remembered that little detail. "You said something about an uncle and tacos. Was that like a family recipe or something?" The tone of the question was conversational and curious, not at all derisive or amused at the woman's expense.

…Uncle? Tacos?! Seriously?!?!

The mage’s face turned a sudden shade of red as the Druid, rather genuinely and innocently to her mind, tried to ask about a non-existent family taco recipe on her part. At the same time, the heat going to her face was certainly something to take note of on her part as well.. Adam was certainly not judging her or being derisive, but at the same time her sheer embarrassment and flustering she felt at the confirmation of having been heard sleep-talking as she was near death was certainly something that filled her with a sudden burst of emotion. Her sudden emotional state was likewise seemingly enough to get her body seemingly generating a little electricity in the magical sense, a few small ‘cracks’ of the stuff visible as they arced slightly across her body in a few spots at a sudden and increasingly faster-paced frequency. 

“I-I-I w-we….a-a-ah….um….MyUncleJustLikedGettingStreetTacosAlotNothingMoreThanThatWeHaveNoTacoRecipeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

Oh no. 

Into the night sky of Valheim, a single streak of lightning would shoot up into the darkness with a brief flash of light as it escaped up into the heavens from somewhere on the roof of a particular local inn. It was likewise gone as fast as it could have been seen, and the sudden ‘crack’ of it echoed in the aftermath for only a moment. A magic student goofing off in public or testing a spell at night? A sudden storm near the area? Locals of Valheim who had noticed would likely be left wondering, though it would likely be forgotten by locals soon enough.

Lillianna, meanwhile, would sit silently for a few moments as the trails of heat and smoke dissipated in the air around where she sat on the roof. Her clothes were oddly ok, something she still didn’t understand in this case, though she felt glad she’d managed to point a hand up in the sky to unleash the lighting at the last second after realizing it. Well, barely realizing it. Maybe. Somewhat. Er, thank goodness she hadn’t hit the building or Adam though. Or anything and anyone else…well, not this time at least. Even so, her left hand was still up in the air with a finger pointing at the sky as her body froze up in place and her face was now distinctly beet red and even redder than it had been not long before.

…The mage would then slowly lower her arm back down and pull her legs in, wrapping her arms around her knees and not looking Adam in the eye as she buried her face in her pulled-up legs. 

“S-S-Sorry…..”

Adam felt concerned for Lillianna as he saw her face become the same color as his eyes. Did he say something wrong? No, it just seemed like she was very embarrassed…and exuding a little electricity from her body. And then she spoke quickly, and the amount of lightning increased at the same rate. This could be dangerous, but the Druid did not flinch or flee. He knew her well enough to know the mage wouldn't harm him, and if she was willing to face a water ninja to help her friends, he could face this. "It's okay" he started to say, but the man was cut off by the electricity that Lillianna shot into the air.

It was an impressive display of magic, really. However, what caught Adam's attention more was how awful the white-haired girl seemed to feel. It was extremely obvious that she was not in a good way, and this time the red-eyed man wanted to be more supportive than he was in the hospital. Wrapping his arms around her in a hug, the Druid calmly spoke. "It's okay. We're all figuring out what we can do here, I think." He thought for a moment, then added "oh, and I don't know your uncle, but tacos aren't the worst thing to like. Mine just liked getting drunk."

Lillianna felt awkward enough with the sudden hug, the lightning, everything really, but once the hug was done she would let out a small sigh of trying to cool her nerves. At the same time, the Druid’s words would catch her ear a small bit as she tried to somewhat compose herself. She had to keep in mind that ‘this’ sort of thing could happen with her magic, but the word ‘drunk’ certainly made its way into her ears as well. Drunk? Sure her uncle had liked a sip or two here and there, but he’d always been serious about not getting ‘drunk’ and got very serious when talking about such things. She hadn’t been able to ask him exactly why, but she had respected his privacy enough to also not ask after seeing it likely came from a very personal place in his life. 

“He did quite like his street tacos….his favorite food truck was closest to the center of town, only ever closed at points during the year if the owner or operators were deathly sick. If they were, he’d even call them to see how they were doing and if he could help them at all. Made friends with them, even, and I babysat the owner’s youngest a few times to help out amidst those efforts of his.

But….drunk? He disavowed getting drunk, and when he spoke of the topic he would become more serious than I had ever seen him otherwise. Always something sad about his eyes during the few times he mentioned such things to me. I-…I never asked why.” 

The words felt as if they rolled off of her tongue, without giving much time to think about shortening it all down for the sake of conversation. It still felt a little awkward, but it was better than silence perhaps. Talking. She could talk, but…even then sometimes it was a little harder than she’d like to make conversation. Depending on how she felt of course. 

When Lillianna seemed to be fine, Adam finished the hug and sat down next to her, listening to her talk with interest. His neck of the woods (a literal and figurative phrase, considering where he lived) wasn't populated enough to support a food truck. He had to wonder what her life was like, but he had already figured out an important part of it. "Your uncle sounds like a good man," the red-eyed man responded as she described his good deeds. He nodded in acknowledgement of the white-haired woman's point. "My father never drank, so the few times we saw my uncle were kind of strange. I don't know your family, but my relatives had their reasons for what they chose. I'm sure your uncle did also. Good ones, from what you've told me." Here, the Druid's voice sounded kind of sad when he described his own family. Changing to a more resolute tone, he continued. "I want to be a man my father would be proud of though, so I'm not going to start." He awkwardly added at the end "not that I'd judge you for it or something," hoping he hadn't offended the woman.

The mage let out a small sigh, relaxing a bit as the awkward feeling of the sudden hug was gone. Not that it was ill-intended, and she appreciated the intended kindness of the gesture as well. But, ah…ahem. Anywho. Lillianna would nod lightly back at Adam’s comments about not judging her for having a drink. Actually, now that the mage thought about it, hadn’t he not been at the bar the prior night either? Made sense then. 

“You are perfectly fine. I’ve known those who drank a great deal too much, those like my uncle and only had a little, and those who have abstained from drinking for personal or religious reasons or otherwise. Et-cetera. So I hold not judgement over you for doing as you believe in that regard either.”

Adam smiled and nodded at Lillianna, happy his statement hadn't been taken the wrong way. She was a nice woman; a quite verbose woman at times, but nice all the same and he was glad he knew her. He could imagine her lecturing at the Academy nearby, citing books from the library and-

The library! The Druid instantly remembered something Glee had spoke of.

"I just thought of something. A new friend of mine mentioned 'cloud elves' and how they live in cities in the sky. It was only in passing, so that's all I know. Anyway, that sounds like something that could involve Air magic. And that's one of your elements, if I remember right. Maybe if you look into them, you could learn some new magic? It's only an idea of course, but it might be worth something."

Heh, now who's verbose the Druid couldn't help thinking to himself.

Air magic? Well, lightning was usually associated with the sky and such, so it felt like it made a certain amount of sense to the mage. She hadn’t really gone to get anything she knew how to do classified as of yet, though, but it was perhaps worth a shot? Cloud elves living in cities in the sky certainly sounded like something most curious and interesting. Like a little movie she had enjoyed back home, or something straight out of Gulliver’s own adventures. It was certainly enough to at least get the intellectual mage to raise a tentatively curious eyebrow at what Adam was telling her. Indeed, it was enough to get the ‘scholar’ in her to surface to a certain extent as well.

“Well, that certainly is a peculiar topic if not an interesting one. I can certainly take a look into them once I get the chance, if the Academy has a library or such on its premises. Would want to think so after what we got to see of it when bringing them the Cube.” 

Yeah, that little tidbit had turned out to be quite relevant. Adam had assumed Lillianna already knew where the books were. And that dovetailed with something else he should mention to her, unless he wanted everyone to think he vanished.

"Before I forget; tomorrow morning I'll be going on a small hike up a mountain, Kragstone Peak. I won't bore you with the details, but it will be a good opportunity to get stronger. I should be back before our mission starts. If anyone asks, please let them know. Anyway, back to the subject. There are libraries by the Academy, divided by 'elements' or whatever you want to call them. The useful place for me was the Earth and Fire one, here's how you get to that area…"

The Druid explained the route to the Mage. It wasn't a long or difficult trip by any means, but he was sure to be detailed since she wouldn't be able to ask him any questions about it tomorrow.

Raising an eyebrow briefly as she listened to the Druid talk on about how to get to various libraries, though it certainly was a curious way to organize things on their part then. Then again, the more she listened on it also made some amount of sense as well when looking at the logic of it all. Dividing areas of study for focus and so forth, etc. It would at least help explain things whenever he would seemingly disappear, so she’d promise to at least keep it all in mind to tell the others later if they asked about him. 

Albeit Lillianna herself was more or less not the type to go on hikes deep in the woods or on mountains, admittedly, though as an adventurer she wondered if that might change things for her in that regard. At least when going from place to place and such….maybe she could learn how to teleport them around eventually though? Maybe. Depended on the school of magic and such, perhaps, or maybe being bound to enchanted items or the like? Maybe it was a group thing, even, but before she got too distracted in those thoughts the mage would visibly perk back up a little bit by the time Adam finished talking to her.

The two spoke more for a little while longer before Adam felt he should get some rest for his hike tomorrow. After saying as such to Lillianna, the man left the roof and headed towards his room. It felt good having that burden of guilt removed, though if he was being honest with himself the Druid still didn't feel good about the circumstances at the Hillocks. Death wasn't a pleasant experience, after all. Still, he was glad he had talked to the white-haired mage, and felt closer to her now for having done so.

The mage would nod in assent as the Druid dismissed himself to get some rest. However, she would sit and wait a while longer outside to look at the stars. She would think a bit about the conversation the two had, then, and then let out a small sigh after it all. Once she was done, though, the mage would swiftly retire back to her own room for some rest as well. There was a lot to do moving forward in the coming days, after all…

Entering his room at the inn after his talk with Lillianna, Adam's original plan was to go straight to sleep. However, the sight of an empty pot with a dead flower in it piqued the plant magic user's interest. Not so much for the dead matter, which he discarded, but for another flower he could grow within the soil.

Thinking back to his instruction under Glee earlier that day, the younger Druid recalled what had transpired.

"Adam, try growing something you're familiar with." The trainee obliged and a large red pine tree rose up from the ground, being quite different in size from the small plant he had grown earlier.

"Very good," the half-orc said, "now how are you connected with this type of tree?"

A barrage of memories rose up like the new timber had moments ago; after taking a split-second to consider what needed to be told, Adam provided his answer. "Very much so. These were everywhere, where I'm from."

"Right. And you've never even heard of the firaga rose until today. So you have virtually no connection with it. It is amazing you could create it like you did so quickly at all, really." The younger Druid didn't agree, but he wasn't about to argue about it. He would rather let Glee finish speaking and learn from his elder counterpart. "You need to really know the plant to be able to create it. Truly connect with it, whether that be through books, experiences, or whatever else, and then you'll be able to grow it whenever."

Back in the present, Adam felt a connection to what he was about to create. The half-orc wasn't just a mentor, he was also a friend. One who had taken the time to help someone he had never met before grow as a Druid based in part on seeing him use his abilities to grow one of these. And what the red-eyed man had learned would not be wasted tonight. He focused his energy on the task at hand, willing the torch flower into existence with his magic. And it was complete in a way the man didn't feel like it was when he first tried it. Not only because it looked nicer, but because he could feel the firaga rose, and he didn't get the sense that it would explode immediately. 

Adam was satisfied at his progress, though he wasn't sure what drove him to create this flower specifically instead of one with more combat potential. However, he was too tired to think about it much, so instead he decided to go to bed. He would wake up the next morning to the sound of a plant bursting away from existence, satisfied it had lasted as long as it did but still wanting to improve on it further.

Bump.

"Ow."

Knock.

"Perhaps if I..."

Dink.

"Rrrrgh."

MacKensie Trydant moodily tried to rearrange the furniture in the tiny room so she had enough floor space to do her stretching exercises. Spolier alert: It would not help.

Creak. Scrape.



Thud.

"Sacre bleu! I give up!"

After donning the leggings and undershirt of her Ranger gear, she slipped on her shoes and she marched out of her room with a face like thunder. Thankfully she didn't bump into anyone. After waking up in a foul mood due to unpleasant dreams, only to be trolled by the deceptive dimensions of the rented room, it was probably for the best that she take a walk outside and get some early-morning air.

The empty streets and cooler air did in fact help. As she walked along, one elastic band between her teeth while another was used to tie up her hair, her eyes shifted left to the magical gauntlet on her forearm and narrowed with disdain. The gauntlet looked like the embodiment of her problems right now - the cause of her bad dreams the night before. But really it was bigger than the gauntlet. Nonetheless, she'd brought it with her this morning. To start the process of conquering it, and thereby conquering her fears and misgivings.

She was on her way to find a nice spot by the river where she could do her streches, but found herself checking out the trees lining the roadside of the avenue she walked along. One tree coming up, with sturdy looking limbs, finally got her approval and she'd built up enough courage to point and fire up at it.

The blue beam shot out, the grapplehook connected, and she flew... Get ready! Look where your hands are landing! Tuck your- "Waagh!"

She caught the tree branch all wrong, banged her chest and elbows, her legs flailing before she unceremoniously fell from the tree into the bush below. It took her a second to clamber out of the bushes, flustered from the pain and embarassment. First she checked the street to make sure no one saw her, then quickly brushed herself down.

This was going to take some work.

On the next street, she was forced to slow down and wait for the few citizens around to get about their business and disappear, before she ran at the side of single-floor building, jumped and wall-kicked herself straight up to catch the roof and pull herself up to her feet. Then she walked quickly along the very edge, testing her balance.

Be careful. Heel to toe. Arms adjusting to center of gravity.

She almost fell several times. Such a simple test. What has happened to me?

As the early hours progressed and the sun gave a little more light, the streets became busier and MacKensie's little experiments were no longer appropriate (if parkour in public spaces was ever appropriate, at all.) She found her way to riverside and ended up in a nice spot - a clean stretch of grassy riverbank behind a warehouse, out of sight of the main road. There she spent an hour stretching her muscles and focusing on her breathing in a somewhat meditative process. It was relaxing enough that her tension slowly dissipated and the heavy focus solely on inhaling and exhaling had quietened her mind of negativity.

A barge floated down the river past her, manned by a portly blue tiefling (she'd learned the name of that race yesterday.) "Good morning there!"

MacKensie was in the splits pose, reaching to grab her toes as she smiled and waved. "Good morning to you sir! How are you today?"

"Doing just fine and dandy, miss. Just come in from up west with our wares," he explained in a rather short summary as the barge was floating by and he was now moving away from her. "Hope the Bazaar's buzzing!"

"I hope so too! Good luck!" the volume on both of them was rising as the distance grew.

"Have a good day!"

"You too!"

MacKensie smiled to herself, glad to be rid of the dark cloud she'd woken up with. It would be back at some point, for certain, especially now that she was even more unconfident about her balance and agility. But she was determined not to be defeated. She just needed to figure out what had gone wrong. Until then, extreme caution would be required.

When she was finished, she went back to the Mended Drum, stopping by a fruit stall to purchase some apples. She bought seven and ate one on the way back to the inn. The rest were not for eating.

From Little Bridge on the west side of the city all the way up to the Citadel Mountain gate was a snaking road that steadily climbed altitude as it went up the mountain. If one were to cut off-road and try to shorten the distance between, the slopes were much steeper. That was exactly what Zell was doing as he sprinted bridge-to-gate.

Quads burning. Don't stop! Calves burning. Let's go! Lungs burning. Come on!

They say the strength and speed of a swordsman's first step was often the difference in a duel between adversaries of similar competence. The tactical element of commanding initiative and dictating the pace of the fight could not be overlooked. Similarly, in field battle, the explosiveness of the line infantry's charge could also be the deciding factor - to push the enemy backward, or better yet, break completely through and force the opposing general into reactivity rather than proactivity.

Zell kept sprinting in spite of barely being able to feel his legs. A few nobles and dignitaries coming down the hill, quickly stepped aside to give this uncouth brute way, watching him with disgust as he flew past them, sweating, grunting and growling like an animal. Almost there. Almost there. He reached out with a hand as the gate neared, his speed slowing even though he was giving it all he had for the final thirty yards. Aaaaaaand he slapped the polished brick of the archway.

"Fuck," he wheezed breathlessly, hands going to his knees for standing-rest, before he stood up straight and walked to the grass at roadside and collapsed. "Woo!"

That was his fourth trip up the mountain this morning. He was going for five sets of sprints, but he doubted he had another one in him. After a short rest, he turned over and struggled through five sets of twenty push-ups and sit-ups before ending his training session with the fourth torturous journey back to the bridge. On all fours. Down hill. Hands and feet, no knees allowed. Such a journey would absolutely destroy the shoulder-muscles at the best of times. But the incline and gravity going down the slope made this a nightmare. "Here we go. Last bit, Zell."

He wished he was dead. Had this exercise not been a common fraternity competition to see who was on dishwasher duties for that week, Zell probably wouldn't have made it, but he was conditioned pretty well for this ridiculous task. When he finally made it to Little Bridge, he sat on the ground and used the towel around his neck to wipe the salty, stinging sweat from his eyes.

...

After giving a hearty 'Mornin' to anyone who was in the taproom, Zell was talking to Frederick at the bar.

"Frederick, my mate. That ham, egg and cheese toasted sandwich you made me yesterday... I'm gonna need six of them bad boys, if you don't mind." Frederick's nose twitched a couple of times, likely at the point that he picked up the scent of Zell across the bar, who was no-doubt humming. "The greens with each one, yep. A cup of tea and a glass of milk too." The Mended Drum's owner gave a nod, Zell saluting in return. "You're a star, boss."

He downed a tankard of water before going to get himself sorted for the day. The maid was kind enough to do his laundry while he showered, then he threw on the black pants and tee-shirt he'd just purchased on the way back home, and went downstairs with the purpose of obliterating those six meals... and maybe more.

Morning came and all things considering Fenna had slept quite well. The falcon was still sleeping on the window sill, but woke up when Fenna got out of bed.
"Good morning," Fenna greeted the bird, reaching out to scratch her head, which she allowed. Sil then turned around, gave a final look at Fenna and flew away to hunt.

Fenna watched the bird soar over the city until she was out of view and closed the window. After a moment of contemplation, she decided to wear the same outfit as she had bought in the high-end store the previous day. They weren't going on their mission yet, so why not take advantage of another opportunity to wear it? It might be a while before the next opportunity would arise. It wasn't long before she left her room dressed in her dark green long-sleeved vest made of a velvet-like material with gold buttons with the matching ankle-long skirt with some golden embroidery along the edges and the darkgreen hairband with golden embroidery she had purchased from a stall on the bazaar. The boots weren't fashionable perhaps, but they were comfortable and she anticipated more walking, as there was a part of the city she wanted to check out.

First things first though, it was time for breakfast. There weren't many patrons sitting at the tables when she entered and none of them belonged to her party. She asked Frederick for a meal and he told her he was busy making a big order, but he promised her he'd bring her a portion of the ham, egg and cheese toasted sandwich and a cup of tea when this was done with the rest of it.

When Adam got out of bed, he was happy about the increased durability of his firaga rose. Less pleasing, however, was the fact that he had slept in! Yesterday had been productive, but today was starting off quite the opposite.

Upon further reflection though, the Druid realized that not every day needed to be spent working at something. That's why they had weekends back on Earth, right? He had been fighting creatures and dealing with this new world nonstop since he got here, really. Maybe he deserved a break. MacKensie had time to find a stunning tunic, after all, and she was better than he was. Yes, it was time for Adam Phillips to take the morning off. He could hike up the mountain later and still be back before their mission started.

How to spend the morning, then, was the man's next question. The answer started with a nice shower and taking up the staff on their offer of laundry service for his dirty clothes, followed by breakfast in the Drum's first floor. Nobody else on the team seemed to be there, so he was on his own regarding what to do next. The decision was eventually made to relax at a nearby park. After arriving, the Druid used his magic to create two trees parallel to one another. Then he grew vines and crossed them over each other from those trees, creating an impromptu hammock. It probably could have been more elegant, but Adam didn't make this to look nice. He made it to relax.

Barracker strolled deep into ‘Greenglow Woods’. These woodlands outside the city had gotten their name because of the fireflies roaming the air. At night if you looked from the walls of the city or the road leading out of the north gate, your eyes would be occupied by the beautiful green glow coming from within the trees, hence the name. The vampire had made many great childhood memories here, he and Krillen turning these woods into their personal playground. He didn’t feel the need to bring his claymore and tower shield with him as ‘Greenglow Woods’ was known to be safe. The paladin had already procured a bunch of mistletoe, which was one of the two ingredients he had been looking for here. Now he had been looking for a particular rare white flower ‘Arenaria’ which is dotted with tiny silver spots along the petals. He eventually found enough, now the next stop was ‘The Hunters Lodge’ which was located just outside the city walls near the northern farmlands.

As Barracker strolled on his way towards the next destination. His mind thought back on last night, everyone seemed nice and he was glad he got introductions out the way. The way he got treated so normally, Barracker almost forgot about being a vampire himself for a second. He wanted to talk to Areleth about this group coming from another world, but apparently the High Septum of the Quinity had been summoned by ‘The Citadel’ for some reason. He would have to talk to him later.

Barracker opened the door to ‘The Hunter’s Lodge’, a sound of the bell jingled, signalling his arrival. Barracker held the door for a dwarf who was carrying a deer carcass out. He exchanged a nod with the shorter fellow and then proceeded to the counter. The giant shop attendant placed two hands onto the counter, chewing tobacco as he spoke with a grizzled tone. His name was Butch and he had a glass eye and worked the desk often. Butch was a Sibliconian, mountain people from the north. It was said that this tribe of humans bred with giants back in the mythic age and used their new found strength to carve out a kingdom in the mountains. After Ileandra the Great created the free people empire, Siblicon was the last kingdom to agree to the treaty. Giving them a reputation for being a stubborn group of people.

“What will it be today?”. The seven foot giant boomed.

“Three pints of bear fat, and four wolf liver to go with it”

Butch spat in the bucket next to him and leaned over the desk, chomping as he spoke. “We are pretty much out of bear parts. There has not been much hunting in the east as of late.” Barracker knew this was because of the war. “I might be able to scrape up a pint”.

“Alright, one pint of bear fat and two wolfs liver please.”

Once Barracker had gotten these ingredients, he made his way back into the city and paid a visit to the alchemists and purchased some silver dust and sulphur. After that, he made his way back home to use his alchemy lab.

"One....two....three...."

She had found herself sleeping somewhat better after a late night conversation with Adam, though perhaps it had been in part that she'd been up too late as it was before going to bed that assisted in her falling asleep more quickly. Whatever the case, her dreams had been filled with images of the face of that peculiar ghost who had assisted them back in the Labyrinth. Then had come images of rushing wolves, the sound of a roar from afar, and then the flash of that shiny metallic helmet staring eyelessly back at her. That damned robotics, metal, ninja, something...whatever it was! She could still see that helmeted face so clearly, so distinctly, before the ghost of coursing pain and hot lightning pouring through her flesh and bone kicked her back awake again in the wee hours of the morning in a sudden cold sweat.

"Sixty five, sixty six, sixty seven-"

Whatever the case, she'd fallen back to sleep and then ultimaetly gotten up at her usually early time out of habit. Hmm. Habit. Yeah. A regular morning habit at that, minus the smell of late night chili-infused something or another having climbed up from downstairs to get to her room on the second floor ove the course of the night. Nor was there the sound of her uncle watching TV downstairs as he cooked breakfast, or him shouting 'rise and shine' after her alarm went off and he could even hear it downstairs. For more than a moment it made her take pause, though soon she shook her head and got out of bed before trying to clear just enough space for herself to move. Wood floor wasn't too rough or threatening to put a splinter in her either. Good.

Because habits would help her get by at this point. Habits would allow her something familiar, but also to perhaps better handle the new days and weeks and so forth ahead of her to some extent as well. Hopefully.

"And-one, and-two, and-three, and-four-"

Exercise was that habit, perhaps, that she could take in no matter where she was. She'd liked to swim, but keeping genrally fit had been something she did back home. Something to keep her happy by taking it all in on those special mornings where the weather was just perfect, feeling better some amount in her mind by making her body feel better, helping herself to live a longer live, etc. Whatever the reasons, it was something and certainly better than nothing to do in her book.

And so she'd gotten up earlier in the morning, moving her body with sit-ups, push-ups, and after testing the sturdiness of her staff and some finagling of the window sill had even done some good pull-ups without breaking anything. Then she'd put on some of her most casual new purchases before heading out of the Mended Drum to take a run around Valheim's streets. Or, well, the paths she was somewhat intially familiar with thus far. Up the hill, down the hill. Feel the burn, rest where needed. Control her breathing, and control her pacing. Focus, and remain aware of her surroundings. Rinse. Repeat. Few people at all seemed to be going and moving about as she did this, but it didn't matter. Wave and say hi to those who greeted her, but beyond that focus on what she was doing.

...Though for a moment, near the end of her exercise routine, for a moment Lillianna thought she saw the familiar head of hair of MacKensie moving a ways off from her. Or was it Zell? Eh, she wasn't too focused on other things. Back to her exercise it was!

After finishing, the mage would return to the Mended Drum with a long shower and getting her clothes washed in-mind after getting some water to drink. Once again the soothing of the hot water would run over her body, and for a moment she could just close her eyes and imagine being back in the shower at her uncle's place. Well, home rather. Yes. Not just her uncle's place, but she had been living there as well. He'd taken some time to drill that it was her home too now, really....but she felt grateful all the same for it too. Albeit such memories did bring on a small cry from the mage before she stepped out of the shower, though she felt a bit better for it as she pulled on cleaned clothes and went to the bar to get something to eat. Albeit she did still have a small towel around her neck due to her drying hair, but by the time she walked over it had become over half dry at least.

Didn't seem to be many people in there yet to eat or anything, but as she scanned the tables for a familiar face-

She asked Frederick for a meal and he told her he was busy making a big order, but he promised her he'd bring her a portion of the ham, egg and cheese toasted sandwich and a cup of tea when this was done with the rest of it.

Fenna!

Lillianna would let a small smile come to her face as she walked over to the other woman's table, tying to wave at her a little before stopping at the edge of the table. She still felt nervous about it all to enough of a degree, but at the same time the other woman had been there with her for something admittedly a bit nerve-wracking for her. Somewhat the mage wished MacKensie or any of the others had been able to come the rest of the way as well, but having been worried enough about the Frenchwoman at the time they parted she didn't feel like pushing to ask MacKensie about it all later either. Though in truth she hadn't properly seen anyone else other than Adam since ther conversation the prior night, nor even so much as had been able to meet the new member of the group that had been brought in for that matter. So, really, it did feel a bit comforting just to find someone else familiar to be around after her morning routine if nothing else.

"Fenna! I was hoping to find someone else here this morning. Ah....would it be ok if I sat with you here for breakfast?"

Honestly she'd order whatever Fredrick could make more simply and wasn't too expensive this morning, and hopefully that in and of itself would be filling enough. But until he came along, she was content to ask Fenna if she could sit with her and such. Certainly felt better than being....well....alone for breakfast. Somehow that thought hit her worse in her mind than when she'd been exercising alone, though that matter had been something she wanted to be alone for usually back home. Breakfast? Usually wasn't alone for that, and it was more of a comfort to not be alone for it than perhaps she'd actively thought about back then.

Fuck he loved coffee

Without it he probably wouldn't even be aware or even awake at all, sure it might have prevented him from sleeping all that much but all was forgiven as long as it kept waking him up in the morning. A final sip and he reclined in his chair with a long exhale, his preparations yesterday meant that he felt somewhat comfortable with the quest they were about to embark on, or at least as much as they could given the circumstances, they had secured a new member, healed all their members and even gotten clues about what was going on, by all accounts this was a huge win, the only part of him that still was hesitant was the fact that he had didn't had the time to practice with the new blessings, the Sillagy one and... the other one he didn't want to think about. He knew he would have to face address it eventually but he wasn't ready, not yet.

Still, thinking more uplifting thoughts, it seemed like things were going back to normal with the party, a few days of rest really did the trick and if he was to judge the rest of the party appeared to be a little bit closer than they used to be before entering the city, though, he still had needed to have a normal interaction with Lily and an interaction at all with Fenna.

"Well not time like the present right?"

Getting changed in his fresh robes and with his usual grimace on his face he made his way down towards the first floor, eventually finding some of his party members already there. Fenna, Lily, and Zell were not a combo he expected but maybe that was for the better, it meant they got along well enough. Making his way to Frederick he ordered some eggs and meat then moved towards the rest of his party members.

"Hey" He gestured to the empty chair "Can I sit?" Was it Zell alone he wouldn't have asked but with Fenna and Lily here he felt somewhat awkward just assuming they would be okay with it. Once seated he started eating while his mind worked, he wanted to finally talk to Fenna but now that he was here he wasn't sure what exactly he could talk about, it was too early for heavy stuff and they didn't exactly appear to share things in common besides the obvious.

Ah, this is why he preferred the blunt approach, it made life a lot easier.

"You know Fenna? I think you and I should have a talk, not like, a serious one or anything but more like a normal one, I think you are the only person I haven't spoken to" There, that served as an ice breaker but how else to follow it up? It was amid a bite of his scrambled eggs that the thought "Uh, that looks like a bird" appeared in his mind, consequently creating the perfect topic to break the ice "So Fenna, what's the name of the bird? I saw it following you around and it seems pretty attached to you" Supernatulary fast if he could say so, and if his theory was true... "You know, that bird attached itself to you pretty quickly right? and, well, I have this theory if you want to hear it" Saying so he inclined himself slightly forward "See I think that when we 'crossed over' we all were given a something extra, like Zell ability to teleport or Adam's green touch, I don't know by what or by whom but if I am right then that Falcon -It's a falcon right?- may be part of yours, what do you think?" He glanced at the wizard and swordsman "What do you think guys? you both are smart"



Despite the chats he had with the rest of the party a small part of him couldn't help but keep going back to the thought he had earlier, if he was going to go on the quest he really should practice with what he had, if anything knowing exactly what the Sillagy blessing did could save their asses if the situation called for it. It was with this thought that he asked Zell and Mac to talk a little in private.

"Hey dudes, look I am going to be frank, I need help with something and I want someone there to make sure I don't fuck it up too bad" A hand went to the back of his neck "I want to try a few things but I need a partner and I trust you guys" His scowl became more pronounced, it was embarrassing admitting that aloud "Ah right, if you need to practice anything I am also willing to help" It was fair, help for help.

"So what do you say?"

Fenna turned to Lilliana when she joined her at the table and smiled. "Of course, please sit down," she told the mage and she nodded to Fredrick when brought her meal. When Zell arrived at the table, Fredrick brought his order too and she turned to Zell. "You have a good appetite in the morning," she commented.
Ready to dig into her own meal, the next to join them was James, also asking to sit with them. "The more the merrier," was all she said about it before taking a bite.

She had her eyes on James as he mentioned they needed to talk, nodded and waited for him to tell her the topic of their not-serious-but-normal conversation. The bird?
"Oh, I named her Sil, after my grandmother," she said and when James asked permission to share his theory, she nodded and listened intently to what he had to say.

"I think that makes sense," she answered when James asked what they thought. "I have seen birds of prey before, but never have I seen one flying to me when I just think about her, or more precisely when I want her to come. And I roughly know where she is too, even without seeing her." She gestured to the north. "In that direction, somewhere. There is a... bond between us that seems to grow the more time we spend together. I'm more aware of her now than when we first met. And I know for sure I didn't have this ability back home." She took a moment to observe the crystal in her hand. "Nor this. I'm unsure how or why we ended up here, and maybe that message we can't access yet will have the answers to that, but I definitely have abilities now that I didn't have before."

Having said that, she picked up her warm beverage and took a sip.

Zell groaned with fatigue as he sat down at the table, then nodded a hello at Fenna and Lillianna. "Alright Fenna. Lily-pad." In spite of the old-man 'sit-down groan,' which was simply a post-workout habit, he actually felt satisyingly good. Pumped - a little more himself. Before he could say much else to his two comrades, Frederick approached with a serving tray, drawing the Englishman's attention. "Right on time, my mate."

Three plates with two sandwiches on each, complete with all the accompanying spinach and salad stuff. "You have a good appetite in the morning," Fenna commented.

Zell grinned. "Most important meal n all that," he replied, wasting little time and picking up his first of six. "I see you've got the same as me. 'Crock...? errr... Croak mah-damn,' it's called." Zell's butchery of French pronounciation was borderline criminal. "Something like that. Bloody good grub."

Once the first bite happened, Zell moved to destroy everything in his path at a frightening pace. The sandwiches didn't stand a chance. He stopped only to periodically wash his food down with milk or tea.

When James turned up and asked if he could sit down, Zell replied after Fenna. "No, you can't. Find your own table." He managed to keep from showing the food in his mouth as he flashed a wide grin at James. James did the right thing and ignored him, choosing to speak to Fenna. Zell was pretty satisfied with his joke, and listened to the conversation as he continued to devour his food. Throwing in a "Nice," when Fenna told them that Sil the Falcon was named after her grandmother.

Fenna's expertise handling Sil was something that Zell had admired from the moment the falcon had turned up. To find out now that there was some kind of deeper connection between the Ranger and her bird was even more impressive. Zell imagined himself having some kind of animal friend. His imagination's first instinct was to conjure up a monkey...

A pet monkey who could pickpocket people at his command. Of all the possibilities and this was what came to Zell Brooks' mind.

Of course it did.

The conversation between James and Fenna, however, was far more mature than what was going on in Zell's mind, and their ideas and testimony were logical, interesting and well-reasoned. Fenna bringing her conclusions back to that Source-Comm message made Zell nod with certainty.

James glanced at the wizard and swordsman "What do you think guys? you both are smart"

Zell was taken aback by being called 'smart,' and performatively checked behind himself to make sure James wasn't talking to someone else. "Smart? You've got the wrong guy," he said with his mouth full. He swallowed everything in one big (and painful) gulp, then continued. "But I have a feeling you guys are spot-on the money with your guesswork. And it all comes back to that message at the Adventurer's Guild. We need to open it. It could have all the answers we need. Not long now. We go to this temple. We kill a few evil spirits. Job done. We get to the message." Zell took another massive bite. "Easy."

Perhaps flaunting his nonchalant attitude was overdoing it. He was actually focused and determined not to slip up on this mission. Losing another teammate was not something he would carelessly let happen again. But he was confident mostly because Lucy Bottrill, the Guildmaster, was confident that Second Chance was capable of completing the mission. So it was just a matter moving as a unit, embracing their power and abilities, and working as a team.

They could do this.

When MacKensie showed up, Zell shook his head. "You can find your own table too. No room, beat it."

...

When James dragged him and MacKensie to one side to speak privately, Zell shot a quizzical look at MacKensie, wondering if she knew what this about. Nevertheless, he followed his friends to speak with them.

"Hey dudes, look I am going to be frank, I need help with something and I want someone there to make sure I don't fuck it up too bad" A hand went to the back of his neck "I want to try a few things but I need a partner and I trust you guys"

"Sure," Zell said, maybe a little too tentatively, not because he was uncertain but because he was distracted by James who's scowl became more pronounced. It seemed the Cleric was struggling admitting he needed help.

"Ah right, if you need to practice anything I am also willing to help"

"To be honest, I need to get this teleport down pat. It could be loads-useful if I knew how to do it on command. So yeah."

"So what do you say?"

"Of course, bruv," Zell assured the man, almost offended that James lacked confidence in the Englishman's willingness to help a friend. "Anything you need." He looked at MacKensie for support, but his words were for James. "We've got your back."

"Think about what I want to happen, in my head..." Zell muttered Adam's teachings to himself. "...and apply magical energy."

The swordsman was with his best buds, James and MacKensie, just outside the city walls on the fallow fields of a farm, just by the river. Valhiem's western gate was in sight from the spot they'd chosen to test some of their abilities, and Paladins could be seen patrolling the walls. Zell was getting fustrated as he failed, yet again, to activate his Teleportation power.

"Fuck's sake." He shook his head. "This magic stuff is hard work."

At Zell's words, James couldn't help but comment.

"It ain't that hard, like, I think your problem might be visualization?" A shrug "I can't speak for the others but I just think about a bookshelf with every book being a different spell, then when I want to cast one I just 'open' the one I want and the chant comes to the top of my head"

MacKensie looked from one man to another as she stood with a hand on her hip. She'd never considered asking how everyone makes their abilities work - the details of their technique. James' visuallization was very interesting and elaborate. Clarissa Shields, the director at the Academy, had been doing some kind of finger movements. Perhaps it is different for each class? Or maybe dependant on personality?

Another shrug from James and then he turned to face MacKenzie "Alright, I will use the Blessing now, please tell me if you notice anything different" They had talked about that for a bit before, he was sure the blessing was some sort of disguise but he was not sure how it worked.

MacKensie put away her thoughts for now, and nodded. "Okay."

Like a bookshelf. Hmmm. Zell thought about it for a second. "Not too fond of books," he muttered while the others talked.

Taking a deep breath James started chanting.

"Lady Sillagy, mistress of deceit and persuasion, hear my plea for your blessing, let my flesh become my disguise and for no one to realize"

She gasped when he transformed, a hand covering her mouth. Sudden feelings of dizziness and sickness came over her as her brain struggled to get used to the jarring sight of HER OWN SELF!!! stood in front of her.

The results of James' new blessing were astonishing. Zell's eyebrows shot up, his mouth falling open as his Mexican friend became a Frenchwoman. Zell blinked twice, making sure his eyes weren't decieving him. "Wow," was all he could say for a second.

James felt the change immediately, as if he had blinked and suddenly was a little bit shorter, quickly rummaging through his pockets he pulled the mirror he had prepared beforehand and saw the usually smiling face of MacKenzie staring back at him with his usual grimace. Looking back at the real MacKenzie he couldn't help but let out a "Wha-!? Even the voice!?" Well at least it seemed like the disguise was thorough.

"Oh my," were her words of dismay as she began to recover. "That is... quite the spell. It looks so real." She hesitated a step before going up to him and touching his (her? his) hair.

As MacKensie inspected the illusion, Zell rubbed the top of his head. His brain was hurting.

"It feels real too. Mistress of deceit indeed."

"James, you are bewitchingly beautiful. Drop-dead gorgeous," he told him. MacKensie felt herself blush brightly as she looked at James. She was determined not to show Zell. Then Zell looked at MacKensie. "For a man, at least."

Now she span around to him, furious! She took her shoe off and threw it at his head.

"Haha-ugh!" The shoe hit Zell square between the eyes, he slipped on a stone and fell on his back.

"Oh shit! friendly fire!" Saying so he put his(?) arms on the air on the universal signal for surrender as MacKensie turned towards him. "Please Mac! Don't do anything that you will regret! I will help you cover the body, just please don't hurt me!"

MacKensie pointed at the Cleric. "I have another shoe and I'm not afraid to use it," she joked. The feeling of the earth under her bare foot was quite nice, but it was barely a background thought due to the weirdness of looking at the illusion. "So, you can become anyone? Of your choosing?" This could be useful. So far they'd only fought against rabid monsters, but a foe with any kind of intelligence might be fooled with the right disguise in the right situation.

"I mean, kinda?" James grimaced and dropped his arms.

"It may be possible to drastically change your size or shape."

"There is something of a feedback when I casted it, it felt like, how do I say it?" He rolled the words in his mind until he decided on the most accurate ones "Like if I was being 'compressed', it is not painful per se but cetainly noticeable, I can guess it would probably become a problem if I was compressed too much, same with the contrary as that would 'stretch' me beyond what I can manage"

MacKensie frowned at the idea of being compressed or stretched by magical means. "Ooh, that sounds awful."

James shrugged. "It feels like it would outright fail to trigger with anything not human-shaped though, that feels like a requirement for it to activate"

"Well..." she awkwardly stared at herself (James) for a moment. "This new power of yours may be useful in the future. Somehow."

She looked down as she retrieved two apples from her satchel. It was time to test a power out of her own. She needed targets to practice against, and what better targets than the classic - apples. She'd brought half a dozen. Admiring their shine for a moment, she tossed them to James and then grabbed two more and turned, throwing two to Zell.

Zell threw MacKensie her shoe as the apples came through the air towards him, then caught the fruit, one in each hand. Wait, what was she going to do?

"If you would kindly hold the apples out in your hands please. Mind your fingers aren't covering them." She instructed as she put her shoe back on. Since yesterday, doubts had plagued her regarding her abilities as a Ranger, but one thing she could be sure of, at least, was her accuracy aganst simple, stationary targets. The only question was; how fast could she fire accurate shots? She walked twenty paces away from the two men, keeping her back to them, and stood with an apple in each of her own hands.

Hold up the apples? What!? "Are you sure about this?" Zell asked, concerned to say the least. As the swordsman held out the apples, he couldn't help but squint as if bracing himself for a punch to the face. This was not a good idea.

James shared Zell's enthusiasm, he trusted Mackenzie to have perfect accuracy but that didn't mean he couldn't be a little bitch about it. Still, there was no reason to go through with this in a stupid manner, letting the apples rest on the palms of his hands he extended each arm to his sides as far as he could -which was less than usual.

"Are you ready?"

"Ready? Er... yeah... okay." Not okay.

"Ready too!"

Eyes closed, MacKensie inhaled and exhaled slowly. In her mind, she pushed aside her growing confidence issues (something that was fairly easy when around James and Zell,) then she willed her Deadly Flurry to activate, feeling the Source flow down her arms to the tips of her fingers. Blue flames danced along her hands.

She opened her eyes.

After throwing her apples over her head, towards James and Zell, everything around her may aswell have been in slow-motion. She moved with blurry speed, grabbing a handful of bolts from her pouch with her left hand, and spinning around to let them all go, into the air in front of her. For a split second, it was almost like the bolts were floating before her - six of them - in a slightly arching row.

With her right hand, she had already drawn the one-handed crossbow off the small of her back and now whipped it across herself in a horizontal sweep, to catch each of the six bolts side-on, one after another, in the firing mechanism of her crossbow - rapid-firing each one as her crossbow-sights swept from right to left.

Three seconds - from the moment she opened her eyes to the moment the last apple fell to the ground with a bolt through it.

Zell, who was stood holding the apples out like a scarecrow, was stunned by the speed as MacKensie practically turned into a blue whirlwind in front of him. He could barely see her movements as the crossbow came to point his way, but he heard the twang of her weapon as it fired 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...

The faintest flicker of a grey flash and Zell was gone, instantly appearing ten feet to the right of where he was before.

...6

All six apples hit the floor as Zell breathed heavily, his hands briefly checking he hadn't been shot. Then he realised what he'd done and it clicked in his brain. "Ohhhh, I get it now," he said to himself. There was a short pause for a mental celebration in his mind, before he walked a few steps towards his friends. "That is one helluva move," he complimented MacKensie. " Think you could combine that with your grapplehook thingy?"

MacKensie hid her concerns about being able to use the grapplehook effectively. "Perhaps," she said at the bright idea.

"You'd make a killing at the circus."

The Cleric let out a snort at Zell's words "Somehow I knew our destiny was becoming a circus, I just didn't expect it to happen so soon" MacKensie chuckled as James looked towards her. "Hey Mac, you think you could make it with more bolts or are 6 your limit?

She thought about it. Just how far could she push this? "It is certainly worth trying out," she said. "Though I did not bring enough apples." Another chuckle.

Still hell of a move either way, you are practically a revolver now"

"Thank you, I am excited to try it out on our next contract."

Excited to try it out? The more mature side of her warned that she should be taking this more seriously but it was hard not be starry-eyed at these superhuman powers when her friends were egging her on.

"I see that you managed to teleport again," she said to Zell. "Have you figured it out now?"

"Yeah," Zell replied proudly. "Just clicked in my head." He teleported behind them and gave them a finger-point and a wink, then teleported back in front of them, MacKensie and James turning their heads to try and follow him. It was remarkable. He tried to teleport again and it failed. "Huh?" He tried again. And again. "Maybe there's a limit on it of some kind."

MacKensie's brow furrowed at Zell's postulation, but her eyes were dragged back to James involuntarily, unnerved by the perfect illusion of herself looking back at her. "Do you mind turning back to yourself now James? It is a little weird for me, seeing myself without the glass of a mirror between."

Zell disagreed. "I dunno. You can never have too much Mac to look at it, in my opinion."

He braced himself to dodge the next shoe.

"Will you behave, Zell Brooks," MacKensie reprimanded the cheeky swordsman, having to put effort into not smiling. She wasn't sure why she bothered telling him off - it only seemed to encourage him.

"While I agree with the sentiment I don't want to be another Mac" A pause "No offense" Turning her attention to James, she did give a small smile and nodded, showing no offense taken, and also resisting the urge to take her other shoe off and throw it at James (herself) for joining in with Zell. James closed his eyes and reached to the blessing in question, searching for some way to end the blessing effect earlier. He found none.

Scrounging his face in irritation he searched faster, spinning and pulling at his mental image of the blessing intent on finding something relevant to the termination of it. Incidentally finding the cost for casting the blessing itself. "Well shit" Opening his eyes he looked towards his friends "Okay good news? I found out what is it that I am paying for pulling this off, bad news...?

MacKensie was frozen in anticiptation on what the bad news would be...

You got the most uncomfortable twin for the next 24 hours, sorry Mac, I can't turn this off"

...it was pretty bad. "Seriously?" MacKensie blinked a few times, getting ahold of herself before taking breath. "Okay. Well, I suppose we..." she looked at Zell as she echoed the words he'd told her the other day. "...should not stress over that which is beyond our control." Then she looked at herself James and forced a smile. "Clerics are really something."

Zell burst out laughing, his wide reach giving each of the twin MacKensie's a consolation-pat on the shoulder in tandem.

James smiled (the expression much more MacKensie-like than his usual grimace), seeing both of his friends interact always felt relaxing "Well, I don't know you guys but I think I could use lunch back at the inn, I have been slowly convincing Frederick to let me use the kitchen and I want to try my hand in making some food from back home if you are interested" MacKensie had only had an apple for breakfast, and it wasn't like Zell was ever going to say 'no' to the prospect of more food.

"I have never had Mexican cuisine before," MacKensie said, as excited as she was hungry now. "May I be your kitchen assistant?"

James started walking back to the Mended Drum, at a calm pace, with Zell and MacKensie on either flank. Despite everything that had happened the last days it felt good knowing he had good people to rely on. And the other two felt the same.